I Love, I Hate, I Miss My Sister- Part 2

The ending of this book was nothing like I expected it to be and Im not really sure how I feel about it. I feel as if there was no story line and that it was all just scattered memories leading up to Sohane finally accepting the fact that her sister is dead. There was a lot of things I didn't like about the book. I think that it is awful how Sohane was rejected from coming back to classes at school and thrown out of the town meeting just because she was wearing the headscarf even though the meeting was made in honor of HER sister. I think it is also awful how Djelila was murdered only because she didn't want to wear the headscarf. It just goes to show how the saying "nothing is ever good enough" is so true. No matter what these two girls did, they both were being told they were wrong by different people. I think that neither one of the girls were in the wrong and that Sohane being banned from everything is just unfair. If  I were Sohane I would have done the same thing, be the bigger person and remove myself from those situations, even though it would suck. Women choose to wear the head scarf for many different reasons and none of them are bad or have anything to do with others. There shouldn't be a problem with people choosing how they express themselves. The head scarf is just part of the muslim culture just like how every other culture has certain little traditions, symbols, and meanings that they want to express. I looked up the French law on the banning of head scarfs as mentioned in the book and read a little about it, learning that it's a $250 fee for wearing one in public. That is crazy, think about how you would feel if someone was banning you from things and charging you money just for wanting to be yourself and wear a piece of clothing that has meaning to you. It should be the person underneath that matters, not the scarf itself.

http://arabsinamerica.unc.edu/identity/veiling/hijab/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28106900

I love, I hate, I miss my sister.

For my literature circle book I am reading "I Love, I Hate, I Miss My Sister" written by Amélie Sarn. From what I have read so far, the book is the story of two muslim sisters, Djelila and Sohane. Shortly into reading you learn that the story is being told by Sohane and that Djelila is actually dead so the book is flashback stories and Sohane talking to Djelila as if she were still alive. The main focus in this story is religion and the social struggles muslim women face. The two sisters are completely opposite, one following the muslim values and beliefs and the other following the modern day free spirit personality. They are very different and the main thing that is noticeably different between the two of them is that Sohane wears a head scarf and Djelila exposes her skin a lot more. This begins to cause problems for the girls in school, at home, and in the community. So far I like the story and am interested in reading the rest. It is cool learning about some of the different views muslim people have and the different struggles the women have to face. The only thing I don't enjoy about the book so far is that its a little bit hard to follow sometimes. The writing tends to jump from the past to the present a lot and the wording sometimes confuses me. For example, one sentence Djelila is alive sitting next to Sohane, the next sentence Sohane is taking about when Djelila was killed and how she wishes she had her sister back so its a little bit jumpy in that way. Other than that, I'm curious as to where this story is going and what the purpose of this book is.