A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
Published by HarperTeen on October 16th 2018
ISBN: 0062866567
Pages: 320
Goodreads

This realistic fiction YA novel captures the harsh reality of living as an “other” in America in an engaging, sobering, powerful way. I had to unclench my hands several times while reading this. Shirin is American, born in this country but she is Muslim, of Iranian descent, and the setting is 2002, just a year after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, so the hijab she chooses to wear brings judgement and hostility from all directions.  The voice is fantastic, and the relationships between the teen-aged protagonist and her parents and her brother are pitch-perfect. The blossoming romance and the obstacles in its way due to racist and xenophobic backlash are believable and heart-wrenching. My only quibble with the book is that the ending felt a little rushed and too pat, but the novel is such an excellent window into the life of a young woman who is attempting to define herself in spite of the vitriol and violence flung at her, that it doesn’t detract from the book. For readers grades 10 to adult.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth