Praise for You Must Be Layla: A laugh out loud story about making friends, carving your way in the world and having the confidence to do things your way. Layla is a fabulous, plucky protagonist, and her inventive attitude to surmounting hurdles is inspiring. The book is also an introduction to thinking about some of the barriers people of colour can face, illustrated by Layla’s older brother Ozzie who has been applying for jobs and not even getting interviews. It offers an insight into normal Muslim family life…This story is fresh and funny and is an empowering read.

Praise for You Must Be Layla: This warm, humorous account of a larger-than-life Sudanese girl navigating a posh Australian school is an engaging read for 12-plus.

Praise for You Must Be Layla: I adored Layla’s openness, her aptitude for shrugging off set-backs, taking suggestions on board and embracing change. As the You Must Be Layla title suggests, she’s a one-of-a-kind heroine, and this funny, thought-provoking novel – the first children’s book from inspirational Sudanese-born broadcaster, social advocate and mechanical engineer Yassmin Abdel-Magied – is a one-of-a-kind bundle of comedy and compassion.

Praise for You Must Be Layla: Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s You Must Be Layla is a tonic, and a terrific debut…Underneath its buoyant humour is a timely wisdom about finding friends in an alien culture.

Praise for You Must Be Layla: Sudanese-Australian activist Abdel-Magied’s first novel is the sparkling tale of 13-year-old Layla, who moves to a new school, where she is the only pupil to wear a headscarf.