Does My Head Look Big In This?

Amal Mohamed Nasrullah Abdel-Hakim is facing a huge religious dilemma : to wear or not to wear the hijab, a symbol of the Muslim religion. After a lot of thinking, Amal decides to go ahead with her decision to wear it. But she runs into a series of challenging obstacles along the way. For instance, her prep school principal, who's a little more concerned with school appearance than religious decisions. Or her crush, who seems a little scared of the whole religion/rules thing. Or, as Amal so subtly puts it, "stupid mall employees who can't comprehend I need help because they're too busy burning their retinas."

But Amal pushes through, quickly learning just how mean people can be. At the same time she is handling attacks from her classmates, her best friend is trying to hold up under her family's pressure. Leila's dream is to be a lawyer, but her parents are more concerned about getting her a marriage license. Her brother is spying on Leila for their parents, and finally Leila is driven to a desperate act. Now Amal is searching for her best friend and trying to heal a family. It's difficult, but Amal does her best.

 

Randa Abdel-Fattah preaches a story of discrimination and stereotyping through the eyes of a sassy teenager with a lot on her mind. The plot twists and turns, with exciting surprises along the way. All in all, it's the story of a young girl growing up in a world that's prejudiced against her religion. Amal is funny and bright, a combination of sass and smarts that will leave you wanting more. My rating? Read it twice! Go find out for yourselves. Check it out at your local library.
-BOOKWORM

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants #1

 

What if there was a pair of magical pants? Pants that perfectly fit four different girls with four different body types. Pants that made the wearer feel like nothing could go wrong for her.  Well, for Carmen, Lena, Tibby, and Bridget, those magical pants are a reality. And they are the foundation of the Sisterhood.

 Published in 2001, this book is definitely an oldie but goodie. It features four completely different girls who became friends over one magical pair of pants. Lena, Carmen, Tibby, and Bridget's mothers went to an aerobics class when they were all pregnant at the same. The mothers met and became friends, and as the children were born and grew up, they too became friends. They spent every summer together until this one.

Lena and her sister are spending the summer in Greece with her grandparents. Throw in some cute guys and a swimming incident, and all of a sudden Lena's ignited a feud she doesn't think she can end.

Bridget is going to a state-of-the-art soccer camp. She's feeling focused at the start until she meets the love of her life, who also happens to be her camp counselor. Yikes!!!

Carmen is meeting up with her divorced father for the summer. Unfortunately, he's been keeping a secret from her. And it might just turn her whole life upside down.

Tibby is spending her summer working at the local Wallman's. Her job is all ready on the line when a girl faints in front of her. Tibby accompanies the girl to the hospital, where she befriends her after she learns of the girl's leukemia. Unfortunately, her odds of survival aren't that good.

As the summer passes by, the girls pass around the Traveling Pants, following the rules of the Sisterhood zealously. Author Ann Brashares carefully wrote this book to make someone laugh.There's even a movie! There's also a series. My rating? Unfortunately, I do NOT rate this book a Read-It-Twice. There was too much going on, and the characters were decidedly two-dimensional. There was nothing that set them apart. All in all, I thought the book was boring.But go find out for yourself. Check it out at your local library.
-BOOKWORM