Habibi

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Nye, Naomi Shihab. 1997. HABIBI. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689801491

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Liyana is an Arab-American 14 year old girl living in St. Louis with her parents and brother, Rafik. One day after Liyana’s first kiss, her parents inform them that they will be moving to their father’s homeland of Jerusalem. Liyana is heartbroken to know she will have to leave her friends and culture and customs she knows. As the story progresses, Liyana starts up a friendship with Omar, a Jewish boy, and then begins to fall in love with him. Through the story Liyana faces many struggles with cultural differences which helps her remain strong and embrace her heritage.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
HABIBI, written by Naomi Shihab Nye, has won the Jane Addams Children’s Book award and the American Library Association Notable Books for Children. Nye brings authenticity to this story because she has lived both in America and the Middle East giving her first hand knowledge of the cultures within. Nye gives her readers a vivid description of the village outside the city, “The dusky green of olive trees planted in terraced rows up hillsides, walls of carefully stacked stone, and old wells with real wooden buckets.” (Nye 52) Other cultural markers include the religious practices such as the muezzin which gave the call to prayer on a loudspeaker from the Mosque in the village that Sitti lives in. Nye examines the physical descriptions of the characters. Dr. Kamal is described as “rumpled black hair and dark eyes.” Liyana’s mother as “long brown hair, which she usually wore pulled back in a straight ponytail, and hazel eyes.” Liyana is described as, “a half-half American girl with Arab eyes and her and her brother as both looking more like their Palestinian father than their American mother.
There are also cultural customs addressed. An example is when Liyana meets Omer, a young Jewish boy and finds out that dating is not allowed, “It’s inappropriate for a girl to invite a boy anywhere in this part of the world.” (Nye 229) To further complicate their developing relationship the violence and mistrust that exist between Palestinians and Jews cultures makes it more difficult. Another custom included when Liyana’s relatives prayed, “they unrolled small blue prayer rugs from a shelf, then knelt, stood, and knelt again touching their foreheads to the ground, saying their prayers in low voices.” (Nye 52) Throughout the story there are Arabic and Jewish words integrated to help bring authenticity to the text such as booza (ice cream), shiva (a time when family members remove their shoes, do not leave the house and mirrors are covered to mourn the dead. One important cultural difference that is clearly portrayed is the strife between the Arabs, Jews, and Palestinians. These differences have created conflicts between these groups causing bombings, attacks, and imprisonment. Due to all the tension between these groups Liyana learns first hand when her dad is falsely imprisoned for a day because he was trying to help Khaled after being shot by soldiers. Through all the struggles and cultural changes, Liyana begins to realize she is no longer homesick for the U.S. and begins to feel at home in Jerusalem.
The cover of the book illustrates three people who each bring a variety of beliefs. It portrays Omer who is in a yellow checked shirt, Liyanna who is in her American clothes and Sitta, her grandmother who is wearing the traditional Arabic clothing.
This story is written which conveys anger, passion and fear which will grab any reader’s attention and keep their interest all the way through.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT (S)

Booklist: “The story is steeped in detail about the place and cultures: food, geography, history, shopping, schools, languages, religions, etc. Just when you think it is obtrusive to have essays and journal entries thrust into the story, you get caught up in the ideas and the direct simplicity with which Nye speaks.”

Publisher’s Weekly: “This soul-stirring novel about the Abbouds, an Arab American family, puts faces and names to the victims of violence and persecution in Jerusalem today.”

Kirkus Review: “Liyana's romance with an Israeli boy develops warmly, and readers are left with hope for change and peace as Liyana makes the city her very own.”

5. CONNECTION
Nye, Shihab Naomi. WORDS UNDER THE WORDS; SELECTED POEMS. ISBN 9780933377295
Nye, Shihab Naomi. WHAT HAVE YOU LOST. ISBN 9780380733071
Nye, Shihab Naomi. THE FLAG OF CHILDHOOD: POEMS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST. ISBN 9780689851728