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Habibi Naomi Shihab Nye (1997)
Habibi is the story of Liyana Abboud, whose Pal-
estinian father announces to the family one eve-
ning that she and her family will be moving to his
hometown of Jerusalem. Though she had heard
before that her parents considered moving from
her home in St. Louis across the seas, Liyana is
stunned and unhappy to hear the announcement.
She had just shared her first kiss with a boy the day
before and now she would never see him again.
Once they arrive in Jerusalem, Liyana and her
family are embraced by her very interesting Pal-
estinian relatives. She finds out quickly, however,
that boys and girls cannot have relationships. Re-
gardless, Liyana does fall in love with Omer, who
happens to be Jewish. By doing so, she has crossed
the invisible line drawn between Palestinians and
Jews, an act that goes against all the traditions of
her Palestinian relatives. During her stay, nonethe-
less, Liyana learns to understand her family, her
heritage as an Arab, and her status in Jerusalem as
an outsider. This novel, though fictional, reflects
the author’s own life: the family unit is constructed
in the same way NAOMI SHIHAB NYE’s is; the family
returns to the father’s native land, as did Nye’s own
family; and Liyana is 14 when the family moves to
Jerusalem, as was the author.
At the heart of this young adult novel is the
struggle between cultures, families, and traditions.
Violence and destruction pervade in the back-

ground. Liyana’s grandmother’s home is destroyed,

and violence erupts in the Jewish marketplace. Nye

charts the progress of each family member’s own

journey into their hearts and their understanding

of their identity. In Liyana’s case, her gradual un-

derstanding of and appreciation for her extended

family members translate into her psychological

growth and identity formation. By carefully re-

flecting the struggles between Israel and Palestine,

especially seen from the perspective of an America

teenager, Nye engages her readers in the debate

over cross-cultural understanding, war, peace, and

tolerance.

Anne Marie Fowler

Hagedorn, Jessica Tarahata (1949– )

Artist, playwright, poet, and novelist Jessica Hage-

dorn was born and raised in Manila, the capital of

the Philippines, and immigrated to San Francisco

with her family in her early teens. After studying

for two years at the American Conservatory The-

ater in San Francisco, she moved to New York in

1978, where she currently lives. The wide range,

thematic scope, and eclecticism of her works have

made her the most prominent Filipino-American

writer since CARLOS BULOSAN. Hagedorn has exper-

imented with various media, from poetry to music

and performance art; her writing, in particular,



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