Jamilah might hate several things about herself, but only one keeps getting brought up.
Not fitting in is like leprosy at adolescence. No one wants you on their team. And the nasty daily comments can push any teen into a huge depression. It's no wonder that Jamilah dreams of having her classmate Timothy's courage and just be herself: a Lebanese/Muslim living in Australia. So she bleaches her hair, puts on blue contacts and changes her name to Jamie. And no one "notices."
To be honest, although the idea of feeling stuck in a nationality is not new to me (yup, been there) I didn't feel like Jamilah was so worried about her background. What truly bothered her was the relationship with her dad. His overprotective parenting drove her and her siblings crazy. And she associated that with him being Muslim: no girls should go out unchaperoned, girls must be home before sunset... too many rules to list (probably like ten).
More than character growth, we get to see bonding and how communication is key.
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