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A review by jessicapietro
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
2.0
So let me just start by saying that I had very high expectations for this book because it's author, Tahereh Mafi, wrote the totally epic Shatter Me series and I absolutely loved it! (HIGHLY recommend.)
That being said, I was actually very disappointed in this one.
I liked:
-the idea of the story and what it taught me about extreme racism
-the fact that it is based on the author's personal experiences
-the male character, Ocean...and seriously hoping he was based on a real person whom the author knew because he was pretty awesome
-the descriptiveness of the feelings she was having during the romance and emotional sections
I did not like:
-the writing style for most of it (with the exception of some very poetic feelings...). It felt like it was written like someone sitting on my front porch telling me about something that happened to them. Which is nice if you are in person but you expect a little more out of a book. More descriptions around the dialogue and things like that.
-the attitude of the main character. I understand that she was full of anger because of what was happening to her but it was very hard to read that negativitiy and just straight up rudeness. It kind of made me feel like I wouldn't like to meet her or speak to her and I enjoy books more when I like or relate to the head I'm inside while reading.
-there was a little too much back and forth that seemed to get very old. I won't say more about that for fear of spoilers.
-the fact that she used the words, "wow" and "weird" WAY TOO MANY TIMES. I didn't count but the book is only 300 pages and I swear it had to be close to 50.
-the breakdancing aspect. Not that I dislike breakdancing, I actually love it! But something about the way it was written felt weird to me. It felt like it didn't belong with the rest of the story.
All in all, I am glad I read this book. I am not sure that I would recomend it because the parts I didn't enjoy outweighed the parts I did. I ended up skimming big chunks of it out of annoyance for the writing style or content. BUT the parts that I did like (that I listed above), were very impactful. If someone were wanting to see the true ugliness of racism for American muslims after 9/11, this may be an interesting read. It was shocking to me. I knew racism in this country was rough for them after that awful event but I didn't understand the gravity of it, especially towards an innocent teenage girl. It made my heart hurt reading certain parts. I know it will be in my heart in the future and help me be more understanding and aware of racial prejudices.
That being said, I was actually very disappointed in this one.
I liked:
-the idea of the story and what it taught me about extreme racism
-the fact that it is based on the author's personal experiences
-the male character, Ocean...and seriously hoping he was based on a real person whom the author knew because he was pretty awesome
-the descriptiveness of the feelings she was having during the romance and emotional sections
I did not like:
-the writing style for most of it (with the exception of some very poetic feelings...). It felt like it was written like someone sitting on my front porch telling me about something that happened to them. Which is nice if you are in person but you expect a little more out of a book. More descriptions around the dialogue and things like that.
-the attitude of the main character. I understand that she was full of anger because of what was happening to her but it was very hard to read that negativitiy and just straight up rudeness. It kind of made me feel like I wouldn't like to meet her or speak to her and I enjoy books more when I like or relate to the head I'm inside while reading.
-there was a little too much back and forth that seemed to get very old. I won't say more about that for fear of spoilers.
-the fact that she used the words, "wow" and "weird" WAY TOO MANY TIMES. I didn't count but the book is only 300 pages and I swear it had to be close to 50.
-the breakdancing aspect. Not that I dislike breakdancing, I actually love it! But something about the way it was written felt weird to me. It felt like it didn't belong with the rest of the story.
All in all, I am glad I read this book. I am not sure that I would recomend it because the parts I didn't enjoy outweighed the parts I did. I ended up skimming big chunks of it out of annoyance for the writing style or content. BUT the parts that I did like (that I listed above), were very impactful. If someone were wanting to see the true ugliness of racism for American muslims after 9/11, this may be an interesting read. It was shocking to me. I knew racism in this country was rough for them after that awful event but I didn't understand the gravity of it, especially towards an innocent teenage girl. It made my heart hurt reading certain parts. I know it will be in my heart in the future and help me be more understanding and aware of racial prejudices.