Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

Nye, Naomi Shihab. 1997. Habibi. New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN 9780689825231.

Summary
Liyana lives in St. Louis with her parents and her brother. One day her father makes an announcement, the family is moving back to his country of birth, Palestine. Liyana and her brother don't speak Arabic and have never met their father's family. Once they arrive Liyana must learn how to live in a place that is totally different from where she grew up. There are no malls in sight, Liyana can no longer wear shorts and she must behave appropriately conservatively. Before arriving Liyana didn't know much about the Arab-Israeli conflict but with a refugee camp just down the road, she learns fast. While wandering around Jerusalem she meets and falls in love with a Israeli boy. Will her parents and family be able to accept their relationship?

Analysis
This book is very well written. Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet and her prose is lyrical. Each chapter has a title and a subtitle. For example a chapter in the middle of the book is called "Donkey by the Road" and the subtitle is "Emily Dickinson never had to move across the sea." The chapters and subtitles reflect the character of Liyana because she is a writer. Her character is well written and the adjustment to a new country seems genuine. Her brother, Rafik, is also realistic.

While I liked the story, I do think it was biased towards the Palestinian point of view. When Liyana and her family arrive at the airport they are profiled and pulled aside by the Israeli soldiers. The books says that people of other nationalities pass through easily but not them, implying that they are being unfairly targeted. It goes on to say that they don't refer to the country as Israel, but Palestine. "Maybe one reason their father wanted them to be quiet is that they had trouble calling this country "Israel" to begin with (Nye, 1997 p. 36)." The largest and closest international airport to Jerusalem is Ben Gurion and it is in Tel Aviv, which is most certainly in Israel.

Liyana meets Omer, an Israeli boy. I find the whole relationship of Omer and Liyana unrealistic.
Omer is Jewish but Liyana doesn't realize it until they go to the Israel Museum and she hears him speak Hebrew. When Liyana's mother comes to pick her up, somehow Liyana's mother knows he is not Palestinian after one brief meeting. And Omer is not religious. That seems completely contrived.

Since apparently Liyana has heard only bad things about the Jews of Israel she asks him, "...of course I know that the Jewish people have suffered so much themselves, but don't you think it should have made them more sensitive to the sufferings of others too? (Nye, 1997. p. 166)." Wow. That goes right along with the representations of the Jews in the book. The Israeli soldiers are presented as uncaring thugs while the Palestinians are suffering needlessly at their hands. The book makes it seem as if the soldiers go around committing atrocities leaving the Palestinians no choice but to retaliate. For example, when there is a bombing in the market place Liyana thinks, " Did people who committed acts of violence think their victims and their victims' relatives would just forget? (Nye, 1997. p. 235)."

While this book is beautifully written, I would not recommend teaching with it in isolation because of the bias. I would pair it with a book about the Holocaust or another book about Jewish history.

Connections
This book could be used to study the modern history of Israel, but it should paired with a book about the Holocaust like The Big Lie by Isabella Leitner.
This book could be used to discuss bias and points of view in stories.

Excerpts
Rosemary Knapp in Book Report magazine says, "The move is, naturally, a culture shock for Liyana, her younger brother, and her American-born mother. The history of Jerusalem with its cross-section of cultures, the conflicts between the Israelis and Palestinians, the grandmother and extended family living on the West Bank whom Liyana has never met--all these contribute to the great upheaval in her life."

In Horn Book Magazine Jennifer Brabander says, "The leisurely progression of the narrative matches the slow and stately pace of daily life in this ancient land, and the text's poetic turns of phrase accurately reflect Liyana's passion for words and language."

Works Cited
Brabander, Jennifer M. 1997. "Habibi." Horn Book Magazine 73, no. 6: 683-684. Academic Search Complete database. Last accessed August 6, 2009.

Knapp, Rosemary. 1998. "Reviews: Fiction." Book Report 16, no. 5: 34. Academic Search Complete database. Last accessed August 6, 2009.

Nye, Naomi Shihab. 1997. Habibi. New York: Simon Pulse.