Habibi

This book really made me think this week and although I am not writing a paper on it it still brought up some questions for me. I loved that the book was written about a subject that is rarely talked about with children because few adults know the details and reasons that the Arabs and Jewish people are fighting. Children hear about the holy war all the time but few probably take the time to think about the children that live there and how they are affected and the countless violent acts that take place in front of the children living in Palestine.
However one thing that I found interesting about the book is the character that was supposed to teach the reader and Liyana about Jewish culture was a boy. I feel this complicated the relationship further and made the relationship between
Liyana and Omer a little more superficial (that may not be the right word). It seemed that she was not basing her feelings on a long lasting friend but rather on more of his surface qualities. I think its interesting that Nye would not have chosen a female for Liyana to make a connection with.
I also found it interesting that her fathers family was so welcoming of her and her mother and brother. From the experience I have meeting family for the first time from another country, it is awkward and hard to make conversation. Perhaps she was showing how she felt her family's culture would participate if put in that situation.
I think this is a great book for all ages and will definitely be recommending it to my niece because it gives information about cultures and religions that are often overlooked in mainstream culture.