Randa Abdel-Fattah

6/10, I was hoping that I would enjoy this interesting novel about an Australian girl trying to live her life despite prejudices but this didn't work out for me. The main character Amal was annoying to read at first due to her shouting at parents sometimes and being irresponsible by skipping school but eventually develops her character by not annoying people anymore and actually being responsible for a 16 year old which I liked however it wasn't enough to keep this story from becoming a slog. Amal starts off the story by transferring to a new school and wearing a hijab and at first she experienced discrimination from her peers but eventually got used to it and I only realised this book was set in 2002 which is 21 years ago now when it mentioned that the 2001 terrorist attacks were a year ago which was interesting. Once that part was done the whole book just didn't know where to go next so it turned into a story about Amal living her life and doing some leisure and other tasks as well as showing me some aspects of Islam that I already knew like the Quran, pilgrimages, rituals and events like Ramadan so that wasn't that enjoyable and I had to push through that part and hoped that it would get better; it did but only by a bit. In the end Amal reaches the end of her school year and she celebrates the end of Ramadan and that was essentially it however I didn't like her dialogue since she constantly made pop culture and religious references that probably wouldn't be said so that was unrealistic. If you like books about Australian culture pick this however there have been other books since that one you can try like Changing Gear by Scot Gardner.… (mais)

As she did in Does My Head Look Big in This? (2007) and Ten Things I Hate About Me (2009), Abdel-Fattah introduces a bright, articulate Muslim heroine coping with contemporary life, this time during the West Bank Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2004. After the Israelis confiscate and demolish their home, 13-year-old Hayaat and her Palestinian family endure curfews, checkpoints and concrete walls, exiled in a cramped apartment in Bethlehem. Hayaat’s father silently mourns his lost olive groves, while her grandmother longs for the Jerusalem home her family abandoned in 1948. With her face scarred by shattered glass, Hayaat wears her own reminder of the occupation. Determined to retrieve some Jerusalem soil for her ailing grandmother, Hayaat and her Christian pal, Samy, secretly embark on a short but harrowing mission into forbidden territory. Hayaat chronicles this life-altering journey in the first-person, present tense, giving readers an intimate glimpse into the life of her warm, eccentric Muslim family, who survive despite the volatile political environment. A refreshing and hopeful teen perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma. (glossary of Arabic words) (Fiction. 9-12)

-Kirkus Review… (mais)

Australian YA about two year eleven students. Mina is a refugee from Afghanistan who came to Australia as a child and now has a scholarship for a prestigious Sydney high school. Michael’s parents are starting a “Aussie Values” political party opposed to boat people and Muslim immigrants.

This was engrossing! I liked Mina’s friendships, and Michael’s relationship with his neurodivergent younger brother, and the way Michael and Mina find things in common which connect them. And the Lord of the Rings references! And I appreciated the sense of place.

I thought it was interesting that, while the book argues fiercely and eloquently that Michael’s parents’ politics are racist and reprehensible, they’re portrayed as people who are educated, intelligent, and -- in some respects -- caring. It’s a realistic level of nuance -- it means Michael has been inclined to assume that they must be right about things he doesn’t understand, and it makes it harder for him to challenge them, once he begins to disagree, because he values his relationship with them. But it also means there’s hope, hope that his parents may change, even if that doesn't happen quickly or easily.… (mais)