Shirin just wants people to see her for her, to understand that she isn’t oppressed. Unfortunately, the Islamophobia is rampant, especially with the fact that Shirin and her family move quite regularly which makes it difficult to settle into a small town let alone wait for people to get over their prejudices. Shirin a 16-year-old Muslim girl who wears the hijab is the daughter of two Persian immigrants who have made America their home. It was a book that dived into an unexplored topic in an authentic way, surely motivated by the authors own personal experiences with the topic.Ī Very Large Expanse of Sea is set in 2002 just a year after the tragic events of 9/11. A Very Large Expanse of Sea is both raw and filled with hope. Tahereh Mafi has said that this book is semi-autobiographical which I feel just highlights the importance of this story. It truly had one of the best romances I have ever read and I am still reeling from it. It filled my heart and just made me want to explode. I started this book and was unable to put it down. A Very Large Expanse of Sea was no exception. 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.Ģ018 was the year I fell in love with Tahereh Mafi’s books and writing style. 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. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. 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.

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. Genre: contemporary, young adult, romance Dates Read: October 18th 2018 to October 19th 2018

A very large expanse of sea read online