Ten Things I Hate About Me (2006)

Hey, guess what? Racism's wrong! And you shouldn't be ashamed or embarrassed about who you are!

Okay, so no huge surprises here and a fairly predictable plot, and yet I think it's a point that would resonate with teen girls (even the white ones who aren't trying to hide a heritage). Be yourself and like who you are; anyone who doesn't like the real you isn't your friend anyway.

Booktalk:
Jamie’s blond hair comes from a bottle; her blue eyes are colored contacts. No one at her Australian high school—even her so-called best friends—knows that she’s actually Jamilah, that she’s Lebanese-Muslim, that her dad is super-strict and she’s not allowed out at night. All the deception pays off when the most popular guy in school shows an interest in her. He’s kind of a tool and racist to boot—but how much does that matter when he’s her ticket to social acceptance? ( )

I love Muslim books, as blasphemous as it is for my Christian soul to admit. This one's perfect. The writing is terrible, and the entire plot can be guessed halfway through, but the characters just pull you in and make you want to keep reading. It also had really funny dialogue and was pretty insightful into Lebanese culture. I really enjoyed this book. ( )

Ten Things I Hate About Me is about a Lebanese and Muslim girl who has two identities: Jamie and Jamilah. At home she is Jamilah who is proud to be Lebanese and Muslim. At school she is Jamie who wants to fit in with everybody else and she doesn't want anyone from school to know that she is Lebanese and Muslim. To do so she wears colored contacts and dyes her hair blond. She hangs around with the popular people and never risks being herself.
Timothy, a boy in her class, is completely different from her. He is a nerd who doesn’t care what other people think about him and has no reaction to all the teasing he gets.
After a while being to different people gets very exhausting and stops her from doing many of things she would like to do with her friends. At the same time a stranger, a guy who is her age, starts emailing her because he likes her identity which is: "Ten_Things_I_Hate_About_Me@intermail.com". His is: "Rage_Against_The_Machine@intermail.com". Emailing back and forward with him makes her consider being herself and showing her true identity! ( )

http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/dec09.html#abdelfattah ( )

In Ten Things I Hate About Me, Jamilah does whatever is necessary to hide her Lebanese-Muslim identity from her classmates: she dyes her hair blond, straightens her hair, and even wears contacts to change her eye colour. She doesn't do this because she is ashamed of her cultural background, but because of the rampant racism and discrimination that exists at her school. To Jamilah, known at school as Jamie, this is a matter of survival.

Jamie/Jamilah's struggles are sure to strike a chord with the reader while giving a fascinating glimpse into a rich culture. All in all, this is an interesting novel that deals with serious issues with a refreshing sense of humour. ( )