Habibi [Paperback]

Naomi Shihab Nye (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 1, 1999)
• ASIN: B001I7YY06
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,636,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Naomi Shihab Nye, poet, essayist, anthologist, has been a recipient of writing fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation and the Witter Bynner Foundation/Library of Congress. Author of more than twenty volumes, her recent books inc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An original and brilliantly written story, August 13, 2000

By 

Alex Chapman (South London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Habibi (Mass Market Paperback)

Every summer I come to the States for my summer holidays however, this year I came alone for the first time, so my Nana joined her local library so I could have some reading material to keep me occupied. The first book I picked up was Habibi which I read the first few pages of and loved the way the author told the story of a young girl in her early teens like myself who moved with her family to a country extremely far from her hometown St. Louis. A stranger to this new life in Palestine, Liyana learns the tragic truth of hatred between the Arabs and the Jews. Being an Arab makes her friendship with Omer who is Jewish extremely hard to maintain. I thoroughly recommend this book to young adults.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Habibi: A teen's guide to Arab-Israeli conflict, April 22, 2004

By 

"ejz99" (Chagrin Falls, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Habibi (Mass Market Paperback)

Habibi, by Naomi Shihab Nye, is a thrilling adventurous book, taking place in Palestine (Israel) when Liyana and her family move there from St. Louis. Her Poppy is from Palestine and had left his family back there to move to the US. Liyana has one brother, Rafik, and her mother and father. Liyana's grandmother, Sitti, is the head of the extended family, teaching Liyana the ways of all Palestinian girls. When arriving in Palestine, Liyana is surprised when she is greeted with tons of hugs and kisses. While exploring Palestine, she meets a young boy named Omer who is hiding his identity as an Israeli. Poppy, having lived through the conflict, isn't too happy about Liyana meeting an Israeli friend. Omer is very kind to Liyana, and later on, gives Liyana her second kiss, another milestone in her life.
I enjoyed this book because it was not quite a biography, but it thoroughly explained Liyana and her family and everything going on.
While reading the book, I noticed that character development played a huge part. Later, she became very mature about moving to Palestine and understood how her father missed Palestine and the daily life. She developed into a working member of the society. Without character development, the reader would not have been able to understand how Liyana felt throughout her experiences.
Throughout the book, there was a little bias towards the Arabs, but not a lot, which was good because this book shouldn't have any bias. The book was very strong in analyzing the conflict in the region. I didn't feel any bias towards the Israelis or the Arabs while reading this book. I would definitely recommend this book to any teenager who is interested in the Arab-Israeli conflict, who doesn't know the side of any Arab. You get to realize the everyday life of your everyday Arab. The Arabs are not all suicide bombers and many would appreciate peace as much as any Israeli would. Before I read this book, I was totally for all Israelis and wouldn't even consider any of the Palestinians to be innocent. But after reading this book, I understood the life of Arabs, and consider them when I read all of the news going on in the Middle East. Habibi is an interesting book and would definitely fit the requirement of your basic school curriculum, to give kids an idea of what's going on in the world. If kids can know what's going on in the world, they can relate to the conflicts occurring in the world. The children of the world are the future of the United States and must know what is going on in the world.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing piece of literature, June 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Habibi (Mass Market Paperback)

Habibi, by Naomi Nye, is a wonderful, well-written book. I had to read this for school, and I was reluctant at first, but when I picked it up I couldn't stop reading! It centers around Liyana Abboud, a half-American half-Palestinian girl growing up in St. Louis. When her father Poppy tells the family that they are moving to Jerusalem, Liyana is anything but happy. She is an outsider in her new school and her entire family in Jerusalem speaks a foreign language she doesn't understand. Then she meets Omer, a Jewish boy, and begins a forbidden friendship with him. Other characters in this book include Khaled and Nadine, two children living in a neighboring refugee camp; Rafik, Liyana's younger brother; and Sitti, Liyana's grandmother who speaks no English.

I love the way this book was written. It reads like one long, flowing poem (and the short chapters don't hurt, either). The style is so new and refreshing. One of the sentences reads: "In St. Louis, Liyana's room had been painted a deep, delicious color called 'raisin.'" This is an excellent, original book that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

However, some of the issues in Habibi deal with the ongoing hatred and violence between the Palenstinians and Jews, so take that into mind. But if you're looking for action and adventure, I would recommend another book.

All in all, Habibi is a wonderful, fresh book that I think deserves to be read.