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From Somalia with Love [Paperback]

Na'ima B. Robert
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Book Description

14 July 2008
"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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Frequently Bought Together

From Somalia with Love + Boy vs. Girl + From My Sisters' Lips
Price For All Three: £17.22

Buy the selected items together
  • Boy vs. Girl £5.24
  • From My Sisters' Lips £6.74


Product details

  • Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books (14 July 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1845078322
  • ISBN-13: 978-1845078324
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.3 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 334,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

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. (Books for Keeps )

The strong story of Safia's quest to discover who she is means that From Somalia With Love, will, I am sure strike a resonance with many of today's teenagers. (School Librarian )

The story proceeds as a sensitive, sometimes painful, examination of this coming to terms [with her father coming home] and the disturbances it makes, both domestically and in wider society, for Safia and her family... Warm engaging and intensely thought-provoking [with] the power to widen horizons and increase understanding of the richness of contemporary Britain's various cultures. It should be widely read. (Carousel )

A vivid and sympathetic novel written from the view point of a teenage girl who has many different perspectives to intergrate into her life: not only those of her own personal development and identity, but also those of her Somali family following their reunion after a long separation caused by civil war. The adjustments to be made of settling in a country that is not their homeland are clearly described and also the importance of maintaining cultural, traditional and religious ways of life. The integration into the general narrative of unfamiliar words and phrases gives authenticity to the reader's experience, comprehension being assured by the provision of an extensive glossary. (Ibby Link )

This book will engage teenagers of all cultures. The author, Na'ima B. Robert, succeeds in maintaining the suspense about which pathway Safia will choose and gives a valuable insight into the family-centric Somalian culture. Safia is an engaging heroine with whom girls will idenntify. This is an excellent debut novel which should become a firm favourite. (Ink Pellet )

Does 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. A unique title. (School Library Journal )

Encourages Muslim teens living in Western societies to be proud of their differences and to embrace Islam as part of their individuality, and through Safia's story, readers will come to see Islam not just as a set of practices but instead as a way of life. (Muslim Voices (USA) )

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.

To find out more about Na'ima B Robert click here


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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A realistic view of London's 'Little Muqdisho' 5 May 2011
Format:Paperback
I thought that this was a rather insightful and informational novel concerning the youth of London's Somali community. It was convincing in the vernacular used by the characters - think Catherine Tate interspersed with Somali; the setting of the characters' lives - East London tower blocks and run down sink schools; and the challenges that young 14 year-old girls face whatever their cultural heritage, viz. boyfriends and male company, image and peer pressure. For that I congratulate Bint Robert, as she obviously did her research and spent time with Somali youth.

This is the storyline; Safia is 14 and has lived with her mum and older brothers in East London since fleeing Somalia when she was two. She lives between two cultures - the Somali extended family and school life with all it's fun and challenges. Her best friend Hamida is a fellow Muslim albeit Bengali in origin, and rather a soulmate. Safia's father comes to live with the family after taking twelve years to locate them, and this throws up all sorts of problems. How will he relate to his Westernised kids? Can her brother, Ahmed, stay out of trouble and on the right path? How will Safia react to temptations such as her glamourous but 'fallen' cousin Firdous and her bevvy of smooth-talking, fast-living male friends? Can Habaryero (Aunty) distract Safia away from the troubles of her life and back to her Islamic principles?

Bint Robert writes for Muslims, and as a result she can come across as (over)-proselytising the Islamic faith. This accounted for, she does seem to harp back to the non-mainstream Islamic themes she visits in 'From My Sisters' Lips', e.g. there is always a character in niqaab who is always ultra-'British'/approachable/liberated/educated: (think 'Najma' in 'Girl vs. Boy', or indeed herself in 'FMSL').
... Read more ›
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Review 8 July 2010
Format:Paperback
This fantastic book by Naima B. Robert portraits the life of a typical Somalian-British teenage Muslim girl. It is mainly about the bonding between a long-lost Somalian father and his family. His arrival brings happiness to the family but also loneliness, distrust and anger. All this is what makes Safia and Ahmed to change in different ways - ways that would change their choices forever.

Sister Naima truly shows the teenage readers of this book the shallowness of all the attractive and unlawful things of this world. She also shows the Somalian way of life, their different cultures and how they live being so far from home. Although it is an excellent book, it could have been a little longer - I found it a bit too short.

I would ask any teenage Muslimah living in a Western world to read this book. Anyone who is struggling to find their identity in this confusing world would certainly enjoy this book and also find it helpful.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice story 18 May 2010
By Mrs AA
Format:Paperback
I bought this book purely because it was written by Naima Roberts and I loved her other book from my sisters lips!
It's a relatively short book which has a nice story to it.
It's a pleasant light read.
Get it if that's what you're looking for.

:D
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars very enjoyable 30 Sep 2012
Format:Kindle Edition
loved this book. characters you can emphasise with and an eye oprnrr into london/somali culture. loved the style of writing and teenage difficulties. it flows really well
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent read! 16 Sep 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Really enjoyed this short, very readable book. I think it highlights some of the issues around what it is to be British / Somali / Muslim in East London today, and opens the door for more wider and deeper discussions, about growing up in more than one culture. I really enjoyed the use of language in a mash up way - that's how it is!!!!
Will recommend.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars pleasent read 15 Jan 2010
By L. Ali
Format:Paperback
I liked this book very much. It gave me a snap shot into somali culture and would recommend this for teenage girls, especially those who are on the verge of tasting teenage life in London.
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