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From Somalia, With Love – Book Review

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fromsomalia.jpgSister Na’imah B. Robert, author of “From My Sisters’ Lips” and editor of SISTERS magazine, has produced yet another fantastic work of literature for the Muslim community: a short novel aimed at young Muslim teens, titled “From Somalia, With Love.”

Blurb from the book jacket:

“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 all 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.

I recieved the book in the mail recently, and I was so eager to read it that I couldn’t wait – I snuggled down with a blanket and devoured the book immediately!

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In short: It’s awesome.

A while back I wrote a quick blurb on another book for Muslim teens (Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah), and mentioned how happy I was that at least there was something out there for Muslim girls. I’m even happier now that “From Somalia, With Love” has arrived on the scene, delivering an even better story and providing an even better alternative.

Safia Dirie is a young Somali Muslim girl, somewhere in her mid-teens. Growing up in London, navigating through non-Muslim society while maintaining a close connection to her family and extended community, Safia represents the majority of Muslim girls in the West: practicing, religious, often from a “different” (i.e. immigrant) ethnic background, but very much Westernized.

The story begins with the news of her father’s return from Somalia, after more than a decade of being thought dead. What should be a touching family reunion, however, ends up becoming an awkward change in family dynamics.

Abo’s arrival is a catalyst for Safia: the close bond between her and her mother begins to fade, and her brother Ahmed’s behaviour adds more to her worries and problems. Lonely, unsure of what to think or do, Safia drifts away from her family and best friend and begins to connect with her cousin Firdous. Firdous, however, is one of the least reputable girls in the family, given to partying and hooking up with guys. And although her aunt warns her about Firdous, Safia continues to spend time with her cousin and as her situation at home gets worse, is soon drawn to things she would never have considered before. Before she knows it, things begin getting out of hand – will she be able to stop before it goes too far?

The story concludes with a beautiful end, reminding us that as difficult as it is to be a Muslim kid, we can still hold onto our Islam and find our niche in the world. Muslims can have happy endings too!

Sister Na’ima has done an amazing job in creating a small world and a character which accurately reflect the situations of many Muslim teens. Few books successfully incorporate beautiful writing and a realistic storyline with faith and morals, but sister Na’ima has done it with this story. Her talent really shines through and I do hope that this is just the first of many more books of the same genre, insha’Allah.

My only quibbles with the book were that it was shorter than I’d hoped, and I felt that there could have been a bit more attention and emphasis on Safia’s relationship with Allah, especially in those moments of weak emaan. And while I initially thought that the details of the conflicts and eventual resolution were somewhat oversimplified, I guess it makes sense to keep it that way for the intended audience (preteens/ early teens).

I give “From Somalia, With Love” 4 stars out of 5, and strongly recommend it for Muslim girls aged 11 and up. Actually, this book would be great for Muslim and non-Muslims alike! It would also make a fantastic addition to a public, personal, or school library.

Published by Frances Lincoln, and quite reasonably priced ($7.95 U.S.), you can buy “From Somalia, With Love” from Amazon, Chapters/ Indigo and any major bookstore in your vicinity (check for availability).

Just a note, the book won’t be released in Canada until February, so Canadians will have to wait for it… but make sure you pre-order it so that you don’t forget!

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Zainab bint Younus (AnonyMouse) is a Canadian Muslim woman who writes on Muslim women's issues, gender related injustice in the Muslim community, and Muslim women in Islamic history. She holds a diploma in Islamic Studies from Arees University, a diploma in History of Female Scholarship from Cambridge Islamic College, and has spent the last fifteen years involved in grassroots da'wah. She was also an original founder of MuslimMatters.org.

13 Comments

13 Comments

  1. sincethestorm

    January 22, 2009 at 2:30 AM

    I’m excited that books like this are coming out for the teen Muslim girl.

  2. Ruth Nasrullah

    January 22, 2009 at 1:58 PM

    Salaamu alaikum, AnonyMouse, and thanks for the review! Insha Allah it will be available soon at Light of Islam.

  3. bintashraf

    January 22, 2009 at 8:33 PM

    This looks good, jazakillah khayr for sharing the review with us. Another book I came across recently is entitled Everyday Struggles: The Stories of Muslim Teens’ which a collection of personal stories also compiled with young Muslim teenage girls in mind. Mashallah there are a handful of books being published with our young sisters in mind, which is a blessing seeing as how many struggles they go through during their teens. However, I was wondering if anyone can also recommend books similar to this nature for young Muslim boys or even for both genders? I’ve been searching for a while and haven’t come across anything significant, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

  4. Ummi Huraira

    January 22, 2009 at 8:47 PM

    Salamalaikum!
    this sounds ideal for my muslim youth group. Quite a few of the girls are Somalian and I look forward to read this myself to get to know their struggles better. Also, it will be great for them to have a book option they can finally relate to. Jazakallahkhair for posting this!

  5. Muslim in America

    January 22, 2009 at 10:06 PM

    I’m in the process of writing a book about life growing up as a Muslim in America. The book will encompass the challenges faced by youth and the outlets we tend to reach out to and will focus mostly around my own life. It is far from done and probably won’t be done for another year or so.

    – Muslim in America
    http://www.musliminamerica.org

  6. sammer z

    January 23, 2009 at 1:49 AM

    I like the direction that these novels are going in. Although I haven’t read it, its really important to have quality reading material for muslim kids. They will either never love reading if we hand them only serious texts, or they will get all their ideas of life from non-muslim sources. I’m also glad to see that there are other writers working on projects like this. =) MashaAllah.

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  8. Sadaf

    January 23, 2009 at 1:06 PM

    I had been curious about the contents of this book, ever since I saw it on Amazon. I just finished Na’ima’s “From My Sisters’ Lips”, which was an excellent read. Jazaakillahu Khairan for the review.
    After books like the “Princess” series and others ike it e.g “Not without my daughter”, we really need such excellent literature to set the record straight about the difference between a few cultures’ and Islam’s treatment of women.

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  10. yasmin

    April 13, 2009 at 10:13 AM

    this is a cute adorable book!!
    As being Somali i was so happy their was a book finally about our culture, well done!
    I wouldnt really give this book a Islamic tag , since religion doesnt play a major part its more about culture really.
    I just wish it was longer its far to short,
    naima roberts is fantastic writer she needs to write more inshalah =]

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  12. halima m,

    January 6, 2011 at 6:24 PM

    I love this book so muuucch!! My older sis bought it not too long ago, and I always pick it up to read whenever I’m bored. It’s really good! :D

  13. sandra

    March 10, 2012 at 11:01 AM

    if you didn’t read ย this book? you have to read ย it. it is so sweet? you have to. trust me in this!

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