Name: A very large expanse of sea
Rating: 4.144444444444445 (270 reviews)
ISBN: 9780062866561

Tahereh Mafi

It s 2002, a year after 9/11, and Shirin has just started at yet another school. It s an extremely turbulent time for the world, but especially for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year old Muslim girl who s tired of being stereotyped.  But then she meets Ocean James. He s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin.

A very large expanse of sea

Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature! From 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. It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. 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. Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. 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. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother. But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. 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.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea

3.5 of 5 stars

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This book is powerful, emotional, very raw and so realistic. I am aware of this issue in reality as I have a few Muslim acquaintances, though I never witness any of it especially around the 9/11 when this issue was the issue. I didn't know the full impact of that event. I've never think about it in their perspective how hard and different it was for them to live in this world. This was a decent eye-opening read. I admit this book made me shed a few tears for a few times at how ridiculously unfair the world has become. I thanked Tahereh Mafi for all the wonderful, hard-hitting lines she shared to all of us.

alexandra

This book had me in a lot of jumbled up feelings. I still think 

 has the best Muslim representation and reflection of the Muslim experience and livelihood. However 

As a hijabi myself, while I do not condemn other women who do not fully cover their hair or only wear modestly but not full on hijab. There are clear distinctions between someone who is modest and a hijabi. Hijabis have specific religious checklists when it comes to attire that must be adhered to, these include covering your hair completely and not wearing jeans that clearly outline your bottom.

To be very clear I am not saying to be either / or (meaning removing your hijab completely or covering up in a shapeless black abaya). Nor am I saying you cannot wear fitted pants or jeans as long as it’s considered an attire appropriate for hijab.

Ultimately I’ll celebrate alongside my Muslim sisters and empower them because lord knows we need to.

As a story this was more easily read then I expected, I just soared through the last half of the book. I’m really happy to find a book that showcases the problematic assumptions of putting hijabis on some moral pedestal (majority of it being from Muslims themselves). It’s ridiculous, and I am very very tired of it.

Is it sad that I wasn’t surprised by the racist attacks and blatant xenophobia in this book? Yeah it is. Am I surprised that these islamophobes haven’t moved on from the “Aladdin” and “towelhead” insults? Maybe, but then again hypocrites tend to have limited braincells…

Jawahir M

This book had me in a lot of jumbled up feelings. I still think Ayesha At Last has the best Muslim representation and reflection of the Muslim experience and livelihood. However A Very Large Expanse of Sea is not as bad as Netflix’s Elite.

As a hijabi myself, while I do not condemn other women who do not fully cover their hair or only wear modestly but not full on hijab. There are clear distinctions between someone who is modest and a hijabi. Hijabis have specific religious checklists when it comes to attire that must be adhered to, these include covering your hair completely and not wearing jeans that clearly outline your bottom.

To be very clear I am not saying to be either / or (meaning removing your hijab completely or covering up in a shapeless black abaya). Nor am I saying you cannot wear fitted pants or jeans as long as it’s considered an attire appropriate for hijab.

Ultimately I’ll celebrate alongside my Muslim sisters and empower them because lord knows we need to.

As a story this was more easily read then I expected, I just soared through the last half of the book. I’m really happy to find a book that showcases the problematic assumptions of putting hijabis on some moral pedestal (majority of it being from Muslims themselves). It’s ridiculous, and I am very very tired of it.

Is it sad that I wasn’t surprised by the racist attacks and blatant xenophobia in this book? Yeah it is. Am I surprised that these islamophobes haven’t moved on from the “Aladdin” and “towelhead” insults? Maybe, but then again hypocrites tend to have limited braincells…

Alexa M

3.5

this was a really good YA contemporary. i liked how it actually got deep and dug into really important topics. however, the romance fell flat for me but that's okay cause it's between two sixteen year olds LOL. anyways, i would highly recommend this to people who read this genre / anyone in high school!

menna

i wouldn't have believed anyone if they told me i'd be reading a novel with a Muslim Hijabi teen girl as a main character (i wanted a bi muslim girl but i'll take what i can get). I loved Shirin's character, that she was much more than just her religion, her religion was a part of her life not all of it. She felt very real and that's probably due to the fact that it's inspired/about Tahereh Mafi's own high school experience. As i was reading i was either grinning or crying, there was no in between. That's how good it was! I only wish there were more female characters.

Mafi's writing in this book is so much better than it was in shatter me, i don't know if it's because the change of genre or that her writing has gotten better in general but i'm glad for the change because i wouldn't have been able to read it if it was written in the same writing style as shatter me.

A really good book, with super cringe break dancing scenes.

Sophie

A really good book, with super cringe break dancing scenes.




dija

aisha

Kelsey Joëlle

This book contains so much. The book is as important as THUG in my opinion. Read it, really. It'll open your eyes.

I liked the main character in this book. She’s so awesome. I also loved the boy, because of how caring and considerate he is

manuela

Kailey Rios

i definitely feel like i’m in the minority when i say i didn’t love this, which makes me sad because i for sure thought i would.

the writing was fine and i liked most of the characters a decent amount, i just wasn’t expecting it to be so heavy on the romance for some reason?

the relationship between shirin and ocean was cute and all but i just feel like it kind of overshadowed everything and i wish the focus would’ve been given to other parts of the story a little more.

i would’ve liked more of the breakdancing storyline to have been incorporated, it kind of felt shoved to the side for the majority of the book.

another thing i didn’t love was how back and forth the romance was, after like the fourth time shirin pushed ocean away i was just kind of over it.

the ending was pretty solid and i’m glad representation like this exists, i just wish the story was better.


  3 stars

Shereen Evans

I picked up this book not really knowing what it was. The cover drew me to the book. I listened to this on audio book. It was a little weird hearing my name at first.

This book was pretty good. There was so much going on but yet was able to keep up with the story line. The relationship between Shirin and Ocean not only had the difficulty of being together and having different religious beliefs but also shows that there are people that don't care about those things but about the person and accepts them for who they are. 

I definitely with be picking up the book copy of this. I can see myself rereading this book!

Steph L 

A fantastic YA Book 

This book was absolutely fantastic and I loved it. The characters in this book are real and flawed. The plot of this book was excellent. Writing is something I look forward to In a novel, and the writing n this book was fantastic. The romance was so sweet and I loved it. I recommend this for anyone who enjoys YA Contemporary.

Livie Isbill

tahereh never fails to write beautiful words. love her. 
this book is precious and heartbreaking and lovely.

A very large expanse of sea

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