Tasneem Abdur-Rashid explores identity and belonging in Odd Girl Out
About Author
Tasneem Abdur-Rashid is a British Bengali writer born and raised in London. Odd Girl Out is her YA debut, a story about identity, faith and finding your place in your world.
A mother of two, Tasneem has worked across media, PR and communications both in the UK and in the UAE. As well as YA novels, Tasneem writes adult novels, including Finding Mr Perfectly Fine and The Thirty Before Thirty List. She co-hosts the award-winning podcast Not Another Mum Pod and is also a phenomenal home cook.
Interview
June 2025
Tasneem Abdur-Rashid introduces her YA debut, Odd Girl Out (David Fickling Books)
Tasneem Abdur-Rashid's contemporary YA debut, Odd Girl Out, draws on the author's experiences and culture to explore themes of community, faith and intolerance, and finding your place in the world.
Odd Girl Out: When 15-year-old Maaryah moves with her mum from Dubai to Essex, she experiences bullying and struggles to fit in to her new school, and to a home life that is vastly different from her privileged existence in Dubai.
Read a Chapter from Odd Girl Out
Review: "Well written and thought-provoking, Odd Girl Out is an insight into family life and the importance of good friends."
ReadingZone's Q&A with Tasneem Abdur-Rashid
"I enjoy writing books that explore my culture and community, so that people like me can feel seen in the books that they read,
and people who aren't like me, can hopefully enjoy learning and exploring a different way of life."
1. Thank you for joining us on ReadingZone to talk about your new YA novel, Odd Girl Out. Can you start by telling us a little about yourself, and how you started writing for young people?
My name's Tasneem Abdur-Rashid and I'm a British Bengali mum, writer, avid reader, podcaster and an amateur cook and baker! I have a terribly un-creative day job which is fantastic because it lets me save my creativity for what I enjoy most - which is writing stories.
I didn't intentionally set out to write for young people. During my MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck University of London, we spent a couple of weeks exploring the YA genre and I fell in love with it immediately. For our homework, we had to write a thousand words in the YA style - which I did, and these few pages later became my inspiration for Odd Girl Out.
I enjoy writing books that explore my culture and community, so that people like me can feel seen in the books that they read, and people who aren't like me, can hopefully enjoy learning and exploring a different way of life.
2. What happens in your new book, Odd Girl Out?
Odd Girl Out is about a 15-year-old girl called Maaryah who is born and raised in Dubai, and who moves to Essex with her mum after her parents split up under mysterious circumstances. It's a book about family, friendships, faith and finding your place in the world - with a dash of romance and heaps of drama!
3. How much did you draw on your own British-Bengali heritage and personal experiences - good and bad - when writing Odd Girl Out?
Odd Girl Out was originally inspired by my niece, Maaryah, who made the massive move from Dubai to the UK and struggled with navigating her new life and figuring out where she fit in. But as I started writing it, I found myself drawing inspiration from everywhere - from my own experiences growing up as one of a handful of hijabis in my area of north London, to my friends and my family, to last year's race riots in the UK, international and national politics, what's happening right now in Gaza, and so on.
There are certainly events in the book that either I've experienced myself, or someone I know has, such as my name being mis-pronounced or mis-spelt, my mum having her hijab pulled off her head, having random strangers call me a Paki or other derogatory terms, being told I'd look prettier without hijab etc.
4. Why did you want to explore religion and identity for young Muslims through this story, including for example what wearing the hijab means to Maaryah?
Through the various themes in the book, I hope readers reflect on the complexities of belonging and the strength found in community. I wanted to show that Muslims are not a monolith - there are almost 2 billion Muslims in the world and not every Muslim practises their faith in the same way.
Growing up, I definitely experienced similar feelings as Maaryah in the book - like feeling different from everyone, struggling to fit in, feeling like I was being misunderstood or targeted, but at the same time, feeling inspired and almost defiant and refusing to conform to make others feel more comfortable with the way I dress!
I also wanted to explore family dynamics, and how family can be both a refuge and a challenge, and highlight that Islamophobia is a real struggle that demands awareness and action. Ultimately, I want readers to walk away with a deeper sense of empathy and a willingness to engage with different perspectives and think more critically about the world and people around them.
5. Was it important to you to explore the bullying and racism that young Muslims can face, even at school, like Maaryah does? Do you feel that raising issues like these through fiction can help young people address what they might experience in their real lives?
Yes, it was very important to me to explore the bullying and racism that young Muslims like Maaryah can face, even in environments that are supposed to feel safe, like school. I wanted to show that these experiences are, sadly, a reality for many young people, and that they can be incredibly isolating and painful. I hope that readers who might be going through something similar might find comfort in Odd Girl Out, and know that they're not alone and that their experiences are valid.
I believe that fiction can be a powerful way to raise these issues because it allows readers to step into someone else's shoes. Through storytelling, young people can not only see their own struggles reflected back at them but also gain understanding and empathy for experiences that may be different from their own. Books have a unique ability to open up conversations and encourage dialogue and critical thinking, which is so important when it comes to tackling bullying, racism, and discrimination.
6. Family is a big part of Odd Girl Out, including a broken family but also Maaryah's close extended family. Why does family play such a big part in the story?
Family has always been at the heart of my life, so it felt natural to make it a big part of Maaryah's story too. I come from a huge Bengali family where everyone is closely involved in each other's lives - sometimes in wonderful ways, sometimes in complicated ones - and I wanted to reflect that real, messy, beautiful dynamic.
In my culture, family isn't just important; it's everything. Writing about a British Bengali character without showing that deep sense of connection, and sometimes chaos, would have felt incomplete. It was important for me to honour that reality in Odd Girl Out.
7. Why did you decide to give Maaryah a privileged background before she arrives in England, where circumstances are much more difficult for her? How did you explore what life might be like for newcomers to the UK?
British expats in Dubai often live very privileged lives, and it can be a real adjustment when moving back to the UK. I experienced this myself when I returned to London from Dubai, as did my niece, who was born and raised there. Most stories about moving to the UK focus on experiences of coming from poverty or fleeing conflict, but I wanted to explore the flipside - to tell a different kind of story about what happens when you move here from a life of affluence, and the challenges that come with that shift.
8. We get to see Dubai through Maaryah's eyes, and we learn about her way of life there; is this a city you know well? Do we see your favourite haunts through Maaryah's story?
Yes, I know Dubai very well. I lived there for seven years myself, my sister lived there for around 13 years, and my brother still lives there - so even though I'm back in the UK now, I visit regularly. I would say that the places mentioned in the book are more my favourite places, than Maaryah's!
9. What was your favourite part of Maaryah's story to write? Do you plan to continue her story? Are you planning or writing more books for young people?
I honestly loved writing the whole book - it came very naturally to me. I suppose my favourite scene was the party scene - it's filled with so much teen drama, angst and excitement. I would love to write more books for young people and I have an idea for one that I'm currently exploring with my agent and editor.
10. What do you most enjoy doing in your down-time?
What down time? (Insert sweating emoji here!) My life is super hectic, with my day job, my children, my big fat Bengali family, writing… but whenever I get a free moment I'm usually doing something food related - I'm either watching a cooking show, trying out a new recipe, or visiting a new restaurant! Or... collapsing on the sofa with a good movie/book and lots of snacks!
Odd Girl Out
