Habibi [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Moving to live among people and languages that you or your friends have never seen or heard of; you never know it could happen to you. Liyana, the main character, moves with her family to Palestine. Her father grew up there and had always wanted to move back and visit his family. To the Abbouds their family is everything to them, they know everything and they support each other with all they do. Before moving to Palestine, they had to get rid of most of their belongings such as clothes, toys, and furniture. Moving to Palestine was scary for Liyana and her brother because they did not even know the language of the place they were going to move. First arriving in Palestine; meeting the rest of their cousins and grandparents was hard for them because to even understand what they were saying there had to be a translator around,(Liyana's dad). Liyana slowly grows and matures throughout the book, although she goes through many struggles, she seems to always come out a winner.

Between Liyana, her immediate family, and her extended family a great bond tied them collectively in love. At first she and her brother didn't desire to get close to their extended family because they didn't comprehend what they were saying or even their diverse views. Liyana and her brother Rafik did not keep an open mind; instead they decided what they thought of the people and they kept those views until further in the book. They should not have shaped those thoughts; that way they could have made more friends quicker. Unlike their parents they didn't accept what was going on in there knew lives, they should have tried harder to fit in. Moving is hard but is not unbearable if you try harder to make friends.

Although the book had a great theme, some parts of the book could have had more detail and there were some characters that didn't always seem correct. When the author started to write the book she should have added more detail and told more about the history of where Liyana and her family moved. Also the book jumps right into Liyana her family moving, and doesn't give enough detail about what all their friends were like and why they would miss them so much. Also when the book said that Liyana had gotten kissed, it didn't seem like something that would normally happen. Books always have there up and downs, parts of this book could have been written over again.

When reading a book, an opinion is normally made about how the book is written and if you should have started reading the book. I would not recommend this book to people who like exciting plots; Liyana is always going to different places and meeting knew people. This book didn't keep me interested through the whole thing. People who like slower and more "soap opera" like books would like this book better; it goes slower.

Most Americans have no clue about poorer countries outside the United States. Habibi, by Naomi Shihab Nye, is a teen fiction piece that goes into the life, and inside the mind, of a Palestinian teenager who learns that she is moving from her calm life in St. Louis to the bustling city of Palestine half way around the world. When Liyanna Abboud arrives in Tel Aviv, she immediately encounters the new environment. As the story goes along, we see change in Liyanna's normal way of life, just so she can fit into her new environment.

The book is biased in favor of the Palestinians. Views from Jews and Christians are left out. The book does a good job of always keeping the reader interested by bringing in new and interesting events in almost every chapter. Liyanna goes through more hard times in her first few months in Palestine then most Americans do in half a lifetime. I think that the book goes into too much detail, too fast about her new environment. It would be better if we would be able to know after a several years about how she has finally adapted to her new lifestyle, even if it was only during a chapter or two. In some parts of the book Naomi Nye explains about significant parts of the book without the usage of strong language. The book could have had a lot more power and could have been a lot more interesting if she used stronger words to describe significant parts of the book. For example, when Liyanna's grandmother's house is destroyed by Israelis to pave the way for more Jewish houses, Nye gives the reader the idea that it wasn't a real big deal. After only a few pages we lose track of what is going on with Liyanna's grandmother Sitti. When Sitti comes back later in the book Nye doesn't even talk about what's been going on since the tragedy.

Habibi is a fun and well-written book that kept me interested during the whole time I read it. I would recommend this book to the kind of person who wants to have more knowledge about biases and war in the Middle East. This would be a good book for classes studying the Middle East. I thought one of the most important parts that helped me really be able to understand the book was that I had the time to go into depth about the details.

Bombs exploding, violence breaking out in the streets: This is a stereotypical setting for how foreigners view Israel and Jerusalem. The majority of books written about the Palestinian and Israeli conflict only focus on the violence of the Middle Eastern country. Habibi, written by Naomi Shihab Nye, portrays a side of living in Jerusalem that many people neglect. The novel tells the tale about Liyanna, a fourteen-year-old girl from St. Louis, Minnesota, whose family decides to pack up and move to Jerusalem, her father's native city. Liyanna struggles to fit in with her large Arabic family, understand the cultural differences in the torn country, and deal with growing up and adolescence in general.
Habibi portrays life in Israel from a Palestinian's point of view. The stereotyped characters in the story still have to deal with the violence and strict laws that exist in Jerusalem. Habibi portrays mildly how difficult simple tasks are for Arabs in the West Bank, such as passing through hours of checkpoints just to get to work on time. However Nye fulfills her goal in presenting moving and at some points comedic writing about the difference between traditional Arab culture and United States more "modern" culture.
Nye provides the reader with the classic tales and torments of growing up with a twist. Habibi presents the troubles and confusion of love, hate, trying to fit in, and self-discovery that every teenager, mainly girls, go through. The story's setting in Israel adds a little pizzazz to the commonly heard story about the trials and tales of growing up and being a teenager, but the author does not delve deeply into how difficult life is in the country. At certain points the plot tends to drag on as Nye goes into unnecessary detail, however at certain times the story, seems rushed and very vague. Instead of boring the readers with details completely irrelevant to the plot, Nye should have helped the readers of Habibi understand the differences between cultures in Israel, delve deeper into different opinions about the conflict, and paint a clearer picture about life as a Palestinian in Israel.
Habibi is a great tale about the decisions and confusions about growing up and dealing with change. However the book does not delve very deeply into Palestinian culture and the Arab views of the conflict, which was one of the goals of the book. Nye barely skims the surface of the conflict in the region and the difficulty of living in the land torn in two. The story is inconsistent in the speed the author takes the reader through the book. It is however the classic tale of dealing with change and the troubles of teenage life. Readers who want a timeless tale about growing up and the changes that life brings should pick up Habibi and flip through it. However, those curious about the difficult lives of Palestinians in Israel and the traditional Arab culture should pick something else.