ANNIE WOODS
  • Home
  • Books
  • About
  • News
  • Contact

My Reading Tips

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

2/18/2020

0 Comments

 
A Very Large Expanse of Sea is a coming-of-age story following Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl, in the extremely turbulent times after 9/11. Tired of all the rude stares, degrading comments, even the physical violence, she’s met with, Shirin has 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 and his friends. Until she meets Ocean, who sees her for who she is behind the stereotypes and refuses to let her rejection keep him from getting to know her better. Slowly, slowly he manages to break down her walls. (Yes, the title of the book is a very clever and poetic way of naming the book after Shirin’s love interest.)
Picture
I loved the first books in The Shatter Me-series by Tahereh Mafi and her unique, beautiful writing style just blew me off. So when I found out that she had written a new book with a Muslim main character who is completely herself, I had such high expectations of another wonderful breathtaking reading experience. Unfortunately though, the writing style is not at all the same in this book. The language is much more plain and nowhere near the feverish, raw, amazing way in which The Shatter Me-series was written.

Story-wise, I also feel that this book could have been so much more. I have settled for a 3 star rating of this book, since it on the one hand was very emotional and heart-breaking, showing Shirin’s anger and frustration at all the injustice and prejudice she’s suffering, but on the other hand, I didn’t connect with Shirin and the story was written in a tell-not-show-way while leaving too much out to make you fully invested in the story. There was so much more I wanted to know; like how could her parents be both so controlling and yet so disturbingly uninterested in her struggles, how was Shirin’s connection to her faith, did she pray, what did she think about kissing and being with a non-Muslim boy from that perspective, and more about the friendship with her breakdance-crew. I understand why Shirin kept everyone at arm’s length, but as a reader it was frustrating not to learn more about her thoughts and considerations. It also made the romance less real, less emotional, than it could have been. Ocean was adorable, so sweet and kind, but you never got really close to him either. It was as if he was too perfect to be a real person somehow. I wish it could have been more of Shirin actually seeing Ocean playing basket and being with his friends, to allow us readers to see him through her eyes. The romance and the story felt rushed, and I couldn’t invest emotionally in it as much as I’d like to, especially considering that it was such a huge part of the book.

Still, A Very Large Expanse of Sea is an important, emotional book dealing with racism in post-9/11 America, showing the anger, pain and struggle that a Muslim teenager may have to deal with and how horrible, hateful, mean and prejudice people can be. And even though the romance part wasn’t one of my favorites, the sibling relationship between Shirin and her older brother Navid was. I think Navid is now one of my favorite book brothers of all time. He was so protective of her, but also so supportive in the decisions she made. I just wish that the book had been MORE. More of Shirin’s sense of identity, her religious and cultural beliefs. More of her friendship with the breakdancing crew. More of the relationship with her brother and parents. This book had the potential of being the THUG for a Muslim main character, but unfortunately it did not live up to that. Still, I’m really happy that this book exists for Muslim teens to identify with and for opening the eyes of readers to all the horrible islamophobia in the world.
 
Find out more about the book and the author here: Tahereh Mafi
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Annie Woods’s
    ​Reading Tips

    I love YA books more than any other kind of literature, and especially books with LGBTQ representation, and want to share what I read with you. So please go ahead and check out my reading tips here and make sure to give some love to all these amazing books too.!

    Below under Categories, you can find the reviews per author as well.
    Picture
    Photo by @tata.lifepages

    Categories

    All
    Abbi Glines
    Abdi Nazemian
    Adam Silvera
    Aisha Saeed
    Alexandra Christo
    Alwyn Hamilton
    Amy Engel
    Amy Harmon
    Amy S. Foster
    André Aciman
    Angie Thomas
    Ashley Woodfolk
    Audrey Coulthurst
    Becky Albertalli
    Benjamin Alire Saenz
    Bill Konigsberg
    Casey McQuiston
    Cassandra Clare
    C.G. Drews
    Colleen Hoover
    C.S. Pacat
    Curtis Sittenfeld
    David Yoon
    Dean Atta
    Debbie McGowan
    Delia Owens
    Elizabeth Acevedo
    Elizabeth Corr
    E. Lockhart
    Emily M. Danforth
    Erin Watt
    Ernest Cline
    Gilly Macmillan
    Haley Rhoades
    Holly Black
    Jacqueline Woodson
    Jamie Deacon
    Jandy Nelson
    Jeff Zentner
    Jenna Evans Welch
    Jennifer Gilmore
    Jennifer Leigh
    Jennifer Niven
    Jenny Downham
    Jenny Han
    Joey Paul
    Kasie West
    Katharine Corr
    Kevin Van Whye
    Kiley Reid
    Kim Liggett
    K.M. Shea
    Laurie Frankel
    Leigh Bardugo
    Leylah Attar
    Lisa Williamson
    Lisa Wingate
    Mackenzi Lee
    Maggie Stiefvater
    Malin Persson Giolito
    Malorie Blackman
    Marie Lu
    Mary E. Pearson
    M.C. Frank
    Meredith Russo
    Mila Gray
    Miranda Kenneally
    Nic Stone
    Nina Kenwood
    Pearl Khatri
    Phil Stamper
    Quinn Anderson
    Rachael Lippincott
    Rachel Hawkins
    Rainbow Rowell
    Rosemary Danielis
    Ruta Sepetys
    Sally Green
    Sally Rooney
    Sarah J Maas
    Sarah Waters
    Simone Elkeles
    Sophie Gonzales
    Stephenie Meyer
    Suzanne Collins
    Tahereh Mafi
    Tomi Adeyemi
    Veronica Rossi
    Wesley Chu
    Victor Dixen
    Victoria Aveyard
    Virginia Macgregor

    Archives

    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Books
  • About
  • News
  • Contact