Details

Length: 310
Story Build: Decent 
Character development: Solid
Age Recommendation: 7th (with parent knowledge) and beyond               Reasoning: strong language; intense romantic moments, but no sexual content

Summary and Review

 I bought this book, along with 6 others, right before Christmas. I happened to announce them to my classes, and I mentioned that this one dealt with Islamophobia as the main character is Muslim and wears a hijab. 

As the students were working, one of my gals came up to me and asked to borrow it. I looked at her and confessed that I hadn’t read it yet, and it was brand new, so I usually want to read them first. She looked at me (I’m trying to remember exactly what she said) and stated, “I think I’m like her, and I think I can relate.” I then realized that she was also Muslim. I instantly gave her the text. 

She gave it back to me the Monday after the Friday she took it. She said it was amazing, and that it was cool to see words and phrases that she understood as they are part of her culture. 

I tell you this story because this interaction is why I started this journey. It’s about connection and understanding. Everyone deserves to see themselves and their story reflected in literature, and we should be reading diverse texts in order to better empathize and comprehend our fellow humans. 

A Very Large Expanse of Sea is the story of Shirin, who is Muslim, and wears a hijab. She is at her upteenth school and cannot wait to leave high school behind her. Her older brother, Navid, is more social than she is, so he assimilates faster into the new schools they attend. 

Not only does Shirin look different with her hijab, but she also has a tough exterior. She acts not like a typical teen but one with a giant chip on her shoulder. And who can blame her? She’s been made fun of and terrorized as the novel is set in 2002, a year after 9/11. 

However, when she is randomly assigned with Ocean James, a white classmate in her AP Biology class, she is forced to reconsider the way she has looked at the world. 

It’s not THAT simple, obviously. Shirin has her own hesitations about Ocean and the world around her that are grounded in years of verbal and physical abuse. However, their friendship and possible feelings for one another help to push her in a new direction of understanding while also challenging the community around them to be understanding. 

It’s not easy, and the book will make you feel angry for the high schoolers’  treatment of Shirin and her culture. Expect a realistic depiction of Islamophobia, which is important to read about and understand, especially from the perspective of a Muslim teenager. 

So… what will become of Shirin and Ocean? Will perspectives be changed? I highly encourage you to read to both be informed, entertained, enlightened, and moved.

Celebrations

I really loved the time spent on Shirin’s hijab. Mafi gives her character a beautiful explanation of why she wears the hair covering, and she constantly stands up for her reasoning. It’s really powerful. Furthermore, the fact that the author did not shy away from depicting what high school must have been like for Shirin is a celebration. It’s uncomfortable to know that there are people who act the way the high schoolers did in this novel. But it’s the truth. 

I also really, really loved this quote from Shirin’s father: “If the decision you’ve made has brought you closer to humanity, then you’ve done the right thing” (Mafi 273). 

Let that sink in. 

Hesitations

There were times when I became angry with Shirin; she could be SO harsh towards people even when they were well intentioned. However, while that was easy for me to say considering my own life experiences, Mafi had other characters in the novel, in Shirin’s inner circle, who were able to shed some light on that for her, which I thought was great. My only other hesitation surrounded the development of her parents. They were referenced in the text and had some scenes, but there were times when Shirin referenced them as one way and then they were depicted differently in scenes… it just felt like a continuity issue. Nevertheless, it doesn’t make me feel any less obsessed with the text and its message of acceptance.