Title: Does My Head Look Big In This?
Author: Randa Abdel-Fattah
Genre: Multicultural Realistic Fiction
Pages: 360
Lexile level: 850L
Grade level: 6th
Interest level: 7th - 9th 

Amal is your typical 16-year-old Australian living in Melbourne. She loves watching Friends, going to the mall, chatting with her friends, and has a crush on a cutie named Adam.
      But Amal is about to make a decision that won't make her quite so typical at McCleans Preparatory School - to go full-time wearing a hijab in order to form a closer bond with Allah/God as part of her Islamic faith. Being a full-timer means having her hair and skin, except her face and hands, covered whenever she is in the presence of males who are not immediate family.
      After making such a display of her faith, she definitely can't go back on the other rules regarding certain physical contacts with boys like kissing, even though it's Adam who wants to kiss her!
     Will her wit, friends, and family be enough to get her through this tough time? Will Adam be understanding?

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Written in the over-dramatic language of an intelligent teenager, this book is abundant with examples of sarcasm and hyperbole.

On social subjects, this book obviously gives a personal account of what it is like to be a Muslim in a country where Islam is not the dominate religion. Also, in addition to discussing religious labels and stereotypes, this book discusses many of the gender stereotypes and issues faced by teenage girls today.  

In ELA, I think it would be interesting to look at the author, Randa Abdel-Fattah, and study how she drew from her personal experience of being a Muslim Australian living in Melbourne.