A review by shecamedancing
Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

4.0

Lovely prose, wonderful main character with an amazing family (Rafik was hilarious...), adorable and awkward romance (amazing how mature Omer is, even at age 15-16. He's more mature than most of my peers), and beautiful development. Each chapter varies in length, and functions as a sort of snapshot in Liyana's life. Many parts of this book made me miss my homeland and my childhood. It was really refreshing to read from Liyana's perspective, and the fact that a) she is mixed-blood, b) she loves to write, c) she struggles to fit into both sides of her cultural heritage, d) she has a younger brother she loves to annoy, and e) she doesn't know one of her parents' mother tongues and is working hard to learn made me connect to her and love her even more.