![]() ![]() In the process we learn a lot about Muslim daily life and culture - and what it means to different people. her lab partner and unexpected love interest Ocean, narrator Shirin learns quite a bit about overcoming some of her own prejudices as well as surviving those of others. Confronted with A Very Large Expanse of Sea, i.e. ![]() Bullies attack her in freshman year, knock her down, and try to rip the hijab from her head.Īs she herself suggests, this heartfelt, poignant, bitterly funny tale of a foul-mouthed Muslim teen trying to survive post-9/11 high school is the book Tahereh Mafi's been trying to write all along. Shirin and other Muslim kids suffer constant prejudice, bigotry, and threats of violence. There are numerous make-out sessions and sexual banter. Frequent strong language includes "f-k," "s-t," "d-k," "goddamn," "Jesus Christ!" and more. There's lots about the experience of growing up as the child of refugee immigrants and the struggle to be and be seen as yourself without all the baggage others put on you. There's quite a bit about the harmful effects of prejudice and stereotyping - and how to overcome your own bias and see things as someone else does, which forms a positive contrast to the barrage of hateful or clueless behavior from many teens and adults. His name is Ocean (hence the title), and he feels the same about her. Main character Shirin wears a hijab, swears like a sailor, loves breakdancing - and against all odds, falls in love with the most popular, good-looking basketball player in her sports-crazy school. Parents need to know that A Very Large Expanse of Sea, by Iranian American author Tahereh Mafi ( Whichwood), is a fiery, relatable, quasi-autobiographical novel of being a post-9/11 Muslim high school sophomore. Here, I could be more than the settings applied to my life by society. If I were a decent breakdancer, these people would respect me. "Somehow I knew, in that moment, that all that mattered in this particular world was talent. We were white and black and brown brought together by a single interest. I was surrounded by diverse bodies and faces I was hearing Spanish in one ear and Chinese in the other. Maybe it was because the self-selecting demographic in here was different. I didn't know why it suddenly didn't matter what I looked like, why my appearance garnered no reactions. In here, people didn't seem to care at all about me no one looked at me, eyes merely glanced off my face and body as they scanned the room. Music was reverberating against the walls and ceilings, the bass pulsing in my eardrums. Also the ability of music and shared interest to bring people together. Strong messages of family, friendship, tolerance, diversity, kindness, and choosing to overcome ignorance - your own, and other people's.
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