Author(s): Randa Abdel-Fattah

Children & Young Adult

The slide opened and I heard a gentle, kind voice:'What is your confession, my child? 'I was stuffed. The priest would declare me a heretic; my parents would call me a traitor . . . The priest asked me again: 'What is your confession, my child?' 'I'm Muslim,' I whispered.

Welcome to my world. I'm Amal Abdel-Hakim, a sixteen-year-old Australian-Palestinian-Muslim still getting to grips with my various identity hyphens. It's hard enough to be cool as a teenager, but try wearing a veil on your head and getting in the 'bums up' position at lunchtime and you know you're in for a tough time. Luckily my friends support me, although they've got a few troubles of their own. Simone, blonde and gorgeous, has got serious image issues, and Leila's really intelligent but her parents are more interested in her getting a marriage certificate than her high school certificate. And I thought I had problems . . .