Playground Story, Universal Message: Read an extract from You Must be Layla by Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Start reading now

In her first fiction book for young readers, writer, broadcaster and award-winning social advocate, Yasmin Abdel-Magied, gives us the inspiring and hopeful story of Layla. A Sudanese teenager in Australia, Layla is curious, adventurous and determined to learn anything and everything she can about the world. Her family moved to Australia from Sudan when her mother, a doctor, was offered a position at a Brisbane hospital, and things have been very different ever since.

Initially, Layla attends the Islamic School of Brisbane (ISB) where there are students from all over the world, includingIndia, 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, creatinga wonderfully diverse and welcoming community. Layla loves the school and her friends there, especially best friend Dina, but starts to want something more.

A community school, ISM doesn’t have a lot of funding for extra equipment and opportunities and when she meets private school student, Adam, in the park, she begins to realise that she may need to branch out. Adam attends Mary Maxmillion Grammar (MMG) a private and very exclusive school that has everything you could imagine, including a workshop with all kinds of equipment that Layla could use to bring her beloved inventions to life. Layla loves to make jewellery at home – the precision of threading beads and creating patterns appeals, but she would love the opportunity to make so much more.

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.

Although she’s extremely excited about her first day at the new school, Layla wants to slip in under the radar. Things don’t go quite as planned, however – being the first student to wear a hijab makes her stand out,andin her first class she manages to get on the wrong side of the teacher and is unceremoniously thrown out. Last but not least,she has a nasty confrontation with Peter (son of the chairman of the board) who quickly becomes her arch enemy. Despite all that, there are a few high points and Layla makes some great new friends.

After a rocky start Layla decides to enter the Grand Designs Tourismo, a design competition that not only gives her a chance to take full advantage of the new school’s workshop but take on Peter and his friends who think they have the have the competition wrapped up.

Will Layla manage to come up with a winning entry and redeem herself at the prestigious MMG?

Read our full review | Purchase a copy of You Must be Layla by Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese-born, Australian mechanical engineer, writer and social advocate.

Yassmin worked on oil and gas rigs around Australia for almost half a decade before becoming a full-time writer and broadcaster. She published her debut memoir, Yassmin’s Story, at age 24, then became the presenter of Australia Wide, a national weekly current-affairs show on the ABC and Motor Mouth, a podcast on becoming an F1 driver. After hosting the documentary, The Truth About Racism, she created Hijabistas for the ABC, a series looking at the modest fashion scene in Australia. Her writing has appeared in publications like Teen Vogue, London’s Evening Standard, the Guardian and numerous anthologies. 

With over a decade’s experience in non-profit governance, Yassmin founded her first organisation, Youth Without Borders, at the age of 16. She has since served on numerous board and councils, including the Council of Australian-Arab Relations and ChildFund, and also serves as the Gender Ambassador for the Inter-American Development Bank. 
Yassmin has been awarded numerous awards nationally and internationally for her advocacy, including the 2018 Young Voltaire Award for Free Speech and Queensland Young Australian of the Year in 2015. In 2017, Yassmin created Mumtaza, dedicated to the empowerment of women of colour, and most recently founded Kuwa, a platform tackling cultural change around sexual harassment in workplaces.

Yassmin has delivered keynotes in over 20 countries on unconscious bias and 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 is currently based in London.