Does My Head Look Big In This?

Amal is a 16-year-old Australian-Palestinian-Muslim, living in Melbourne, Australia, and she is the protagonist of this novel. She is fair-haired and has light-colored eyes, which surprises people as they often have a preconceived notion of what a Muslim looks like. Although she identifies primarily as Australian, she respects her Palestinian heritage and is an observant Muslim. At the start of the novel, she chooses to wear a hijab full time as an expression of her faith. Upon making this decision, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she experiences a turbulent period of contemplating how people react to her hijab, and how other people of her faith understand their religion.

Although prepared for inappropriate comments and ridicule, Amal is still shocked when some of her schoolmates (primarily rich and popular Tia Tamos) begin taunting her and her religion; her choice frightens them because they connect only negative concepts to Islamic religion. Through the novel, Amal learns when she should try to correct those misconceptions, and when this is nonproductive. In her relationship with Adam, she does her best to make him understand her beliefs, and even though she ends up hurting his pride unintentionally when she refuses his advances, Adam finally comprehends the system of her beliefs and standards, and they remain friends.