Article contributed by Noura Khalid
Tahereh Mafi brings to us a young adult novel that shows some of the struggles that Muslims living in America could face. The book is told from the point of view of Shirin, a Muslim girl who wears a Hijab and her story takes place a year after 9/11.
The book was quite enjoyable with the beginning more so explaining Shirin’s life thus far, including the many times she moved schools and what her life was like with the fact that she wore the Hijab. There were the hurtful comments that people made towards her and I couldn’t fathom being in her place and being called names like that. I highly doubt I’d be able to stay as strong as she was in this book. What was noticeable mostly is the fact that all the hate that she was so used to getting just made her angry. Constantly. She wouldn’t so much as give anyone a chance and this upset me a little bit. She closed herself off because she was so used to the usual questions and assumptions, and she spent a lot of her school life alone.
I loved the idea of the breakdancing! I just wish there was more focus on it in the book as it was considered Shirin’s distraction. Whenever school life got too hard, there was always breakdancing to go back to, but I would have loved to read more about it. I loved that it proved that even if a girl wears a Hijab, it doesn’t stop her from pursuing something that she is passionate about.
I loved Shirin’s brother, Navid, and his friends. I loved how involved her brother was in her life and that he included her in his activities even if most of them were with his friends. He didn’t feel embarrassed about having her around and he stood up for her a lot of the time, his friends included. One thing that I didn’t find necessary was the romantic relationship as it wasn’t interesting at all. Ocean was great and everything, but I just wasn’t invested.
The Islam representation was a bit strange and off for me, but it might not be for others. I think this book is all about perspective and everyone will make up their own minds about the events. Then again, isn’t that the beauty of reading? It was still a really great read though and it was enjoyable that there was someone I could sort of relate to. Someone else who experienced a similar situation. Someone that knew what it was like to be discriminated against.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea is available on Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
