how can i rate something i did not understand

A classic coming-of-age story told from the perspective of teenage Doria, we follow her as she remains alongside her immigrant mother in Paris after the return of her father to their native Morocco.

In terms of plot, I couldn't say that there was anything that I thought especially original or captivating. There are events in the Islamic community in France, such as the Eid, different festivals, appearances of typical food and clothing, and these are interspersed with the experience of a single mother and daughter who are struggling financially. There's talk of boys, babysitting jobs, the relationship between men and women in Islam, but I guess because we see it all through the eyes of a teenage girl there was nothing I thought was told differently, there wasn't something I could say that I learned from this experience. It was by all means a pleasant read, I liked Doria, I could empathise with her, but neither was she my favourite character ever nor did I think her meditations on life were particularly enlightening.

I wish there was more about the community they lived in, perhaps some interactions with white French people, perhaps more conflict, so I can say it was fine but nothing memorable.

سرد بغاية السلاسة، يحكي بصوت فتاة مغتربة مراهقة، فصول من حياتها مع أمها في الأحياء الفقيرة في فرنسا، بعد أن هجرهم والدها لأنه يريد ولدا ذكرا ولم يبد أن أمها قادرة على أن تمنحه.
تستعين الفتاة بلغة ساخرة في الحديث عن نفسها وحياتها، الاشخاص المحيطين بها، الاخصائية الاجتماعية، وتصف البيئة القاسية للمغتربين.
الفصول قصيرة، والسرد يندفع عبر الانعطافات العاطفية للفتاة والتقلبات التي تؤثر على حياة محيطها. كانت قراءة قصيرة وممتعة.

No one is better than the French to write about bullying.
For the acceptance part they still have time, I suppose.

↠ 3.5 stars

I enjoyed this book a lot. The plot is pretty predictable - it is nothing we haven't read before in other coming-of-age teenage novels - but the voice is so strong (the translating of French backslang into British urban slang was a nice touch, I thought) that it didn't matter. The character of Doria is utterly compelling - belligerant yet vulnerable; cynical yet heart-breakingly naive - I would have happily spent twice the length of the book again inside her head. (I hear there is a sequel & intend to track it down.)

Another copy I picked up at the office...turned out to be fascinating. This is the story of a young Algerian girl who lives in the slums surrounding Paris. I've never read a story about this group in France--preferring to focus on the artisan and historical stories--and I found the story to be full of rage, Americanisms and sadness. A compelling peek into a world that I knew nothing about. Sad really.

"Last week, Mme DuThingy, the social worker from city hall, came back to the house. This woman, she's really a shit-stirrer. Mom had hardly opened the door when she flashed her perfect white teeth and started up:

'Oh dear, you don't look so good...ooh la la."

If you like the fiery kind of protagonists you see in some YA novels, you will like fifteen-year old Doria. Originally from Morocco, Doria lives with her illiterate mom in the projects of France (in a North African community) a few miles from Paris. When her father leaves them and heads back to Morocco to find a woman who can give him a son, Doria and her mother must find a way to survive. Mom goes to adult literacy training, Doria tries to finish school but has some obstacles along the way. The story is clunky in places, and there were some unanswered questions, but the voice here is powerful, cheeky, and badass.

It's slightly depressing that I didn't enjoy this much in French, and then read the English translation and thought it was a literary masterpiece. (In my defence, my French was not as good last year when I read it the first time! Even still, a bit of a sad indictment.)

Great book though; it has rightly earned the 'Elle' review of "a Bridget Jones teenager of the suburbs". Hilarious writing, very endearing central protagonist, lots of subtle social comment about difficulties of 'banlieue' - very worth the read.

رواية مسلية بشدة تتنهي في خفة
دون فلسفة
تناقش مشاكل المغتربين
او تظهرها بصورة بسيطة وساخرة
تخليك تقول يا سلام
يا اخي
ايه دا
مفيش الكلام الكبير المجعلص
رواية لطيفة بشدة
:)

La vie dans une cité vue par une gamine de 15 ans issue de l'immigration, sans père avec une mère analphabète et courageuse. Une style agressif, aussi jeune que l'héroïne, une lecture qui laisse un goût après sur la langue et de l'espoir dans les coeurs. J'ai énormément aimé cette lecture

It’s okay

Fun and fiery coming of age novella with an upbeat ending, when she turns 16 and it seems she is getting a little traction in her life (including a sincere boyfriend who once tutored her in school). Working class Magrebin Paris is the setting and the anger at the exclusion of North African youth from beautiful France is not muted - she's pissed! But she's also pissed at the relentlessly misogynist immigrant Muslim culture, which results in middle aged fathers like her own dumping their wife when she fails to produce a son and finding a new fertile one back in the bled.
There are a lot of references that would be hard to follow for readers not familiar with North African immigrants in France - and the English translation doesn't help at all. For example, translations of many idioms using "merdre" in French are all translated without nuance to "shit," making the young protagonist sound inauthentic, and effectively removing it from many American high school reading lists. Also, puns and word play from darija Arabic just don't survive the translation - including the peculiar choice of title, which hardly makes any sense to an English reader.

Still, this feisty and often very funny novel is worth a read and raises a voice not heard often in English - or French.