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.
Hello everyone! A Very Large Expanse of Sea was the first book I've read by Tahereh Mafi, and I honestly cannot wait to read more from her. I read this in almost 24 hours because I couldn't put it down. I obviously rated it 5/5 stars.
Writing: Tahereh Mafi's writing style has been well praised with good reason. She has this amazing ability to make words flow together without being overcomplicated, yet everything's structured. Her words are just so quote-worthy, it's no wonder she's able to switch between genres so easily. She's just that great of an author. She was able to capture Shirin's emotions without making it sound like words dumped on a page. She explained the issues of racism and Islamophobia to people who don't go through it, and I believe that was so important to the integrity of the story and the representation of the Muslim community.
Characters: Shirin was such an interesting character for me to connect with. I am also Muslim, however, I don't wear the hijab. Shirin is a very angry person, who in order to cope with discrimination and the violent political climate, shuts the world out. She barely registers other people's faces or what's going on at school, and I can understand that. When the entire world looks, and even treats you, like the enemy, you just have to become indifferent to the rest of the world. Her struggles to open up and trust others is something I've also dealt with. It becomes easy to assume everyone is out to get you for your own safety, that you forget there are actually decent people in the world.
Speaking of decent people, Ocean James is the other main character of this novel. First of all, his name is so beautiful, I don't care if it's weird. I love the ocean. I'll admit, just like Shirin, I was a bit skeptical of him. I couldn't really imagine a privileged white boy being kind to a Persian Muslim girl without an ulterior motive. Nonetheless, he proved both of us wrong. I loved his awkwardness at first, and when you find out he's actually very popular, I love how he was willing to risk so much in order to the right thing and defend Shirin. He was so open to Shirin's culture and practices and genuinely wanted to know more about her. Some people need to take notes.
Plot and Details: This book was essentially about Shirin facing her own feelings and realizing it's okay to be mad at the world, but it's also okay to let others in. What I appreciated a lot about this novel was that Shirin didn't hide who she was at all. She wasn't fake with other people, and even if they didn't like her. One criticism I have is regarding her parents, mostly because I feel like culturally they would have been more involved in her life. However, I do think they were great people, and Tahereh represented people from the Middle East in a truthful light. Ocean and Shirin's relationship was explored in a believable manner, and even though Shirin had to move again in the end, I was so glad that they were both able to grow from each other. Shirin had her own unique personality, and it was so important for me that Muslim girls are represented without the use of stereotypes.
Tahereh Mafi was successful in capturing the life of an average Muslim post 9/11, without tainting the emotional journey of the characters by being overly political. I highly recommend this book to others, Muslim or not, because it was genuinely a well-written story.
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Love, Ru.
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