He thought I'd forged my mom's name on the slip. How stupid is that? On this thing Mom just made a kind of squiggly shape on the page. That jerk di...
read full description
reviews
May 17, 2007
Meaghan
rated it: 
I was going to write a review about this book, but then I remembered that I don't remember anything about it. I read it last month and it has already slipped from my mind.
I love coming of age novels, but this protagonist is barely memorable.
I love coming of age novels, but this protagonist is barely memorable.
2 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Nov 26, 2008
Dj
rated it:
Finished reading this book Friday morning on my metro ride in to work. This was a great book for the metro since you could pick it up and put it down without losing any train of thought or end during a critical piece of analysis. Not a great book at all. It was cool, since the perspective was intriguing: French-born Moroccan adolescent girl growing up in poor suburbs around Paris with her Moroccan mother and absent father.
The timing of this book was good, given the riots last year in t More...
The timing of this book was good, given the riots last year in t More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Nov 21, 2008
Ciara
rated it:
i wanted to love this book...but i didn't. it's a novel about a teenage girl living in the projects outside paris with her mom. the cast of surrpunding characters is a motley crew of old people, immigrants, people struggling to get by. i guess maybe this is supposed to be a coming-of-age novel, as the protaganist comesover the course of the book to make some strides in having a better relationship with her mom & doing the work necessary to improve her station in life, which may not have happened
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 02, 2012
Sara
rated it: 
I picked up this book by chance after finding it on the shelf at the library, and it was an extremely quick read. Doria's a teenager in France, born to Moroccan immigrant parents. Her dad took off and returned to Morocco to marry a younger woman who could produce a son, so now Doria's left with her mom in their crummy apartment, talks to only the other immigrants in her complex and the social worker who visits them, and sort of goes through life filled with anger and apathy for her lot and her
More...
Dec 21, 2011
Biblibio
rated it:
While perhaps this may be best suited for young adults (or adults fresh out of adolescence), those still tuned to the teenager mind, Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow is a quick and fresh take on the coming-of-age genre.
Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow tells the story of Doria, a cynical 15-year old daughter of Moroccan immigrants growing up in France. Doria begins the book in a bad place - her father has just left her family, she has only one friend (a 28 year old drug dealer who quotes her poetry), her mot More...
Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow tells the story of Doria, a cynical 15-year old daughter of Moroccan immigrants growing up in France. Doria begins the book in a bad place - her father has just left her family, she has only one friend (a 28 year old drug dealer who quotes her poetry), her mot More...
Dec 05, 2010
Jenni Lou
rated it:
A fast and thoughtful read, Faïza Guène‘s Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow is a coming-of-age story about a teenage Arab girl living in the projects near Paris. Poor and abandoned by her father, Doria is left with her mother, an illiterate and kind, polite woman. Doria feels her only wrong-doing is in being born a girl, as her father was driven away by her mother’s inability to produce a male child.
Full of rage and disillusioned by the vagaries life has shown her, Doria resents most of the people More...
Full of rage and disillusioned by the vagaries life has shown her, Doria resents most of the people More...
Nov 01, 2009
Michael VanZandt
rated it:
Before you ask me "Why are you reading a coming-of-age book about a French teenage girl?", let me assure you that it was assigned for class. Regardless, this book has its merits, but also dawdles through a year without any significant events occurring. The protagonist does not truly accomplish anything remarkable, and by the end I had wished that the tale was told from her mother's perspective. Yet, there are deceptively poignant moments that do arise. Unfortunately, the author nev
More...
Jan 20, 2010
Marie
rated it: 
A very accurate representation of the life of Arabic Immigrants in France. Written in the no nonsense a bit rash style of a teenager the book grabs you from beginning to end. Reading about the conditions of life for some of these unfortunate women only makes you want to change things for the unfortunate immigrants.
A fresh look on immigration and on surviving even in difficult conditions.
The voice of the young girl is sometimes angry but it is an anger that is directed to the injust More...
A fresh look on immigration and on surviving even in difficult conditions.
The voice of the young girl is sometimes angry but it is an anger that is directed to the injust More...
Oct 27, 2010
drea
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Sep 14, 2008
Zach
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 29, 2009
Mecque
rated it:
I read this book in a day and really enjoyed it. The main character sounded like a real girl. It was bizarre for me to read because I have been to Paris but have never seen the projects. I was warned never to take the metro all the way outside of the city because it was dangerous. Doria in Kiffe Kiffe is under attack by weak paternal figures in an oppressive patriarchal society and by native French who represent wealth and democracy. Yet she remains a strong, independent voice throughout th
More...
Aug 02, 2010
Mrsgaskell
rated it:
15-year old Doria’s father has returned to his native Morocco to wed a younger and hopefully more fertile wife in a bid to have a son. Doria and her mother Yasmina are left struggling in the suburban Paris project of Paradise. Yasmina is illiterate and works as a cleaner at the Formula 1 Motel; Doria is failing in scohool. Doria is seeing a psychiatrist Mme Burlaud, and the two are visited regularly by a succession of social workers. Doria is an engaging narrator, a justifiably angry adolescent
More...
Dec 26, 2008
Kristina
rated it:
This is a book that some of my students read for school. I often consider reading everything that they read so that when they come into my room talking about a book, I can discuss it with them. Overall, I think that this is a good book. There is a lot to consider - racism, poverty, French culture, education, adolescence. My only problem with the book was that Guene wrote the main character so well (in terms of being an angsty teenager) that I felt like I was at work when really I was on wint
More...
Jul 19, 2010
Christine
rated it:
Guène, Faïza. Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow. Orlando: A Harvest Original / Harcourt Inc., 2004.
(English translation by Sarah Adams 2006)
International/Multicultural/Contemporary
Subjects: realism, immigration, poverty, humour, Morocco, Paris, resourcefulness
4Q 4P M J S
The title of this coming of age book is a play on words: the Arab kif-kif or "same old, same old" played against the French slang kiffer, to love/be excited about something. This sets More...
(English translation by Sarah Adams 2006)
International/Multicultural/Contemporary
Subjects: realism, immigration, poverty, humour, Morocco, Paris, resourcefulness
4Q 4P M J S
The title of this coming of age book is a play on words: the Arab kif-kif or "same old, same old" played against the French slang kiffer, to love/be excited about something. This sets More...
Jun 30, 2009
Helynne
rated it:
Kiffe Kiffe Demain by Faiza Guène (b. 1985), a daughter of Algerian immigrants to France, was a surprise best-seller in France in 2004, and already has been translated into English. This novel is the story of a young Beur (an Arabic-based word meaning French-born people of North African descent) girl negotiating the Parisian maelstrom. The heroine, 15-year-old Doria, lives with her illiterat, Moroccan-born mother in a poor and violence-ridden HLM (government-subsized low-income housein
More...
Oct 21, 2009
Natasha
rated it: 
Absolutely a must-read to see the other side of France, the immigrants'side. I was skeptical about this book but found myself absolutely glued to every page. Even though the author is quite young, the prose is flowing and her witty sarcasm and humor color every page. I would think this is a great book for a teenager. It is a glimpse into everything that is not so glamorous about living in France, more of the real side, the dirty Paris and everything they don't usually mention when they talk abou
More...
Apr 23, 2008
Julie
rated it:
It's interesting to see common concerns of teenagers alongside the very specific concerns of the narrator who lives in the projects outside of Paris. It's a reminder that no matter where we live, what culture we belong to, we share common bonds relating to emotions, desires, and dreams. I'm partial to this book because the author was herself a teenager at the time she wrote it, and I enjoy hearing about life directly from the source. Having been to Paris, I was interested to read about parts
More...
Feb 03, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
It's nice to read YA fiction from another country, and Guene certainly shows that a lot of the travails of adolescence are universal. The protagonist, Doria, is fabulously smart and spunky and Guene does a nice job of balancing hope and realism. I liked it and sped through it, but I think it's too lacking in what my students call "drama" to really draw them in.
Sep 29, 2010
Joy
rated it:
A very angry Algerian girl whose parent immigrated to Paris, France. Father left illiterate Mom for younger women back in Algeria that would bear him a son. First daughter ignored and not happy about when Dad left for old country. Disdain, anger but somewhat light-hearted at times. Too much of a "poor me" for my tastes.
Jun 12, 2011
Mostafa
rated it:
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
:)
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
:)
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Aug 08, 2011
Hanna
rated it:
such great examination of immigrant population in the parisian suburbs. and also just a glimpse into the mind of an angsty emotional self concious teenage girl. she just happens to be moroccan growing up in paris. very interesting examination of current language.
Nov 22, 2009
Saleem
rated it:
this gives a good insight into women immigrants of north african countries in france, these women are known to excel and go places while the men trade drugs and are unemployed. entertaining not excellent if the subject of matter doesnt matter to you.
Jan 16, 2008
Eleanor
rated it:
I can't remember exactly when I read this book, but I did read it for book group at the Alliance Francaise. I'm only adding it because I'm reading her new book "Du reve pour les oufs" which amazon.com and good reads can't seem to find anywhere. This book is funny. It's juvenile and ridiculous (good for learning French slang), but her social commentary is astute in a satirical kind of way. I still laugh to myself about "Madame DuBidule, Madame DuTruc." De reve pour les oufs
More...
Sep 09, 2008
i remember reading that this book began as a thesis project for the writer. it's basically a diary of the writer's life as an young woman in the projects of a parisian suburb. justin always admits to a weakness for immigrant stories to which i have to confess the same (as if it weren't obvious). to me, what's interesting about this book is the author's open angst in what so many people have always considered one of the most 'civilized' cities in the world. as every developed country becomes more
More...
Aug 23, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
totally follows the spirit of Calixthe Beyala and raises questions about immigration and identity that are relevant not just in Paris, but in the Us as well.
Jul 29, 2011
Megan
rated it:
more like 3.5- i did like it, took a bit to warm up but then i was surprised about my depth of feelings about the characters. the end wasn't earth shaking but seemed to fit and even ended a bit on a up note, which wasn't completely expected. not sure how much my knowledge of the author's only being 19 when she wrote it played into my enjoyment but regardless it was an interesting dip into a life and culture i didn't know anything about.
Jan 03, 2009
Vladthepoet
rated it:
A first person narrative from Moroccan girl growing up in the projects on the outskirts of Paris. Cute and entertaining read.
Aug 31, 2010
Jane
rated it:
loved reading it with Conor. He had interesting things to say about how the main character believes that falling in love is the way out of the hardships of her life. I realize how that is still often the female perspective. It felt confused to Conor, who, while sensitive, is far more practical than the heroine of Kiffe Kiffe. The book while perhaps not autobiographical, draws on the writer's experiences growing up in the projects outside Paris. We had a good discussion comparing this book to Cat
More...
Jan 26, 2010
Karen
rated it:
Quick read but not sure what it was trying to say, other than, as you grow up you change your thinking.
Jan 18, 2010
KBev
rated it:
Reminded me of what it's like to be a teenager that only wants to be one of the cool kids, but can't.
