Review: Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Shihab Nye, Naomi. 1999. Habibi. Simon Pulse, An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. ISBN 9780689825231

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Liyana Abboud, daughter of an American mother and Arab father, receives a shock one day when her father announces the whole family will be moving back to his home country of Palestine, in order to get to know his relatives and ancestry. Liyana, her brother Rafik, mother Susan, and father Kamal leave St. Louis behind them and move to small home halfway between Jerusalem and Ramallah near a refugee camp. Liyana struggles to understand her father’s relatives and learn their pastoral way of life, just as she attempts to recognize both her American half and her Arab half. She is shocked by the violence she sees everyday as well as the strict rules girls living in Jerusalem must adhere to. Liyana’s loneliness is forgotten once she meets Omer, a young Jewish man who becomes a close friend, and possible romantic interest.

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Nye has based Habibi on herself and her family. Like Liyana, Nye was born to a Palestinian father and an American mother and struggled to find her identity straddling 2 different worlds. There are so many cultural details in this novel, that it can be somewhat overwhelming to the reader who may be trying to absorb every word. Nye not only educates the reader on the Arab-American teen experience in America, but also in the Middle East. She discusses Muslim issues, Jewish issues, and many other authentic cultural markers of Palestinian citizens. Language plays a crucial role in Habibi and is used to show affections as well as cultural misunderstandings between characters. “Habibi” is an Arabic word meaning “my beloved” or “my dearest one”, and is used regularly in the novel by Liyana’s parents and relatives as a term of endearment. Other than Liyana’s mom Susan, all other characters and relatives have names common to the Palestine region.

Although Rafik fits in to his new environment easily, playing with his cousin Muhammad and learning to speak Arabic quickly, Liyana experiences extreme culture shock. Coming through customs at the airport, her family is targeted by Israeli airport agents to be thoroughly searched, an incident that is common to Palestinians according to Liyana’s father. To get to her grandmother Sitti’s village in the West Bank, they must drive through a military checkpoint manned by armed soldiers. While this is a common enough occurrence in the West Bank, for Liyana it is a shocking reminder that she is far removed from her comfort zone.

Liyana must get used to the new traditions that are common in Palestinian families. At Sitta’s, the entire large extended family sit on the floor and talk at length while waiting for dinner to be ready. They drink maramia (herbal tea), and eat lamb, rice, and pine nuts off a communal plate. Once Liyana’s father, a doctor, moves back to Jerusalem, he is inundated with requests for money and items his family members need. Sitta asks him to sponsor her pilgrimage to Mecca, and other family members expect money to be given to them since he is much wealthier and came from America. According to Liyana’s father, monetary requests and demands are extremely common especially coming from female family members.

Religion is addressed constantly in Habibi and is part of the general theme of acceptance and tolerance for others. Liyana’s extended family is Muslim, and prays on small prayer rugs when a call to prayer is heard from the local mosque. She has extremely in depth and honest conversations with Odem about the arguments between Jewish and Arab people in the city of Jerusalem. Odem’s mother is wary of his relationship with Liyana, but Liyana’s grandmother welcomes him with open arms. His presence in her home gives her confidence that someday Arabs and Israelis won’t fight and Palestine will be peaceful once again. Liyana asks her father why he doesn’t pray the way his family does, and he answers that he prays that way “in my heart.”

Habibi is an excellent novel for younger teens that have an interest in learning more about the Middle East and difficulties assimilating to that culture. With themes of cultural identity and religious tolerance, this novel should be in every school and public library.

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

ALA Notable Children’s Book

NYPL Book for the Teen Age

Starred review in Publisher’s Weekly: “A soul-stirring novel.”

Review in Kirkus: “Some of the passages become quite ponderous while the human story- -Liyana's emotional adjustments in the later chapters and her American mother's reactions overall--fall away from the plot. However, 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.”

Positive review in School Library Journal: “Though the story begins at a leisurely pace, readers will be engaged by the characters, the romance, and the foreshadowed danger. Poetically imaged and leavened with humor, the story renders layered and complex history understandable through character and incident.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* Other books about the Arab-American teen experience:

Bamberger, Davis. Young Person’s History of Israel. ISBN 9780874413939

Bode, Janet. New Kids in Town: Oral Histories of Immigrant Teens. ISBN

9780590441445

Hafiz, Dilara. The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook. ISBN 9780979253126

Mahdi, Ali Akbar. Teen Life in the Middle East. ISBN 9780313361326

* Other books by Naomi Shihab Nye:

Words Under the Words: Selected Poems. ISBN 9780933377295

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. ISBN 9780060504045

A Maze Me: Poems for Girls. ISBN 9780060581893

What Have You Lost? ISBN 9780380733071