Don’t panic – I’m Islamic! Amal is a 16-year-old Melbourne teen with all the usual obsessions about boys, chocolate and Cosmo magazine. She’s also a Muslim, struggling to honour the Islamic faith in a society that doesn’t understand it. The story of her decision to “shawl up” is funny, surprising and touching by turns.
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Sexual Content - 1/5
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Violence - 1/5
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Language - 1/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 1/5
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Summary
Reviewer Name: Mari Barnes Sixteen¬year old Amal is an Australian¬born, Muslim Palestinian \"whacked with some seriously confusing identity hyphens.\" She loves shopping, watches Sex and the City, and trades IMs with her friends about crushes and irritating parents. The story begins when she decides to wear the hijab, or head covering, full¬time (the catalyst for her decision is funny itself). She’s not sure that she is strong enough to show a badge of her devotion to her faith, as she confronts insults from some at her snotty prep school, and she is refused a part¬time job in the food court (she is \"not hygienic\"). In the course of the book, Amal copes with a mad crush and a best friend with serious self¬esteem issues, befriends a cranky elderly Greek neighbor, and tries to help a friend who aspires to be a lawyer but whose mother is trying to force her to leave school and get married. Faith and culture are part of the story, from fasting at Ramadan to refusing sex before marriage; the author is very good at showing the diversity within Muslim communities and in explaining why so many women choose to wear the hijab. This first– person narrative is fast, funny and entertaining and enlightening without being preachy.