Point of View

The novel is written in first person from the limited perspective of Amal, a teenage girl Muslim girl who lives in Australia. The limited perspective means the reader cannot know what is happening to other characters when Amal is not with them and that the reader does not know the inner thoughts of the other characters. The exception to that limitation is that some of the characters explain their thoughts through dialogue. Even then, the reader has to evaluate whether the characters are being honest to Amal.

Amal seems to be an honest narrator for the novel, though she is somewhat naive and sheltered. For example, she is unprepared for Ms. Walsh's comment that Amal's hajib will be discussed by the school board and that there could be media attention. To Amal, the hajib is simply a symbol of her faith. Though she knows that...