From Somalia with Love

by Na'ima B. Robert

Overview

"My name is Safia Dirie. My family has always been my mum, Hoyo, and my two older brothers, Ahmed and Abdullahi. I don't really remember Somalia - I'm an East London girl, through and through. But now Abo, my father, is coming from Somalia to live with us, after 12 long years. How am I going to cope?"

Safia knows that there will be changes ahead but nothing has prepared her for the reality of dealing with Abo's cultural expectations, her favourite brother Ahmed's wild ways, and the temptation of her cousin Firdous's party-girl lifestyle. Safia must come to terms with who she is - as a Muslim, as a teenager, as a poet, as a friend, but most of as a daughter to a father she has never known. Safia must find her own place in the world, so both father and daughter can start to build the relationship they both long for.

From Somalia With Love is one girl's quest to discover who she is - a story that, while rooted in Somali and Muslim life, strikes a chord with young people everywhere.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781907666063
Publisher:	Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Publication date:	08/19/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	304 KB
Age Range:	13 - 16 Years

About the Author

NA'IMA B ROBERT is descended from Scottish Highlanders on her father's side and the Zulu people on her mother's side. She was born in Leeds, grew up in Zimbabwe and went to university in London. At high school, her loves included performing arts, public speaking and writing stories that shocked her teachers! She has written several multicultural books for children and is the author of 'From Somalia, with love', a novel for young adults. 'Boy vs Girl' is her second books for teens. She divides her time between London and Cairo and dreams of living on a farm with her own horses. Until then, she is happy to be a mum to her four children and keep reading and writing books that take her to a different world each time. 

NA'IMA B ROBERT is descended from Scottish Highlanders on her father's side and the Zulu people on her mother's side. She was born in Leeds, grew up in Zimbabwe and went to university in London. At high school, her loves included performing arts, public speaking and writing stories that shocked her teachers! She has written several multicultural books for children and is the author of 'From Somalia, with love', a novel for young adults. 'Boy vs Girl' is her second books for teens. She divides her time between London and Cairo and dreams of living on a farm with her own horses. Until then, she is happy to be a mum to her four children and keep reading and writing books that take her to a different world each time.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 6 Up–Safia has grown up believing her father died in the fighting in Somalia. When she finds out that he is alive and on his way to London to join the family, she is apprehensive about the difference his presence will make in her life. Though she is comfortable with her identity as a Muslim, she struggles with how her values differ from those of her rebellious brother and cousin. Her father is not prepared for his family’s hybrid British-Somali culture, which causes a great deal of conflict. Safia must learn to cope with the new dynamics in her home and learn to love a father she has never known. At times, the author’s intent of creating a window into Somali culture and the immigrant experience is a bit heavy-handed. The book does do a good job of showing the richness of Somali culture as something positive and separate from the war that has torn the country apart for decades. This is a unique title that will be popular in regions that have large Somali populations or where Randa Abdel-Fattah’s books are popular. A glossary of Arabic and Somali words and phrases is included, but it is unclear from which language each one comes.–Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH

School Library Journal

Somalia is still in the news after years of civil war, and its war refugees go to many countries. Safia lives in London in a close-knit Somali neighborhood, where all her actions are seen. This is both safe and too confining for an adolescent in contemporary Britain. She practices Islam in a traditional way and has a good friend, Hamida, who shares her religion. Her extended family members are close, but she embraces the one young woman who has broken out of the family mold. Safia's poetic personality and her sense of isolation are found often in books for this age group, but her back story is thin. It opens with news about the father's impending arrival, but he always seems like a shadow, as does her older brother. Near the end of the novel, the family's situation-the father has remained for many years in Somalia while the mother and three children emigrated to London-is finally explained, but it is almost too late to have enough meaning for readers unfamiliar with such situations. But for readers willing to work, Safia is worth knowing. (glossary) (Fiction. 11-14)

Kirkus Reviews

An engagingly perplexing book that represents different cultures as more syrtic than solid, and individual identity as a process of life-long struggle between these cultures. While focusing on Somali experiences within London.it has relevance for anybody affected by frictions between age and group loyalties. That must include all of us.

From the Publisher