Ten things i hate about me

Ten Things is about Jamie, a teenage girl from Sydney?s south west who lives two lives: at school and in the outside world she is ?Jamie?, a bottle-blonde with an apparently Anglo Aussie background; at home she is ?Jamilah? a Lebanese-Muslim who is proud of her cultural identity. Jamie struggles to maintain her two personas as the rules of her over-protective father collide with the normal adolescence she perceives other teenagers to have and which she so desires.

Life appears to be looking up for Jamie when the most popular boy in school begins to show an interest in her. Added to that she gets an after-school job and makes an email friend, John, the only person with whom she can be completely honest. However her fate as a social outcast appears sealed when her father?s Stone Age Charter of Curfew Rights threatens to prevent her attending the much-anticipated Year 10 formal and her Arabic band is hired to play at the formal.

The overall concept of Ten Things is interesting however the plot isn?t involved enough to sustain itself for 278 pages. As a result it becomes repetitive. Once again we see Jamie?s bid for independence quashed by her father and here?s another example of Jamie hiding her true identity from her school friends. Ten Things reaches a certain level early on and then it plateaus failing to take the step to an edgier and more complex storyline that I?ve come to expect from today?s teen fiction.

The prose is simple, I think too simple for its adolescent audience. Abdel-Fattah has a tendency to tell rather than show which unfortunately means there is very little left to the reader?s imagination. And she has missed the mark in attempting to tap into the teen psyche. Teenagers are far more savvy and complex than Abdel-Fattah would have us believe and because of this the dialogue and internal narrative come across as somewhat naive.

That said, teenage readers of all backgrounds will find something or someone to relate to in Ten Things. The cast of minor characters covers a wide spectrum from Peter the most popular, and obnoxious, boy in school to rap-loving Mustafa, Jamie?s fellow band member.

Ten Things is a fine effort from Abdel-Fattah that unfortunately doesn?t quite make for a satisfying read. However if you enjoyed Does My Head Look Big In This? you?ll no doubt enjoy Ten Things.