A Very Large Expanse of Sea

De: Tahereh Mafi

Narrado por: Priya Ayyar

A National Book Award Longlist title!

From the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the Shatter Me series comes a powerful, heartrending contemporary novel about fear, first love, and the devastating impact of prejudice.

It's 2002, a year after 9/11. It's an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a 16-year-old Muslim girl who's tired of being stereotyped.

Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She's tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments - even the physical violence - she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she's 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.

But then she meets Ocean James. He's the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her - they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds - and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she's not sure she'll ever be able to let it down.

©2018 Tahereh Mafi (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Amazing

This an amazing story I didint want it to end. You love the persistence of both characters and fall in love with their tale.

Super cute

Listen, if I were a teenager this probably would've been one of my top 5 books but as an adult it was a bit too "first love" for me. It was adorable just not my thing any more. However, seeing life through an Islam girl's eyes right after 9/11 was heartbreaking. (in a good way?) the characters were all interesting and charming. Even side characters seemed to be well thought out. Fantastic book, 4 out of 5 stars only because I don't think I'm quite the target demographic.

Bitter Sweet

Children are not born racist/prejudice, they are taught abd well indoctrinated. I feel that this book does a good job at showing how devastating racism can be. I am happy that Sharen and Ocean were able to come to a peaceful resolve and sad that they couldn't enjoy each other. The book was a great listen.

Amazing Book!

Following Shirin and her life was a great read and her struggle through this coming of age story is really inspiring! I liked everything about this book! It is important that young adult girls read this book to learn from Shirin and her friends and family. Her journey touched my heart. I hope to read more books like A very large expanse of sea in the future!

SOOOO GOOOD

I first picked this book, because it seemed interesting. But even as the story started, it had such a good story line! I love everything about this book, and I will definitely be buying it in book form!

LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!

Fenomenal

I can honestly say this is one of the best books I have ever read. And the world would be a better place if more people did read it.

Teenagers

I thought I was past enjoying stories about teenagers but this was an intriguing and entertaining story— (probably) true. As humans, we have to do better. Love thy neighbor and all that! I have hope for future generations.

Nice!

Beautiful story with amazing performance! I loved the simplicity of the storyline, the characters were well defined and the plot believable. Would read it all over again.

A must read!!!

WOW! this book was beautiful and heartbreaking but more importantly, it was POWERFUL and eye opening!
Everyone should read/listen to this story!

Read. This. Book.

More important for us now more than ever. Whilst other stories deal with racism, this is much more about prejudices in general. This truly deals with both sides and how this can continue to spiral if we don’t change on the inside.

⚖️ Plot: I cried. When I learned that it was Mafi’s quasi autobiography, I cried even more. What is even worse than dealing with ignorant people is not being able to recognize the normal, human, compassionate people. If bunch a whole race together, we are being racist too. This story really makes you look inwards to see what you’ve given up because of your own prejudices.

🗺 World: Having grown up in the Middle East and being brown myself, this is very close to my heart. Whilst I’m not Arab, the food, the culture, the language is so rich and beautiful that it breaks my heart to continue seeing the unrest that here. I am so proud to live in a world where we can have melting pots of culture wherever we are.

💑 Characters: I love the way Mafi portrayed both Ocean and Shirin. This was no typical hero and victim. This is everyday life and how the good will always rise above the rest. In typical Mafi fashion we don’t get a happily ever after, but only a hint of it. In this instance through, it was the perfect ending for me.