Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow [Library Binding]

Faiza Guene (Author), Sarah Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2008

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

--This text refers to an alternate Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

College-aged Guène was raised by Algerian immigrant parents in a Parisian housing project; in her debut novel, a French bestseller, 15-year-old Doria and her illiterate mother, having been abandoned by Doria's alcoholic father, are stuck in a Paris housing project called the Paradise. Dependent on welfare and subjected to the obligatory succession of social workers, the two are determined to face forward, despite Doria's sense of doomed mektoub (destiny), where gradual improvement (French: kiffe kiffe) gets flattened by the same old quotidian (Arabic: kif-kif). Doria, perpetually failing at school, begins a job babysitting a neighbor's much-adored four-year-old daughter, and Doria's mother begins literacy courses. A smart older boy, Nabil, is enlisted to tutor Doria, and she soon recognizes the potential of someone with dreams (as opposed to neighborhood teens like Hamoudi and Youssef, imprisoned for drug dealing and car theft). Throughout, the strictures of patriarchal Muslim culture clash with a nascent feminist freedom and Doria's exuberant, sophisticated teen talk. This small novel reads like a quiet celebration within a chaotic ghetto. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Booklist

In the rough Paris housing projects, Doria, 15, a child of Muslim immigrant parents, sets her soap-opera dreams against the grim daily struggle, even as she does sometimes find the bold and the beautiful in herself and in her neighborhood. "It's like a film script. . . . Trouble is, our scriptwriter's got no talent. And he's never heard of happily ever after." Author Guene, 19, has grown up in the neighborhood she writes about, and her irreverent commentary never denies how hard it is. The first-person contemporary narrative, translated from the French, is touching, furious, sharp, and very funny. Since Doria's dad moved back to Morocco to marry again (he wants a son), Mom cleans hotel rooms, and Doria wants to drop out of school. The boy she loves is in trouble with drugs and loves someone else. Honest about the oppression of women and about the prejudice, both ways, Guene also shows those who break free. Much like enduring the pain of her wisdom teeth, she discovers that "it hurts to learn." Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 156 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1435281926
• ISBN-13: 978-1435281929
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

More About the Author

FAIZA GUENE, the child of Algerian immigrants, grew up in the public housing projects of Pantin, outside Paris. She is the author of KIFFE KIFFE TOMORROW and SOME DREAM FOR FOOLS.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars poignant and appealing, August 16, 2006

By 

E. M. Bristol "bibliophile" (boston, mass) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow (Paperback)

First off, may I just say how happy I was to learn the author was 19 when she wrote this, after Kaavya Viswanathan's plagiarism was excused because of her age, as if it's impossible for a young writer to write an original story without "internalizing" half a dozen other (better) books. This is patronizing and untrue.

Anyway, (getting off my soapbox) the book is a coming of age novel about a Moroccan teenager whose father has left her and her mother, and who lives in a low income part of France. The heroine's economic situation is the polar opposite of Holden Caulfield's so her cynicism about her future doesn't come across as a pose. Things are bleak all around, but eventually, they improve for her and her mother. To tell more would be giving away too much for the book is fairly short.

The book is compulsively readable, and Doria, the heroine, is an engaging and perceptive narrator. However, there were a few flaws. When I read a novel, I expect the scenes to eventually build up to a climax, rather than just be strung together. With this book, it felt like things improved a bit, the narrator told us (rather than the author showing) that she was now more optimistic and then it ended, just like that. It felt like the author got called away for dinner mid-scene and never went back to wrap things up in a more cohesive manner. The heroine seemed to jump from pessimism to optimism rather abruptly, rather than growing progressively happier. But the reader won't begrudge her, her better fortune.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting book, August 26, 2006

By 

Naomi F. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow (Paperback)

This book is captivating and very interesting both for its topic and timing. The book illustrates what it means to be a Muslim immigrant living in Europe from the perspective of a teenager. It is funny and sad at times. I recommend this to anyone who wants to understand the complex relationships between religions and cultures in today's world.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be incorporated in multi-cultural curricula from 8th to 12th grades, August 3, 2006

By 

Kenita Jalivay (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow (Paperback)

I am both an English teacher and an international traveler. During my travels, I have visited France six times with the intentions of not only seeing the magnificent historical landmarks, but also to interact intimately with the various communities and cultures that I encounter there. Based on my experiences and relationships with people of North African Arab descent in Paris, Guene's "Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow" honestly examines the stark, painful reality of being broke, Arab, and a girl in a society that alienates people of color (unless you are an American - that's a whole different story, though), and within a male-dominated culture that sometimes regards females as inferior beings. The amount of hopelessness born of a scenario like this one can be bone-crushing, and yet Guene's protagonist - neglected by her father, ridiculed by some of the neighbors because she wears thrift shop clothes, and who resides directly outside of Paris, but doesn't feel any rays from the City of Light shining on her - struggles to clutch on to some slivers of joy that most people would probably just take for granted.

Overall, the beauty of Guene's story, though, is that it transcends the limitations placed on her life as a poor Arab girl in France. We feel Doria's angst over getting her first kiss, which definitely wasn't scripted in some Hollywood fairytale. We can also feel her father's abandonment - and underneath it, the searing rage - that she strives to overcome as she encourages her mother to get an education, and tries to do the same herself. These ideas are so universal, and most young people can relate (heck, as a 30 year-old woman, I can still relate! :) In an age of Arab-bashing, it's nice to see the perspective of a young Arab woman receive positive international attention. Bravo to Guene! She wrote this bestseller at 19...that fact alone inspires me to really encourage my students to write, write, write. Reaching out through writing opens so many doors, and Guene is a living witness.

I am a believer that all of our humanity is closely linked. From Paris to Parris Island, the concepts of hope, dreams, family, identity, first love, alienation, emotional hunger, and longing for something more from life resonate within us all and inextricably bind us together.

In my professional and personal opinion, I would definitely advocate for this novel to be included in school curricula. Not only is it a current treatise on the state of growing up in today's mind-boggling world, but it also deals with that issue from a fresh, diverse, and international perspective. I think that "Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow" CAN and WILL teach young people to see for themselves just how much we all really have in common instead of high-lighting our differences.