Wednesday 14 September 2011

 

Review: Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah

My edition: Paperback, published in 2009 by Scholastic, 240 pages.

Description: 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 kilometres long, it may take a lifetime to complete.

Review:

Where the Streets Had a Name is a wonderful and unique young adult novel that was an eye-opener to me about the current situation in the Middle East. The subject matter is quite heavy but told in such a way that the book remains easy to digest. And it's surprisingly even funny at times!

A really great novel for teenagers as well as adults as it's fascinating to read a perspective on this situation, with real people you easily fall in love with, that isn't just a factual newspaper article.

8/10

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