Summary
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. (Goodreads)
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. (Goodreads)
Thoughts
I'm a huge fan of the Shatter Me series (No, I didn't read Restore Me yet, I'm sorry!) and it made me a quick fan of Tahereh Mafi, who I have always considered a beautiful, unique writer and a general badass woman with an incredible fashion sense. I dipped my toe into the Furthermore world to no avail (though I'd definitely try again), so I'm really excited that Mafi has decided to take a shot at contemporary YA, which is basically my go-to genre.
Her swerve into the genre was flawless without sacrificing the magic of her words. She is still the writer of perfectly quotable lines about life and love and anger and this proves that she always will be, regardless of the genre or age group she writes for.
Her swerve into the genre was flawless without sacrificing the magic of her words. She is still the writer of perfectly quotable lines about life and love and anger and this proves that she always will be, regardless of the genre or age group she writes for.
Mafi has been very clear that this book is largely autobiographical, so Tahereh was Shirin for me the entire time. It takes place in 2002, but it, unfortunately, could take place now and hardly change. Shirin faces more adversity than her brother because of her choice to wear a headscarf, despite how "easy" her life might be without it. Despite being a teen girl raised in America, she is seen as an oddity, an outsider, a terrorist, a threat, a freak...all because of her religion. All of this has understandably hardened her.
Shirin's shell starts to crack when she is partnered up with Ocean in her biology lab. While he does sort of embarrass himself with the questions he asks, his honesty is something that breaks through to Shirin. Well, that and the fact that he's super good-looking. This is where the writing really started to shine for me. I think that Tahereh Mafi's is incredible at writing about romance, sexual tension, and the ache of wanting someone or something you're not sure you can have. It's probably what I loved most about Shatter Me (Warner 5ever) and it continued here.
I know that break-dancing is meant to play a bigger role in the book than what I took away, but I just didn't feel like it was as prominent as Shirin and Ocean's budding romance or, more importantly, Shirin's continued journey of how she chooses to see the world and how she will fight back against the prejudice of those around her.
Rating
There's very little to complain about in A Very Large Expanse of Sea except for one thing: It was too short! I love a quick read that still packs a powerful punch, but this book, which was just over 300 pages long, could've easily been 50 pages longer without losing steam, and that's why I felt compelled to knock it one star.
But the writing is positively gorgeous, the message is powerful and still so relevant, and I am really hoping that this isn't the last we've seen of Mafi's contemporary work!
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