Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Are your parents uber strict? Jamie's father is, so she never, ever has her friends come over to her house, and she rarely gets the chance to go out with them after school. Her dad changed when her mom died, writing up a charter of curfew rights for Jamie and telling her all sorts of things she can and can't do. Meanwhile, he lets her older brother Bilal do whatever she want because he's a boy, and Jamie's sick of the double standard. She'd like to confide in her older sister, but Shereen is heavily involved in intellectual pursuits and protests at college.
Her father's charter isn't the only reason Jamie won't invite her friends over. You see, at school, they don't all know her heritage. They don't know that she's Muslim. They don't know she's the drummer in an Arabic band. They don't know her real name is Jamilah, or that she dyes her hair blond and wears blue contacts sometimes. She squirms when the jerks in her class say hateful or ignorant things. Jamie just wants to fit in, but when her patience and her faith are tested, will she stand up for herself, her culture, and her family, or will she keep biting her tongue?
Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah is realistic, enjoyable, and thoughtful. I strongly urge people to pick up this book, as well as her previous novel, Does My Head Look Big in This? Abdel-Fattah's books will give you a new appreciation for other cultures as well as your own.
Are you a different person at home than you are at school or work? Leave a comment below to let me know.
Her father's charter isn't the only reason Jamie won't invite her friends over. You see, at school, they don't all know her heritage. They don't know that she's Muslim. They don't know she's the drummer in an Arabic band. They don't know her real name is Jamilah, or that she dyes her hair blond and wears blue contacts sometimes. She squirms when the jerks in her class say hateful or ignorant things. Jamie just wants to fit in, but when her patience and her faith are tested, will she stand up for herself, her culture, and her family, or will she keep biting her tongue?
Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah is realistic, enjoyable, and thoughtful. I strongly urge people to pick up this book, as well as her previous novel, Does My Head Look Big in This? Abdel-Fattah's books will give you a new appreciation for other cultures as well as your own.
Are you a different person at home than you are at school or work? Leave a comment below to let me know.