Habibi
Written by Naomi Shihab Nye
Published by Simon & Schuster
The day after Liyana got her first real kiss, her life changed forever. Not because of the kiss, but because it was the day her father announced that the family was moving from St. Louis all the way to Palestine. Though her father grew up there, Liyana knows very little about her family’s Arab heritage. Her grandmother and the rest of her relatives who live in the West Bank are strangers and speak a language she can’t understand. It isn’t until she meets Omer that her homesickness fades. But Omer is Jewish, and their friendship is silently forbidden in this land. How can they make their families understand? And how can Liyana ever learn to call this place home?
Primary ISBN:
Publication Date: June 1999
Available As: Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Publication Status: Hardcover Out of Print
Young Adult, Age 12 or older
Community Represented: Palestinian/Palestinian American
Themes: Audiobook, Award Winner, Coming of Age, Cross-Group Friendship, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Celebrations & Traditions, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Family, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Food, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Identity, Discrimination: Cultural, Engagement Tool: Video, Family Relationship: Grandparents, Family Relationship: Parents, Family Separation: Different Immigration Status, Generational Differences: Gender Roles, Generational Differences: Language, Immigrant: Education, Welcoming by Individual
Setting: Palestine
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: 1st Generation
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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