The Hookah Girl and Other True Stories' with words and art by Marguerite Dabaie is a graphic novel about being Palestinian in a culture that misunderstands your culture.

Taking on culture and stereotypes head on, this is a look at what it's like when you do and don't fit the stereotypes. It's also about the weird things your friends eat and how they judge you for eating grape leaves. Since the author is perceived to be white, she hears the racist jokes that others make.

'The Hookah Girl and Other True Stories' with words and art by Marguerite Dabaie is a graphic novel about being Palestinian in a culture that misunderstands your culture.

Taking on culture and stereotypes head on, this is a look at what it's like when you do and don't fit the stereotypes. It's also about the weird things your friends eat and how they judge you for eating grape leaves. Since the author is perceived to be white, she hears the racist jokes that others make.

I really appreciate a look at other cultures. This is done here in a friendly and informative style. We all have differences, but we also have similarities among our many cultures. I'm glad I got to read this graphic novel.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Rosarium Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Goodreads Synopsis:
In this current political climate, being a Palestinian is a hazard. However, there are common grounds where East meets West. The Hookah Girl is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel of a childhood as a Christian Palestinian in America. Told in short stories and with narrative ranging from growing up in a refugee family to how to roll waraq (stuffed grape leaves), this book is an account of living in two seemingly different cultures that actually aren’t very different at all.

My Review:
I know I say this a lot, but this book wasn't what I expected at all. Not a lot of books tackle this issue, so you don't see it a lot. This is about stereotypes people have to face today. The story begins with the author explaining how much she had to work to get her book published. Because of the content, a lot of people thought it was too provocative. It addresses a lot of problems that people face now, day to day, in a fun cartoon format that you wouldn't expect from such a serious topic. I learned a lot from this book, and I didn't expect to. For instance, did you know that a certain superhero movie was banned in many middle eastern countries because the main character, an Israeli woman, was at the time apart of a group that supported in the war in the Gaza Strip. This was really informative, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel like I really learned a lot, even though it was a really short read. The art is really cute, and I loved the glossary at the back, I didn't expect it. I would definitely purchase this even though I've already read it, and I definitely recommend you check it out for yourself.

Here's a link to the author's Twitter, and another link to the book on Amazon.

https://twitter.com/mdabaie?lang=en

https://www.amazon.ca/Hookah-Girl-Other-True-Stories/dp/0998705926/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527536757&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hookah+girl

Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

The Hookah Girl is a graphic novel that examines the unique experiences of being a Christian Palestinian girl living in a western country.

WHO WOULD ENJOY READING IT?
Readers with a quirky, indie streak who do not mind mining into racial minorities' life experiences without trying to minimise them.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT
The authenticity of it. Moreso, reading this book makes me realise humans, regardless of race and background, have a lot in common than they think.

.......

The Hookah Girl: And Other True Stories by Marguerite Dabaie is available to buy on all major online bookstores. Many thanks to Rosarium Publishing for review copy.

Marguerite Dabaie's graphic novel is an eye-opening account of life as a young Palestinian living in the USA. In a series of episodic cartoon strips, she talks about Palestinian culture, some of her heroes, and the difficulties of assimilation into her new community and occasional encounters with casual racism.

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. It is simple and clever. Tells the story from an Palestinian-American. Should/Am part is really meaningful.

This being a collection of stories, is a bit inconsistent in its art, paneling and writing style. Some stories I liked more, others not so much. Overall, it got quite narrative for a graphic novel.

-Disclaimer: I have received a free copy of this book, in exchange for a honest review-

As I first saw this, I instantly thought of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis books, and how I loved them, so I threw myself into it, and finished it in one sitting.
Instead of being a long, coherent story, The Hookah girl consists of smaller stories, rants, contemplative segments, and graphic how-to guides for example on looting and preparing filled grape leaves, and how to properly chew sunflower seeds (I LOVED that part).
Seeing how this was a piece that Ms. Dabaie did over a longer period of time, the art style, wording, and tone varies much between the segments. There is a HEAVY amount of socio-cultural load in this book, but it's vital to understand where she came from, and what kind of culture, and reception she grew up in, so it's not intrusive. Evidently, the book has a Pro-Palestine viewpoint, but instead of resorting to dumb propaganda, it touches the matter more from a personal viewpoint, throwing things like a young girl's curiosity towards an unknown freedom fighter, or the new Wonder Woman movie in the batter.

Overall I liked the Hookah girl, but I could much more picture this as an ongoing webcomic, than a book.

I really liked this book -- it was clever and entertaining, but I really enjoyed reading the point of view of the author. It is always good to view things from someone so different. Especially since it is so popular to pretend that Arabs, and especially Palestinians, are not real humans. As the author points out, the history is so complex and difficult to grapple with.

A lovely little memoir told in graphic stories. An interesting and informative look at life as an Palestinian-American. The artwork was at its best when it was telling a story in itself (paperdolls, board game art), but was missed in the sections that were text-heavy. The cover art and title did not really reflect the tone or subject matter and I was a little confused at the outset.

"I can't help but admire that", this book's creator writes of an anti-Israeli terrorist. The mind boggles as to why this is allowed to be published. Zero stars.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started to read The Hookah Girl but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. It touches on Palestinian politics and covers a lot of personal issues the author faced (for instance, her father deterred her from many activities simply because she was a girl) but there are also many humorous moments so the collection doesn't feel too heavy overall. I really liked the artist's use of panels on different backgrounds and borders; this was unexpected and they were beautifully drawn.

I particularly enjoyed the story about grape leaves with illustrations inspired by board games and "Should/Am" with its' clever use of paper dolls.

The Hookah Girl is a short but important work that is quite successful in subverting essentialist notions about identity.

When I was growing up, in Los Angeles, we had many refugees come to our city, and our schools. I was friends with kids that escaped, with their families, from Lebenon, from Cambodia, from Iran. Kids talking to each other can find that they have a lot in common, if the parents and adults don't get in the way.

This memorie is of a girl whose family has escaped from Palestine, or what is now the Palestinian Territories. She talks about how because she doesn't look like what Americans think Arab people look like, they think she is white, and she often hears racist "jokes". The name of the book is taken from a cultural festival that she would go to, every year as a kid, where people would rent hookahs, and wander around with them at the festival.

The author had to self publish, at first, to get this book out, because people shied away from stories about Palestinians. She said when she took her book to comic book shows, people would pick up the book, thinking it was about hookahs, and then try to find a nice way to put the book down when they discovered what it really was.

Well written, gives a view of a world that most white people in America are unaware of.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This was interesting. To be honest I'm not a huge fan of the art style. But the humor and story were well balanced.

It was an Interesting read, Thank you Netgalley for giving an E-ARC