Customer Reviews

Where the Streets Had a Name

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When I was a child I had a very vague sense of global conflicts in other countries. Because of my Bloom County comics I knew a bit about apartheid in South Africa. Later as a teen I heard The Cranberries sing "Zombie" and eventually learned a bit about the troubles in Northern Ireland. The Israeli/Palestinian conflict, however, had a lousy pop culture PR department. Nowhere in the whole of my childhood did I encounter anything that even remotely explained the problems there. Heck it wasn't until college that I got an inkling of what the deal was. Even then, it was difficult for me to comprehend. Kids today don't have it much easier (and can I tell you how depressing it is to know that the troubles that existed when I was a child remain in place for children today?). They do, however, have a little more literature at their disposal. For younger kids there are shockingly few books. For older kids and teens, there are at least memoirs like Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood by Ibtisam Barakat or Palestine by Joe Sacco. What about the middle grade options? Historically there have been a couple chapter books covering the topic, but nothing particularly memorable comes to mind. Enter Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah. Written by the acclaimed author of the YA novel Does My Head Look Big In This?, Abdel-Fattah wades into waters that children's book publishers generally shy away from. Hers is the hottest of hot topics, but she handles her subject matter with dignity and great storytelling.

Hayaat was beautiful once. That's what her family would tell you. But since an accident involving the death of her best friend, she's remained scarred and, to be blunt, scared. Hayaat lives in Bethlehem in the West Bank in 2004. Her family occupies a too small apartment and is preparing for the wedding of Hayaat's sister Jihan. Unfortunately there are curfews to obey and constant checkpoints to pass. When Hayaat's beloved Sitti Zeynab grows ill, Hayaat decides to put away the past and do the impossible. She will travel to her grandmother's old home across the wall that divides the West Bank to bring some soil from in front of her old house. With her partner-in-crime Samy by her side, Hayaat reasons that the trip is attainable as it's just a few miles. What she doesn't count on, however, is the fact that for a Palestinian kid to make that trip, it may as well be halfway across the world. Hayaat, however, is determined and along the way she's able to confront some of the demons from her past.

In a lot of ways this book is a good old-fashioned quest novel. You have your heroine, battle scarred, sending herself into a cold cruel world to gain the impossible. That the impossible would be a simple sample of soil doesn't take anything away from the poignancy of her intent. By her side is her faithful sidekick, and along the way she meets a variety of different people. Some are bad, some are good, and all are human. So it's a quest novel, sure, but it's also a family dynamics novel. The story does a great job of making this an accessible novel to all kids so you believe in Hayaat's family through and through. From her overbearing mother to her silent father to her grandmother, caught up in dreams and memories. You care about these people. You desperately want a happy ending for them.

Needless to say, if a person writes a book about Palestinians for kids, be it a picture book or a novel, it's going to be considered a contentious subject. It's easy to avoid such subjects. Most middle grade does. Abdel-Fattah is to be commended for her guts then. Though her critics will try to find fault with her depictions of Israel, Abdel-Fattah's restraint is remarkable. There is a moment in this book when a curfew is in place and Hayaat peeks out at the streets at the Israeli soldiers patrolling there. She notes how young they are and how they must have families somewhere. That doesn't stop her from remembering how her best friend was killed with rubber bullets, of course. Later we hear the tale from Hayaat's grandmother of how she lost her home. When she and her husband went back, there were new residents living there. Through a translator they hear how the woman's family died in the Holocaust and there's that moment of feeling simultaneous pity and horror and anger. Regardless, one family has taken another family's home which is wrong and not a difficult thing to understand. What Abdel-Fattah does is continually show that everyone in this situation is human. You'll see similar techniques when authors write middle grade novels about Jim Crow in the American South. In those books you'll usually find one sympathetic white person in the midst of racists. Similarly, this novel has Mali and David, two Israeli's who object to the situation in the Middle East and have returned from their new country of residence to try and change things. Through their eyes you see that there is never a single way of thinking about something.

There are a lot of things I admire about this book but it's the humor I particularly respect. This book is chock full of situations that are not funny. Curfews are not funny. Dehumanization of citizens is not funny. But between these bad times are moments of levity. You care deeply about Hayaat and her family and the little snatches of dialogue we get between characters can be telling. At one point Hayaat's grandmother explains to her that husband was killed by getting run over by a car shortly after understanding that he'd never be able to return to his home. Hayaat interrupts by asking if he died of a broken heart. " `Yes, of course it was,' she says, looking confused. And every other part of his body. It was a big car'."

There were a couple practical storytelling elements I would have changed, had I the power. For example, the moment when Hayaat pours the Jerusalem soil over her grandmother's hands occurs on page 237. Yet we have a good seventy pages left to go at that point. Admittedly, there's a lot of backstory to sum up. There's Jihan's wedding and the street kid that convinces Samy that he might contain the key to getting out of this life. Still, it was surprising to get past the most exciting elements of the book only to find everything was to be slowly slowly rectified. Another thing I would have included was an Author's Note on the history of the region. The book sort of makes the assumption that kids are already aware of the history of Palestine and what it has been through. It assumes that they know why there are Israeli soldiers and checkpoints. Even a map of the region would have been important, particularly if it showed the remarkably short route Hayaat and Samy attempt to take. It would be interesting to hand this book to a kid who knew nothing about Israel/Palestine and see how much they comprehend. I suspect that this book would appeal to such kids with a yen for contemporary realistic fiction, but it would pair even better with taught units about Israel/Palestine today.

Getting kids to care about children like themselves in other countries is difficult. Getting kids to care about children in countries they may not have even heard of before is even more difficult. Certainly this book pairs beautifully with Barakat's aforementioned Tasting the Sky. Both books beautifully convey an untenable situation that cries out for resolution. Abdel-Fattah's book fills a massive gap in collections everywhere. This is a book worth reading. Hopefully lots of folks will.

For ages 9-12.

Hayaat is not your average thirteen year old; she will break laws and risk her life, and all for her ill grandmother.

Hayaat has grown up in Bethlehem but it is not where she was born. She is a Muslin and also a Palestinian, but most importantly she is a girl, a child living under occupation in the West Bank. Her life is a mixture of good days; going to school or skipping it to spend time with her friend Samy, and bad days; being locked in her home during curfew with her family for days on end.

The past is a scary place for many, filled with loss and heartache, and Hayaat has not been spared from this; she carries the scares of the past with her. People cling to their memories and to each other to survive, but despite all there is love and life, shopping and gossip. Although for many the future seems bleak and devoid of hope, life goes on, and so does their dream for freedom.

This is a story that is not often told. It is about more then just survival, it's about hope, and courage, and the enduring human spirit. A simple yet beautifully written story that is incredibly moving and passionately honest.

Where the streets had a name by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Reviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews.

Thirteen-year-old Hayaat is on a mission. She believes a handful of soil from her grandmother's ancestral home in Jerusalem will save her beloved Sitti Zeynab's life. The only problem is the impenetrable wall that divides the West Bank, as well as the checkpoints, the curfews, and Hayaat's best friend Samy, who is always a troublemaker. But luck is on their side. Hayaat and Samy have a curfew-free day to travel to Jerusalem. However, while their journey is only a few kilometers long, it may take a lifetime to complete. (Synopsis provided good reads)

This is a middle-grade book that should appeal to tweens wanting to learn about the conflict in Israel. This book does a wonderful job in showing what life is like over there, but it never felt preachy. I never felt like the Author was saying that all Israelis or all Palestinians are bad. Which is good, with conflicts such as this one, a lot times people can be preachy and bias, but I never felt like this was the case.

The book does a good job in making it age appropriate while also allowing children to ask their parents questions about life in the middle east. The book shows how no matter what country people are from they can still care about each other and still want to make a difference.

Over all rating.
*** 3 out of 5 stars
Cover art:
I like hoe it has a drawing for the cover art.
Obtained:
I won a copy from the publisher via good reads. Thank you

WHERE THE STREETS HAD A NAME opens in 2004, in Bethlehem on the West Bank, as 13-year-old Hayaat and her family prepare to leave their over-crowded house for an over-crowded grocery store. They have two hours to find and buy food and other necessities and return home.

After being uprooted from their larger home several years earlier, Hayaat, her parents, siblings and 86-year-old grandmother, Sitti Zeynab, live in a two-bedroom house in a poor neighborhood of Bethlehem. As part of their daily routine, Hayaat and her family must deal with pushing and shoving crowds, scarcity of goods, long lines, official identity papers, and military checkpoints.

Sitti, who prays and passes gas a lot, has a special influence on Hayaat. She tells stories about life before their family was forced to leave behind their Jerusalem home and possessions. After her beloved grandmother collapses and is taken to the hospital, Hayaat decides to go to Jerusalem and "climb those stone stairs, touch the hills where Sitti Zeynab and her sister danced on their wedding days."

Hayaat, whose face is disfigured by a scar, and Samy, a classmate who has a knack for getting into trouble, are an unlikely pair. Hayaat is Muslim and Samy is Christian, yet they are best friends. They skip school and take a special journey through war-torn territory, where they see blindfolded prisoners, armed soldiers and concrete walls topped by barbed wire. During their long and perilous trip, they meet fellow travelers, including an American-Israeli couple and a young boy desperately in need of friends.

In WHERE THE STREETS HAD A NAME, award-winning author Randa Abdel-Fattah paints a compassionate picture of the sights, sounds, smells and sorrows of a Palestinian family whose daily lives are governed by curfews, long lines, checkpoints and travel permits. Respect for family, especially elders, and the importance of food and hospitality are common elements throughout the book, which ends on a hopeful note. In addition, the Glossary of Arabic Words enhances the understanding of the Arabic terms used throughout the novel.

WHERE THE STREETS HAD A NAME should appeal to middle-grade readers curious to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and gain insight into a different culture.

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt

Randa Abdel-Fattah's WHERE THE STREETS HAD A NAME tells of teen Hayaat, on a mission to save her beloved Sitti Zeynab's life. But she and her family live on the wrong side of Bethlehem: how can she journey from Bethlehem to Jerusalem and make a difference?

Where the Streets Had a Name is a highly politicized story targeted at ages 9 through 12 from the Australian-Muslim author of the popular teen novel, Does My Head Look Big in This?. Its mandate is clear throughout the book: to describe the difficulties of Palestinian life on the West Bank. Told in the voice of Hayaat, a young girl coming of age, the reader learns the essence of the Palestinian narrative of displacement which occurred in the Israel's 1948 War for Independence. Many Arab families, such as Hayaat's beloved grandmother's, fled their homes near Jerusalem, keeping the keys, and expecting to return after the war was over, when the Israelis would be defeated. Grandmother Sitti relates her torment and nostalgia for the village lost to her, and on her deathbed, she proclaims her one wish to touch the soil from her old home one last time before she dies. Adventurous thirteen-year-old Hayaat decides that she will make the trek from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to accomplish this task, although of course, due to the present day political environment, this proves to be quite a challenge. When Sitti considers the Jewish family (Holocaust survivors), who now live in her old home, she states, "That woman who stole my home must also have kissed and played with her children. Like me she knew pain and suffering and the torment of losing one's family and home." Of an Arab neighbor who is mean to his son, she says: "Even those capable of love and kindness can be unjust. And even those who are the victims of injustice can be cruel and incapable of love." We see the effect of the checkpoints and the curfews on daily life, and the sadness Hayaat's parents now carry around. The author's agenda is evident: everyone around Hayaat has been robbed by the Israelis in some way or another, whether of land, happiness, peace of mind or freedom. Even her best friend, Samy has a father in jail and is growing up resentful and parent-less. Despite the unhappiness around her, the author portrays Hayaat as trying to keep a reasonable perspective, to understand that beneath the conflict lie real people with more in common than they realize. Two Israeli peace activists help her navigate across the separation barrier, which is prominently featured in the cover art of the book. The level of political discussion here is far too advanced for 9-12 year olds, and any teenage reader of this book would require particular knowledge of historical facts about the Middle East conflict to consider what has been left out by the author. But beyond the one-sided political discourse in the novel, the characters feel wooden and their dialogue, for the most part, feels stiff and unnatural. As a result, Abdel-Fattah's latest book drags and feels like a laborious read peopled by characters of little depth.