It terrifies her-they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds-and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.īut then she meets Ocean James. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments-even the physical violence-she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature!įrom the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Shatter Me series comes a powerful, heartrending contemporary novel about fear, first love, and the devastating impact of prejudice. This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Intense, emotional and resonant, A Very Large Expanse of Sea is a riptide that pulls readers in. While immersing themselves in gorgeous prose, readers will feel for Shirin as she stands up for her beliefs in the midst of hurtful words and violence, and they’ll cheer as she experiences first love and laugh-out-loud moments. Tahereh Mafi, best known for her Shatter Me series, has stepped away from fantasy to pen this incredibly realistic novel based on her own experiences. And it is about the courage to tell the truth and to be more than they expect. It’s about forgiveness and bravery int he face of it all. It challenges us to be better, to find the light in the darkness, and to not let other’s hatred obscure our own dreams.
But when Shirin is paired with Ocean James in biology class, he slowly begins to chip away at the walls Shirin has constructed. A Very Large Expanse of Sea appreciates all the angles of the human heart. When Shirin joins in and perfects her power moves like crab walks and head spins, she becomes someone else-someone who isn’t afraid of being hurt.
The one place she feels comfortable is in the dance studio with her brother and his break-dancing team. Having grown used to the misconceptions, name-calling and outright racism hurled her way for wearing a hijab, Muslim-American Shirin has developed a tough exterior and an even tougher interior. A year after 9/11, 16-year-old Shirin is starting yet another first day of school at her third high school in two years, and she’s over it.
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