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taliatalksbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi was a huge step away from her Shatter Me series, but maintained the same type of complex characters, well paced plot, and digestible language. This book offers a first hand look into the life of a Muslim American after the events of 9/11. This book utilizes a realistic fiction lens to communicate the experiences that so many of us would never have experienced without works like this. It is also an estimate to Madi’s talents as a writer, seeing her abilities to craft a powerful narrative in both dystopian fantasy and a hard-pressed realistic setting. Though some of the scenes were hard to read given the content of the novel, it is supposed to make us feel uncomfortable and does it in the best way. I think this is a thought provoking novel, even though we are no longer living in the immediate aftermath, the lessons we can learn about how to treat one another are absolutely still relevant 20+ years later. I truly couldn’t put this book down and finished it from cover to cover in about 3 hours (give or take a few minutes). I’m certainly recommending this book to everyone I can, including all of you, so go check it out if you have t read it yet!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Bullying
abbyl819's review against another edition
5.0
This book ended up being so good! I love Tahereh Mafi’s writing in her other books, but the change in genre and pace made me unsure at first. In her other books, she had passages of beautiful and lyrical writing that I absolutely loved, but this book did not feature this aspect of her writing style as much. This is more than made up for by the fantastic story that is told about Shirin and her experience with racism. Not only is it a fantastic and illuminating book that reveals a lot about a difficult topic, I also loved the romance and thought that it was very well done. This book is on par with The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, and similarly as meaningful and important. All fans of The Hate U Give book or recently released movie should read this.
kkoerth613's review against another edition
5.0
This book knocked me off my feet. It explains the cultural differences in America, and since it was based a year after 9/11, there was quite some backlash against these differing cultures. I’m so glad I read this book first in the New Year, never expected the first book of the year to be such a compelling one.
leonie_88's review against another edition
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
sadhbh_mcd123's review against another edition
4.0
This book is about a girl called Shirin who is an Iranian-American Muslim teenager. She has to navigate a new high school in a post 9/11 world. She has all the ordinary teenage worries to deal with like love but she also has to deal with fear and prejudice of being a Muslim girl that chooses to wear the Hijab.
This book is eye opening to what it is like to be a Muslim girl in western society. The things our main character had to experience were extremely sad. What made it more real was that the events that happened in this book were things that the author of this book Tahereh Mafi experienced in high school. I gave this book 4/5 stars because I found this book dragged at the beginning but the second half was amazing! I also enjoyed the romance between Shirin and Ocean. The romance was a great tool to be able to learn more about prejudice and Persian/Muslim traditions.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to see life from a different perspective.
This book is eye opening to what it is like to be a Muslim girl in western society. The things our main character had to experience were extremely sad. What made it more real was that the events that happened in this book were things that the author of this book Tahereh Mafi experienced in high school. I gave this book 4/5 stars because I found this book dragged at the beginning but the second half was amazing! I also enjoyed the romance between Shirin and Ocean. The romance was a great tool to be able to learn more about prejudice and Persian/Muslim traditions.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to see life from a different perspective.
jenhurst's review against another edition
2.0
I might’ve liked this had I read it in high school, but adult me reading this just didn’t enjoy this at all. The romance felt insta lovey to me. I get that people had been shitty to Shirin and she became rude/hard as a result and she was called out by her brother Navid and his friends about this but it felt like she never grew as a person to realize not everyone is a racist asshole. The book felt like majority of the plot was the love story between Shirin and ocean and I got why she liked him but I didn’t get why ocean liked her. Right from the start she was rude to him and constantly assuming the worst of ocean and he genuinely seemed like a good guy. They also didn’t seem to have anything in common. I wish we could’ve seen them bonding over music, movies, books, something but instead it felt like they were polar opposites. Shirin was mainly just annoying and whiny. The fact she’s Iranian though, was a plus and we need more own voices stories.
bibliobrandie's review against another edition
4.0
Shirin wears hijab in early 2000s after 9/11 and faces racism on a daily basis in her high school. She falls in love with who she and the world thinks is the wrong guy and it's very heartbreaking. Breakdancing saves the day.
cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
Emotional and fast read with cute romance,but ending was to rushed.
annagwritesandreads's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
General Description: The year is 2002. Shirin is a high school sophomore who wears a hijab. She's not truly known peace with other people, so she shuts everyone out. That is, until she meets Ocean James. Ocean will to anything to honestly know Shirin, but can she trust him? Will Shirin even be in town long enough for Ocean to get to know her, or will she move again to avoid the relentless bullying?
The goods:
- I ain't ashamed to say it, I liked the breakdancing subplot.
- Shirin was consistent in herself and her character development was pleasing to see.
- I liked Ocean's honesty, he seemed like the cream of the crop at that school. Other side characters were not bad, but I did have a soft spot for Ocean.
- I felt a lot of serious conversation occurred in this book, which led to reflection within myself which I love seeing in books, but...
The loss of a star:
-...after serious conversations, we'd go to surface level issues and it was a bit jarring. I wish we either stayed in the serious conversations until their conclusions, or stayed surface level. Switching back and forth took me out of the story.
Overall, if you're looking for a commentary on how the world is post 9/11, this is a great book to start delving into that complex commentary and it's accessible for younger readers.
The goods:
- I ain't ashamed to say it, I liked the breakdancing subplot.
- Shirin was consistent in herself and her character development was pleasing to see.
- I liked Ocean's honesty, he seemed like the cream of the crop at that school. Other side characters were not bad, but I did have a soft spot for Ocean.
- I felt a lot of serious conversation occurred in this book, which led to reflection within myself which I love seeing in books, but...
The loss of a star:
-...after serious conversations, we'd go to surface level issues and it was a bit jarring. I wish we either stayed in the serious conversations until their conclusions, or stayed surface level. Switching back and forth took me out of the story.
Overall, if you're looking for a commentary on how the world is post 9/11, this is a great book to start delving into that complex commentary and it's accessible for younger readers.