You Must Be Layla

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However, the story overall fell a little flat for me. The story itself (beyond Layla's journey and growth) wasn't quite compelling, the resolution felt off to me (I felt weird that [1] the resolution of the conflict fell on the onus of the white bully's forgiveness and [2] the best friend's gay character arc felt shoe-horned). This story was so engaging - although there was a time I wanted to throw this book at the wall because of the injustice Layla was facing, a lot of the story was vibrant and fun and a story you would read to cheer you up when you’re not having the best day.

An advocate for the empowerment of women, youth and people of colour, Yassmin has been awarded numerous awards for her advocacy, including the 2018 Young Voltaire Award for Free Speech. Yassmin has travelled to over twenty countries speaking to governments, NGOs and multinational companies on a range of topics including unconscious bias, resilience and inclusive leadership. Her TED talk, 'What does my headscarf mean to you?', has been viewed over two million times and was chosen as one of TED's top ten ideas of 2015. Yassmin's critically acclaimed essays have been published in numerous anthologies, including the Griffith Review, the bestselling It's Not About the Burqa and New Daughters of Africa. Her words can also be found in publications like the Guardian, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, The Independent and Glamour. My 10 year old loved it; as a Brit with mixed heritage, she will (and probably has already started) to find friends who struggle to understand why she's different, just as she starts to grapple with the complexities of her own identity. Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese-born, Australian mechanical engineer, writer and social advocate.You Must Be Layla introduces Sudanese-born author, broadcaster, social advocate and mechanical engineer Yassmin Abdel-Magied as an exciting new voice in children's writing. About This Edition ISBN:

Layla’s story is a very important story and it was told in a very fun and engaging way. Layla’s flaws were what made her human and humans can only take so much in different situations - especially at such a young age of 12-13 in year 8. This story was important as it showed no bounds in exploring the social injustices that exist in our time from racism to Islamaphobia - how it can go from derogatory comments to violence even in the school yard. This warm, humorous account of a larger-than-life Sudanese girl navigating a posh Australian school is an engaging read' Guardian Firstly, Magied is a Muslim and knows that the actionsher Muslim character is undertakingare forbidden. She is also aware that it is forbidden to be gay. Therefore, why is a Muslim author promoting the idea that it's acceptable for Muslim teenagers to have a very intimate friendship with a boy and accept qawm Lut as the norm? You Must Be Layla is a heart-warming story that will give young readers insight into the lives of migrants to Australia and the struggles with racism and identity that they grapple with. It also explores the pressure that students can be under from their parents to perform at school and how this can play out in very detrimental ways. Layla is a wonderfully warm and vibrant character who will stay with you long after you have finished reading her story. A perfect book to get young readers thinking more about issues in the playground and to the bigger world beyond it. After talking to her parents, it isn’t long before Layla is sitting the scholarship exam for MMG and then as the book opens, getting ready for her first day there.

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Initially, Layla attends the Islamic School of Brisbane (ISB) where there are students from all over the world, including India, Fiji, Nigeria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Jordan, Algeria, Malaysia and South Africa. Most of the students are recent migrants so their families also start to spend time together and become friends, creating a wonderfully diverse and welcoming community. Layla loves the school and her friends there, especially best friend Dina, but starts to want something more.

Oh boy. I had such high hopes for this book because I have nothing but respect for Yassmin Abdel-Magied. Also, the protagonist is in year 8, which is almost unheard of in YA and I was super excited to have a book coming out for the younger end of the YA audience. And there was a reasonable amount about this that I enjoyed - a teenage girl who's interested in STEM, the struggles of being a Sudanese Muslim at a private school that's very white, and the difficulties of being a 14 year old girl full stop.

Yassmin's broadcasting portfolio is diverse: she presented the national TV show Australia Wide, a podcast on becoming an F1 driver and created Hijabistas, a series looking at the modest fashion scene in Australia. Yassmin is a regular contributor to the BBC, Al Jazeera, TRT and Monocle 24, and has co-hosted The Guilty Feminist. Now, given the recent tragedy in New Zealand, there is no better time for children to read books like this one.