Meet the Author of "Girl of the Book"

Like many women who relocated to Saudi Arabia under their husbands' sponsorship, Princila Murrell is one of those who sought to make a living by doing jobs out of her field of expertise. As you may already know, most female university graduates who come under the sponsorship of their husbands start off by looking for a teaching job, in most cases at an international school, before transitioning to a job that matches their education. Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky and some women end up in jobs below their qualification level. 

Murrell believes that every expat woman should explore their skills and get the best out of it. She has, for example, been working as a freelance writer for several researchers in the Kingdom since 2009 and made the leap to indie author this year when she wrote her debut novel Girl of the Book. While the book has not yet been published, she has garnered some positive reviews from book bloggers and reviewers, some of which are presented below:

Editorial review on Amazon.com

Girl of the Book by Princila Murrell is a book about a young teenager, Courtney Parker. Her father has decided to accept a two-year contract in Saudi Arabia, which means uprooting the family from their hometown in South Africa. Courtney hates everything about her new environment. Everything feels foreign to her and she longs for her friends and school back home. Courtney's new school is full of cultural divides. She meets Lana and they forge a shaky friendship, but it's soon shattered when Courtney befriends a Muslim boy in her building, Nizar. All three find themselves faced with challenges of their heritage. Can they overcome their differences?

Murrell tells a very heartwarming story about the journey of fitting into a new life. Girl of the Book is a perfect way to start the conversation rolling about these difficult topics.--Readers' Favorite

Girl of the Book by Princila Murrell is an interesting and engaging story about a South African family that moves to Saudi Arabia for the father’s two-year work assignment. I was concerned that this would be a preachy book for kids about how all Muslims are wonderful and all Christians are intolerant and arrogant, but I was pleasantly surprised by a balanced story line with realistic characters that struggle with real life situations.

The new-girl-in-school problems found in many tween and teen books are magnified in this book. Despite her parents’ careful instructions, Courtney still manages to violate cultural rules regularly, even though she tries not to cause trouble. Many of her classmates at school don’t help--and even work to get her into more trouble. Two young people, a girl and a boy, are the only ones kind to her. Unfortunately, their kindness to Courtney causes them problems with some family members and classmates, too.

This was a wonderful book that respected both religious traditions while showing how difficult it can be for the two cultures to understand one another. There are no objectionable elements, so parents can confidently hand this excellent story to young readers, even very young children who read well above grade level.--Kimberly, Hog on Ice

Her book has also been featured on other blogs:

• A Girl and Her Kindle
• Land of Children's Books

Oh, How They Come in Different Colours!

Abayas come in different shapes, sizes and colours. Traditionally, the abaya is black; however, when it's not simply black, it is classy, with crystals or embroidery;




or red;



or blue;



or purple;




or bi-coloured; 



or tri-coloured;



or even white!




Some say we should wear only black abayas.
"It will cause fitnah," they say.
Others disagree.
"The type of car that you or your husband owns, your job or money can also cause fitnah," they argue.
But at the end of the day, you've got to wear an abaya when you step out of your home.
What colour is it going to be?

Arabie saoudite: Quand est-il temps de partir?

La plupart des expatriés sont en Arabie Saoudite parce qu'ils veulent faire plus d'argent. Certaines personnes sont ici pour des raisons purement religieuses. (Vrai ou faux ?) Bien que ce soit le meilleur endroit pour un musulman de vivre, qu'est-ce que ce pays peut nous offrir ? Nos comptes bancaires sont surveillés, nous ne sommes pas censés avoir des emplois supplémentaires, ou même envoyer des sommes considérables d'argent à l'étranger. Ce qui irrite beaucoup plus certains expatriés c'est qu'ils ne peuvent pas acheter un appartement ou un terrain sans le concours d'un saoudien.

Certains musulmans ont l'intention de quitter l'Arabie Saoudite pour l'Occident! Pourquoi l'Occident quand nous savons ce que les musulmans pensent de l'Ouest ? Pourquoi l'Occident quand nous savons que le niveau de vie dans les pays occidentaux est beaucoup plus élevé que dans le royaume ? Voici les réponses de certains expatriés (je cite) :

« Je me sentais persécutée. J'ai publiée un article et j'ai été agressée verbalement pour avoir dit la vérité. Que pouvons-nous gagner lorsqu'un chercheur dans un milieu universitaire est menacé parce ce qu'il a publié ses données - des résultats honnêtes ? Comment est-ce que la recherche peut t'il avancer ? »

« Le système d'éducation est nulle. Tout un chacun qui n'arrive pas a trouver un travail peut être embaucher pour enseigner nos enfants. »
     
« Vous ne pouvez jamais être trop sûr que vous quitterez l'hôpital vivant lorsque vous êtes malade. Certains spécialistes sont loin d'être ceux qu'ils prétendent être. J'ai entendu parlé de médecins égyptiens qui achètent la MRCP sur le marché noir pour se présenter comme des médecins spécialiste afin de bénéficier de salaires élevés. Mince alors! »

« Nous sommes payés en fonction de la couleur de nos passeports. Je pensais que tout le monde était égal dans ce pays. J'étais très déçu quand j'ai observé le contraire. »

Y at-il quelque chose que vous contrarie en Arabie Saoudite ? Vous pouvez partagez vos impressions dans la section commentaires ci-dessous. En fait, il y a toujours des avantages et des inconvénients de vivre dans n'importe quel pays. Dans un article précédant, ja'i décrit les avantages de vivre en Arabie Saoudite (pour une femme, bien sûr).