Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah

It’s six-thirty in the morning. I stumble out of bed and splash cold water in my flushed face. The portable fan has been switched off during the night, probably by Sitti Zeynab, who sleeps with a thick blanket even during the sweltering summer nights.

Hayaat is from Bethlehem and she is on a dangerous mission. Her objective: retrieve a handful of soil which could save a life.  Her destination: Jerusalem. To get there she will have to get pass the impenetrable wall that divides the West Bank. She will have to deal with checkpoints, curfews and a best friend who manages to attract trouble wherever he goes. Her short journey may take her a lot longer than she thought.

Where the Streets Had a Name is longlisted for the Gold Inky