A review by kateybellew
The Hookah Girl: And Other True Stories by Marguerite Dabaie

emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective sad

3.5

This collection of very short snapshots of the author’s experience of being Palestinian in America provide glimpses into the politicisation of her identity, sexism within her family, harmful and reductive stereotypes in American media, as well as sweet celebrations of her family history and Palestinian culture. I very much enjoyed this but definitely wanted more as it was such a quick read, and the short segments meant we covered a lot of ground but didn’t linger long enough to settle in. Happy I read it.

“When some continually make a point to assert that Palestinians don’t exist, calling yourself the thing you are becomes an act of defiance.”