HABIBI

Rating:
Summary: An interesting and time-well-spent book
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Habibi Book Review
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The great book of love, hate and good times
Review: Grades 5-8. "Liyana started thinking of the word immigrant in a different way at that moment and her skin pricked. Now she would be an immigrant (Habibi 5)." Liyana, who is the main character in the book Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye, has to move from St. Louis, Missouri to Jerusalem, Israel in the Middle East. At first she doesn't want to go because she doesn't want to change anything, she likes what she has. When she gets to Israel she is surprised at how beautiful the scene is in Israel, but still she thinks she could never fit in. She is upset about moving until she meets a nice Jewish boy in town named Omer. There is only one problem, Liyana is Arab, Omer is Jewish, and Liyana's dad doesn't want her to get involved with other religions because she or that other person could be killed.
Nye uses a lot of bias towards the Palestinians in her book Habibi. When a bomb goes off in a market place, the Israeli solders automatically think that a Palestinian did it. So the solders go into a refugee camp for the Palestinians and they shoot a Palestinian because they thought that he bombed the Israeli market place. This is in the book to show that the Israelis are also as violent as the Palestinians. It also shows that Palestinians don't start everything that happens it the Middle East. Habibi has a great start with lots of description and strong feelings of what they think. The end of the book though isn't very good because it ends abruptly. It ends in a way where the problems that the characters still have don't get solved.
The characters throughout the book change a lot. For example Liyana, at first doesn't accept anything that comes her way. When her dad tells her that they are moving to Israel, and she doesn't want to move. She doesn't accept what her parents want to do and what they think is best for her. But towards the end she respects her parents' decisions and lives with what is thrown her way. Poppy, Liyana's dad also changes for the better. At the beginning of the book he is really protective of Liyana and doesn't want her to take any chances. But once they move to Israel he starts to let her go a little and lets her take chances. Now she is taking chances by meeting new people and getting to know them a little. The person that helps Poppy change is Liyana's mom. She understands what it's like to be held on to and understands that she needs freedom. She helps Poppy change his views towards other people and religions.
Habibi is a great book for a middle school class read. It shows that people can and do get along with other religions and people in the Middle East. Habibi is for YA and is also a good independent read. The beginning is well written because there is a lot of description and feeling that is explained. The end isn't very good because of it ends abruptly, but the overall book is very well thought out and explained from a Middle Eastern point of view.

Rating:
Summary: Habibi
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Book to Read
Review: Love, religion, new places, fear. Liyana Abboud is full of these feelings and thoughts throughout her life in Jerusalem. Though her family has just moved there from Saint Louis, Liyana has found herself in love with her strange new home where people and customs are nothing like the used to be. Liyana starts school in an Armenian school, while her father starts his job at the hospital and her brother and mother settle in. At her school, Liyana starts to learn the Arabic language, and makes time at lunch to roam the Arabic streets. There, she meets new people (like a banana seller) and a boy that changes her view of her new home forever. She overcomes challenges of fitting in and the new feelings of hatred from people that see her as an Arab-American. From not being about to wear shorts and getting her father out of jail, Liyana pushes ever challenge to her limit.
This book is a great story of adolescence and of the Arabic culture. The author shows the streets and ways of Israel, while at the same time, telling an exciting story of a teenage girl's life and relationships. This book shows the hatred between the Israelis and Arabs, and how a few kind actions can change a person forever. Though the book is slightly biased against Israeli solders, and shows them as cruel and violent when they try to kill one of Liyana's best friends Khaled, the author ends with love and friendship between an Arab community and a young Jewish boy. This friendship shows the hope of a better future in Jerusalem and that peace shall come. You are guided through the streets of an ordinary Arab town, and learn about the culture and food of a traditional Arab family. The book shows bravery from the characters as they overcome the challenges of biases and serotypes towards the Jews and Arabs.
The author works hard to give an exiting story of a teenage girl living in a new world. Not only does the book portray biases and problems in the world, but it is a fun story of a girl's life and feels. You get to read a interesting book to pass the time, and learn about a new culture at the same time. It is a quick read that is suitable for any age from 10-17. I would recommend to anyone that would like to read an enjoyable book about the life of an Arab family. If you are offended in any way by the hateful feels toward Israelis and Arabs, this book might not be for you. Either way, there is nothing like it, and is worth the time spent to read it. Not only has it won the hearts of readers like myself, but it deserves the many awards it has received, like the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the ALA Best Book for Young Adults award. Habibi truly is an amazing book.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting and time-well-spent book
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: DONT READ THIS BOOK, IT WASNT VERY GOOD
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Habibi is Not a Grabber
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Sappy, boring love story, with bad setting
Review: Naomi Shihab Nye's book Habibi is the tale of a young American girl named Liyana Abboud, who is uprooted and moved to Palestine. Although bombs, death, and explosions normally portray this area, in this book it is portrayed an almost peaceful place that has segregation and racism problems, and is populated by normal people. The story begins when Liyana and her family are in St. Louis living a very happy life, and Liyana gets her first "real" kiss. That same night her father announces that his family is moving to his homeland, Palestine. When they get there, the Abbouds see only the scary things about Palestine; the Israeli guards searching them a lot, desolate grounds, and a very different kind of family than they are used to. As time goes on, most of the negative feelings about the strange land leave, replaced by hopes and a determination to make the best of their current situation.
Habibi has a very promising start, with a lot of emotion, and plot twists. There are also many flashbacks that keep the story interesting. These flashbacks introduce you to almost all the main characters and shows their inner struggles as they handle the news of the sudden move. But as the story progresses, it begins to get confusing. For example; when the Abbouds arrive in Palestine and are confronted by their family, I didn't understand what was happening and whom it was happening to. Later in the story Liyana meets a Jewish boy and falls in love. This is a taboo in Palestinian culture because of an ancient rivalry. This causes some inner conflict within Liyana whether to tell people or not, and whether to continue to see him or not. The scenes with Omer, the boy Liyana likes, are cheesy and boring. On the other hand, this book was pretty good with bias issues. Although the story is told from the perspective of a Palestinian teen, it doesn't cast a really bad image on either the Palestinian group of people, or the Israeli group of people. This is because of the love between Liyana and Omer.
I would not recommend this book to anyone who is not a strong reader. This is because many of the parts you have to think about for a while to understand and it takes a long time to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sappy love stories. I do this because of the many scenes between Liyana and Omer and how they overcome diversities and find a way to be together. Except for the start the book was confusing and sappy, which, without any action whatsoever, and isn't a very good book. I would have rather seen some action in this book between the Israelis and Palestinians to show how difficult the relationship between Liyana and Omer would actually be now.

Rating:
Summary: A Fun Quick Read
Review: She really didn't want to move. How could she move to a new country, culture, language, and continent, while leaving her normal American life behind? Written by Naomi Nye, Habibi portrays the life of Liyana Abboud, a teenaged Arab-American, who moves to Palestine when her father wants to work in his hometown. Liyana has to adjust her own ideas and traditions to fit in a very different life of a Palestinian. While learning a new language, and going to a new school, Liyana becomes very close to her odd grandmother, Sitti. Breaking several Muslim laws, Liyana also comes to love a Jewish boy, Omer, which she has to keep secret. She always wonders if she can finally adjust to the strange traditions of her Muslim family and culture, but in the end, Liyana's life turns out just right. The overall theme of this book is subtly informing readers of Muslim/Palestinian culture, while captivating them with adventure, suspense, and romance. Readers will also be pleased in the variety of distinctiveness in the characters. While smaller parts tend to become dry, the main characters always liven up the chapters.
Overall, the book is very informative, and usually remaining interesting to the reader. The novel is also sprinkled with facts about Islamic culture, while also explaining the importance of keeping an open mind. Aimed towards teenagers, this book will also help learning about different cultures, including those not as common in the United States. Just like the audience, Liyana is not used to Muslim tradition. The plot of the book flows straight from one idea to another, so it creates a quick read. However, this novel is not as deep as one would hope. Just barely touching topics like Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and only describing the effects, creates a shallow explanation. One example is how a Palestinian house is raided by Israeli soldiers, but the book hardly explains why this happens. This read is very pro-Palestinian, and even though there is a Jewish character, Israeli view is not often presented. As Liyana is a Palestinian, along with most of her family and friends, their ideas and experiences are mostly the only ones told. This includes their religion and their bias against the Israelis. Throughout the book, however, tolerance of the other religions and cultures mature and grow.
Because of the easy to understand and colorful language, plot, and characters, it is easy to see why Habibi is such a great read for young adults everywhere. I recommend this novel to readers who enjoy current events, as well as teen novels. However, readers above the age of sixteen may not like this book as much, as emotional issues involving the Middle East and experiences are not very detailed or deep. Habibi is a wonderful choice for middle school classrooms, as it sparks ideas and questions about the conflict abiding in the Middle East, while still remaining understandable. Habibi is a fun and quick read about the Middle East, that almost anybody could understand