You're Not a Girl in a Movie

by Hala Alyan (Author+Narrator)

You’re Not a Girl in a Movie is a new collection of powerful poems by Hala Alyan, winner of the Arab American Book Award in Poetry and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. In these nine extraordinary poems, Alyan wrestles with the intimate themes that have driven her acclaimed body of work to date: the aching loss of homeland, the image and worth of women, and the violence of love. In Beirut, Brooklyn, and roads in the American West, she unravels the effects of decades of war and displacement on love and human worth and identity. She speaks to mothers and grandmothers, past lovers and friends, and through her shimmering, wrenching glimpses of internal and political chaos, pleads for home.


Listening Length: 34 minutes

Genres: Poetry, Audiobook, Memoir, Feminism, Nonfiction, Short Stories, Adult

1 pages, Audible Audio

First published December 22, 2020

About the author

Hala Alyan was born in Carbondale, Illinois, and grew up in Kuwait, Oklahoma, Texas, Maine, and Lebanon. She earned a BA from the American University of Beirut and an MA from Columbia University. While completing her doctorate in clinical psychology from Rutgers University, she specialized in trauma and addiction work with various populations.

Her memoir, I'll Tell You When I'm Home is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster in June 2025.

She has published two novels, her debut Salt Houses (2017), is the winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Arab American Book Award and a finalist for the Chautauqua Prize, and her second novel, The Arsonists' City (2021).

Alyan's poetry collections include Atrium (2012), winner of the 2013 Arab American Book Award in Poetry; Four Cities (2015); Hijra (2016), winner of the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry; The Twenty-Ninth Year (2019); and The Moon That Turns You Back (2024).

She co-edited the poetry anthology We Call to the Eye & the Night: Love Poems by Writers of Arab Heritage (2023) with poet Zeina Hashem Beck.

Alyan has also been awarded a Lannan Foundation fellowship and her poems have appeared in numerous journals and literary magazines including The New Yorker, The Academy of American Poets, Guernica, Jewish Currents,The New York Times Book Review, Prairie Schooner and Colorado Review.

Alyan is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Applied Psychology at NYU. She resides in Brooklyn with her family.

Reviews

[twopurplebookends · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved “In an argument, My Love Calls Me Fragile.” Well done.

[Leap through the pages Coffee and Commentary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful and gripping. Hala Alyan narrates the tough aspects of life, from toxic relationship to generational trauma, from self loathing to self love, from refugee to revolutionary. Absolutely beautiful and raw poetry.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story & audio 4 stars**
Narrator & author Hala Alyan

[Mariah Roze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great poetry book!

"You’re Not a Girl in a Movie is a new collection of powerful poems by Hala Alyan, winner of the Arab American Book Award in Poetry and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. In these nine extraordinary poems, Alyan wrestles with the intimate themes that have driven her acclaimed body of work to date: the aching loss of homeland, the image and worth of women, and the violence of love. In Beirut, Brooklyn, and roads in the American West, she unravels the effects of decades of war and displacement on love and human worth and identity. She speaks to mothers and grandmothers, past lovers and friends, and through her shimmering, wrenching glimpses of internal and political chaos, pleads for home."

[literaryelise · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Like how Meryem says I love you infinity / and I know what she means is / I love you like neither of us will ever die.”

Incredible poetry collection!!

[C.L. Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful words, artfully crafted, and meanigfully written.

[Zana · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the Rupi Kaur girlies who grew up and desire more complex topics 🐝🌻

[Farhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So after a long long time, I read some poetry which were refreshing, thought-provoking, meaningful and "new" in true sense.
Since the time I listened it once, I've been repeatedly listening to it!

My fav poems (though each of them are special)
In an Argument, My love called me Fragile
What I mean when I say I loved Him
To the man I didn't marry
Valentine


Beautiful!

[alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Admittedly took much longer to get through for such a short collection of poems because I kept thinking that I needed a transcription of the works in order to truly fall in love with what they meant. This is not true. There is such strength in this poet who relies on her cultural background of trauma and immigration that ties each work to the other, and it's beautiful.

100% recommend!

Favourites:
- In An Argument, My Love Calls Me Fragile
- To The Men I Didn't Marry
- Valentine
- I Haven't Had a Drink in Seven Years

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turns out I actually do like poetry.

[Mel Kenney · Rating 3 out of 5]

WOW!!! Powerful. Moving. Thought provoking. I will be processing these set of poems for some time to come.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This poetry collection packs a punch, some I liked more than others but overall it’s worth the read/listen.

[Genna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry, in the form of an audiobook, is literally music to one’s ears 🙌🏼

[Lisa Kekaula · Rating 5 out of 5]

You’re Not a Girl in a Movie by Hala Alyan
This is matter of fact poetic expression. Nothing is hidden and there is nothing to infer from my reading having never read Hala Alyan before this. Clarity of thought and communication are her pillars and much appreciated.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorite poems were "In an argument, my love calls me fragile" and "To the men I didn't marry".

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great. I didn't know anything about it before I started listening to it. I like that a lot of it is about the experience of being Palestinian.

[Sharanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gorgeous collection of poetry.

[✦ Rox ☽ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It choked me up. I could barely breathe through each poem.

[Rheathebookwormdreamergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Keeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was beautifully written and performed.

[Lanie D · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Iva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very touching, shocking and moving poetry collection consisting of 9 poems. I listened to it all at once because I just couldn't stop. I will come back to it for sure.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so torn... Part of my wants to give this 5 stars for the real/raw emotion communicated so well. I enjoyed hearing the author read her poetry herself (this was an audiobook). "In an Argument, My Love Calls Me Fragile" was particularly moving.

That said, another part of me considered giving it only 2 stars because of a few F-bombs and content that's definitely for mature adults only... Real life and true history is hard and ugly at times, but this won't be a book I register l revisit to study more thoughtfully. I would love to hear her stories communicated in a way that puts growth and healing above shock value.

She's a talented writer, and I know some of my friends would be captivated from start to finish - it's a beautiful journey - but I can't wholeheartedly recommend a book that dwells on brokenness without also pointing you to Grace.

[Henna Bagha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has everything you could think of and that is why I think everyone should listen to it.

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

i cried. this book reminded me why i love poetry so much

[B Suarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good set of poems. They talk about love and loss

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really nice collection of poems. Each one felt raw, real, and very well written.

[Kirsten LaCole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Audible very much. Beautiful written, thoughtful, and powerful! Poetry in motion

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am BEGGING y’all to experience this poetry collection through it’s audiobook format. alyan is the kind of poet that makes you FEEL her words with her performance. my personal favorite of this collection was “in an argument, my love calls me fragile."

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
“You are the person I think about when life is difficult”

“Where you are from is where you break…”

A beautifully beat style delivered, short collection of poetry on growing, battling and experiencing - I especially enjoyed the sections ‘How to survive your body’ and ‘To the men I didn’t marry’ - definitely a poet that I’m looking forward to reading more from