Title: A Very Large Expanse of Sea Pdf
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Published Date: 2018-10-16
Page: 320
Gr 9 Up-Shirin, a headscarf-wearing, break-dancing, foul-mouthed 16-year-old, refuses to be constrained by anyone's expectations. Hardened by the bigotry she has endured in the year since the 9/11 terror attacks, she's withdrawn, counting down the days until graduation, when she can escape her narrow-minded suburban enclave. When Shirin is forced to become lab partners with Ocean, a popular basketball player with whom she seemingly has nothing in common, she learns to embrace acceptance where she least expects it. This evocative semiautobiographical novel challenges assumptions about why some Muslim women cover their hair and conveys the innocence and passion of first love.α(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. “A raw yet astoundingly elegant examination of identity, loneliness and family that is unflinching in its honesty and power. Tahereh Mafi holds nothing back—and the reader is better for it.” (Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ember in the Ashes series)“A Very Large Expanse of Sea reads like a beautiful heart—one that shines and aches and yearns, and above all else, one that loves fiercely against all odds. A transcendent story about truth, love, and finding joy.” (Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Warcross series)“This is a gorgeous book. It’s tender and fierce, beautiful even as it depicts some ugly truths. Tahereh’s prose is passionate and honest, unsentimental and big-hearted. The very best books move you to reconsider the world around you, and this is one of those. I truly loved it.” (Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun is Also a Star)“Tahereh Mafi, known for her fantasy and dystopian novels, proves a master of the contemporary realistic novel. Even as the fraught love story drives the short chapters to a surprising close, Mafi weaves in moments of camaraderie and joy.” (Washington Post)★“Mafi tackles the life of an American Muslim teenager in the wake of 9/11 in this visceral, honest novel. Shirin’s captivating story opens a window onto a different narrative than the one typically dominating airwaves after 9/11. Rich characters, incisive writing, and a powerful story will thrill readers.” (Booklist (starred review))★ “[Mafi’s] writing is nuanced and smart. Shirin and Ocean’s interactions are palpable, and the discussions and exploration of what it means to be a Muslim in politically charged America will resonate with many teens and will be enlightening for some.” (School Library Journal (starred review))★ “Mafi gives vivid voice to an underrepresented audience in this story. The teens’ rich personalities, desires, powerful emotions and struggles come together to form a memorable work. An outstanding contemporary novel, A Very Large Expanse of Sea is a realistic love story that provides a much-needed perspective.” (Shelf Awareness (starred review))“A contemporary love story with a heartbreakingly realistic portrait of one post-9/11 Muslim life. Mafi openly addresses many common misconceptions about Islam and what it means to be a woman of color in the face of racism, showing how differences can be applauded, not feared.” (Publishers Weekly)“Holds a mirror up to the reality of religious bigotry. A portrait of a strong Muslim teen girl who defies stereotypes. Shirin insists on her right to approach life on her own clear-eyed terms, granting compassion to the deserving and an education to those who need it.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)“Cerebral, impassioned, and zeitgeisty... Mafi’s sincerity stands out in full force in her craftsmanship. A Very Large Expanse of Sea is timeless in its themes and will continue to affect readers, months after they’ve closed the book.” (NPR)
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature!
From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling 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 sixteen-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.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea Book Review A Very Large Expanse of Sea was a novel I picked up after reading the Shatter Me series. After reading the amazing series, I decided to read more of Tahereh Mafi’s work, and this novel did not disappoint. It is such a powerful story, one that opens up to the public to reveal the story of a struggling teen during turbulent times. The struggles this novel portrays captivates its readers and brings awareness to the prejudices a young, innocent girl received as a result of her culture and religion.The story portrays the struggles Shirin ensures and how prejudice takes a hold of her life for so long that she closes herself off to the world. The story takes the reader on a journey of discovery and is full of emotion, anger, sadness, and raw insight into the life of a young Muslim girl who struggles to find herself in a world that sees her in such a negative manner. Shirin manages to find passion and a love for breakdancing and music and as a result discovers who she is as a result.A Very Large Expanse of Sea is a beautifully written story. I enjoyed it and found it to be extremely enlightening. After reading so much science fiction and fantasy, it was so different to pick up a novel that places me back into the ‘real world’ and make me aware of the events that inspired so many authors. This novel is Tahereh Mafi’s testimony of hard times and how she managed to find love and happiness in music and breakdancing.Tahereh Mafi comes thru with an important but wholesome contemporary I was nervous starting this book because the first 25% of this lays a lot of groundwork and there’s a lot of telling instead of showing. Despite this, I was highlighting paragraphs basically every other page because Shirin’s experiences and anger born from them was so powerful. This book cuts the crap from Shatter Me & Furthermore’s writing style and says it how it is. Gone are the flowery paragraphs of images and metaphors, but they’re replaced by hard-hitting and steel edged descriptions of Shirin’s real life. It’s different and it’s jarring, but it fits the story. I’m not even exaggerating when I say that probably 50% of this ebook’s text is highlighted. From powerful moments to funny, relatable moments to important moments to cute moments, I was glued onto the pages.I LOVED Shirin’s relationship with her brother, Navid. Their bond was endearing and I liked how he was her mentor and cheered her up and stuck up for her and was the reason she got into break dancing. He was definitely my favorite side character!I can’t put my finger on it, but this book just.... works. It was fast to read. I haven’t lived a life anywhere near Shirin’s, but being in her head made sense. I understood her feelings. I understood her fears. I sympathized with her so much that my heart hurt. I was rooting for her the entire book, and her transformation and self-actualization was such an engrossing journey.The reason why I took a star off is because the relationship is melodramatic to the point of being cliche. Shirin deals with racism and xenophobia and bigotry, and Ocean deals with..... not wanting to be on the basketball team. It felt like a flat plot point that’s a totally overused trope. The stakes were so low because it felt too cliché and the conflict of this book reminded me of High School Musical. I don't want this to look like I'm minimizing the actual events because clearly Shirin prevailing and asserting her worth in that situation was still such a powerful read, but I wish Ocean's conflict that drives the emotional climax of this book could have been designed to be less.... generic.Nevertheless, this is a once in a lifetime book. Whatever small writing or plot issues I have with it makes up in the fact that I haven’t read anything as important and eye-opening as this before. Its unparalleled honesty had me throwing my fist in the hair during some scenes and wiping away tears in others. It’s a stand-out book of 2018, and definitely an exception you should make if you aren't a fan of YA contemporary. Please please please support this book and the author behind it because she and the book deserve the world.An emotionally raw account of a Muslim girl after 9/11 This book is about a Muslim girl named Shirin who has recently moved to a new highschool. As a Muslim girl who wears a hijab, she is ridiculed daily as being a terrorist. Just a year prior, 9/11 took place and she was continuing to deal with the backlash and the consistent prejudice that many muslims experienced during that time.Shirin meets a boy named Ocean who finds her fascinating and decides to take his time getting to know her. After isolating herself she opens herself up to him. Shirin and Ocean have this deeply raw and emotional relationship and I'm completely obsessed with it. Whats more is that he was a really likable character throughout.This book spares no punches as Shirin is a raw and angry teen just trying to survive in a hostile highschool setting. I felt so much for her and this was framed perfectly. You didn't just learn this character, you learned all the things in her environment that made her who she was.This book added so much to the facts of prejudice of muslims after 9/11. This gave, what felt like, an emotional first hand account of trying to navigate high school as a Muslim after the destruction of the two towers. I felt like Shirin was someone I could know in real life and interact with. She jumped out of the book and became more than just a character.This book also gives a strong nostalgic nod to this era in her musical play list. With songs like Whenever, Wherever by Shakira and Pardon Me by Incubus. It really set the tone for the time the book took place in and was a nice touch.I can't help but sing praises for this and without hesitation I gave this a 5/5 stars.
The Legacy of the Key pdf
The Staircase of Fire (A Shakertown Adventure Book 3) pdf
Edge of Survival Box Set One pdf
In the Land of Magnanthia pdf
Internment pdf
Citizens of Logan Pond pdf
Ruthless Magic (Conspiracy of Magic Book 1) pdf
Tags: 0062866567 pdf,A Very Large Expanse of Sea pdf,Tahereh Mafi,A Very Large Expanse of Sea,HarperCollins,0062866567,Break dancing;United States;Fiction.,First loves,High schools;Fiction.,Identity,Identity (Psychology) in adolescence,Love,Muslim teenagers,Muslim teenagers - United States,Muslim teenagers;United States;Fiction.,Prejudices,Trust,Fiction-Romance,JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 7-9 Ages 12-14,TEEN'S FICTION / ROMANCE,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Religious / Muslim,YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Romance / Contemporary,YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Prejudice & Racism,Young Adult Fiction/Religious - Muslim,Young Adult Fiction/Social Themes - Prejudice & Racism
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.