Where The Streets Had A Name (2008)

Set in Palestine, it introduces us to the obstacles that Hayaat and her family cope with on a daily basis. The family olive grove has been confiscated to build a road, so the family, complete with grandmother, are now living in a small apartment. There is the normal family bickering and loving support; preparations for her sister’s wedding, and dealing with the hassles of curfews and travel restrictions. As the story unfolds, we see that Hayaat is not insensible or immune to the undercurrents in her world. She spends quality time with her grandmother, enjoying her family stories and learning of the creation of the state of Israel. There is gentle humor with religious differences between the Muslim Hayaat, and her best friend, the Catholic Samy.
Hayaat’s Grandmother becomes ill and Hayaat and Samy decide to get some soil from the restricted Jewish sector. The story also deals with Hayaat’s disfigurement; her face has been mutilated when she was shot, and her acceptance of the death of her best friend.
This book can’t help but break down barriers. There is no racism or fanaticism, just people getting on with life, albeit much tougher lives than we are generally used to. Good for a student who has some understanding of the Arab/Jewish conflict. Not fast moving, but a good story from the Palestinian perspective. ( )

I really admire Abdel-Fattah for addressing a topic as sensitive as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a children’s book, and doing it in a remarkably non-preachy way. Her main character is Palestinian, as I’m assuming she also is, so she naturally shows a pro-Palestinian bias. But I almost never felt like it was politics in disguise. Towards the end I think it did slip a little into monologue, but overall I was very pleased with both the story and the author. [Mar. 2011]

( )

This book really took me by surprise! I found the description only mildly intriguing but decided to give it a go anyway and I'm really glad I did. Hayaat's journey to Jerusalem is only a small part of this tale. It's much more to do with family and friends and grief. I thought Hayaat's family was very amusing and felt very real. I enjoyed all of her conversations with her grandmother. I liked how much she grew as a person throughout the book and that we got some more insight into her dad. This book tackles many issues and does it well. It's a fairly quick read and I really enjoyed it. A unique story full of memorable characters. ( )

Where the streets had a name by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Reviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews.

Thirteen-year-old Hayaat is on a mission. She believes a handful of soil from her grandmother's ancestral home in Jerusalem will save her beloved Sitti Zeynab's life. The only problem is the impenetrable wall that divides the West Bank, as well as the checkpoints, the curfews, and Hayaat's best friend Samy, who is always a troublemaker. But luck is on their side. Hayaat and Samy have a curfew-free day to travel to Jerusalem. However, while their journey is only a few kilometers long, it may take a lifetime to complete. (Synopsis provided good reads)

This is a middle-grade book that should appeal to tweens wanting to learn about the conflict in Israel. This book does a wonderful job in showing what life is like over there, but it never felt preachy. I never felt like the Author was saying that all Israelis or all Palestinians are bad. Which is good, with conflicts such as this one, a lot times people can be preachy and bias, but I never felt like this was the case.

The book does a good job in making it age appropriate while also allowing children to ask their parents questions about life in the middle east. The book shows how no matter what country people are from they can still care about each other and still want to make a difference.

Over all rating.
*** 3 out of 5 stars
Cover art:
I like hoe it has a drawing for the cover art.
Obtained:
I won a copy from the publisher via good reads. Thank you ( )

This book is brilliantly written. The grandmother has a strange but humourous personality. I recommend this book to anyone young or old. It has content that would appeal to almost everyone. I also love the way Randa has used a photograph of fabric for each chapter. ( )