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 Synopsis
"I need to see Sitti Zeynab one last time. To know if I will have the courage to go ahead with my plan. The two nurses look frazzled and smile wearily at me. 'We must leave now,' they say in urgent tones. 'I won't be long,' I reassure them and I jump up onto the back of the ambulance.
"I can smell the air of her village, pure and scented. I can see her village as though it were Bethlehem itself. I can smell the almond trees. Hear my heels click on the courtyard tiles. See myself jumping two steps at a time down the limestone stairs. I can see Sitti Zeynab sitting in the front porch of the house. I only have to remember that walk through her memories and I know I can make my promise. I've already lost once. I refuse to lose again. 'Stay alive,' I whisper. 'And you shall touch that soil again.'"
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 check points, the curfews, the permit system and Hayaat's best friend Samy, who is mainly interested in football and the latest elimination on X-Factor, but always manages to attract trouble.
But luck is on their side. Hayaat and Samy have a curfew-free day to travel to Jerusalem. However, while their journey may only be a few kilometres long, it may take a lifetime to complete.
"Where the Streets had a name" - Click here for novel extract
Readings
http://www.readings.com.au/review/where-the-streets-had-a-name-randa-abdel-fattah
Boomerang Books
http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au/content/book-reviews/childrens-book-reviews/where-the-streets-had-a-name-by-randa-abdel-fattah.shtml
Reportage - Magazine of the Australian Centre for Independant Journalism
http://www.reportage.uts.edu.au/special-reports/detail.cfm?ItemId=12747
The Electronic Intifada
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10011.shtml
Life Matters: ABC National Radio Interview
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2008/2387452.htm
CANBERRA TIMES
‘A poignant, personal and deeply felt book.’
PAGES AND PAGES BOOKSELLERS
‘Randa tackles the Palestinian/Israeli conflict with humour and compassion.’
READINGS
‘I encourage everyone to read this book. Not simply because it drives home the immediacy and truth of living a displaced life, but rather because…it is a fantastic, funny book.’
THE SUN-HERALD
“Where The Streets Had A Name is undoubtedly Abdel-Fattah’s most mature and realized work, and the intensity of its subject matter makes it no less appealing to young adults; indeed it is a welcome change to the standard schoolyard setting where a lot of teen novels are played out…Abdel-Fattah possesses a knack for bringing characters to life and can move easily between intense emotional drama and comedy”.
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News Flash:
Ten Things I Hate About Me was selected, by a joint committee of America's Children's Book Council and the National Council for the Social Studies, as a CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2010.
Where The Streets Had A Name has won the Golden Inkys award! The Inkys are Australia’s only teen choice book awards, reflecting what teenagers want to read rather than what they are told to read. The Inky Awards were created by the State Library of Victoria’s Centre for Youth Literature to encourage reading for pleasure amongst teenagers. http://www.insideadog.com.au
Where The Streets Had A Name has just been selected as a Notable Book by the children's book council!
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