A very large expanse of sea by Tahereh Mafi

Standalone

Publisher : Harper Teen

Publication date : October 16th, 2018

Source : Paperback

Rating : Evil Love

Synopsis

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.

Review

This book is simply beautiful, it tells us the story of Shirin, a young Muslim girl who arrives at a new high school. The events of September 11th were not very far away, so she was insulted all day long, both by the students and by some of her teachers. She tries to keep a low profile but when in biology she is assigned a partner, everything changes. She can no longer be invisible and she will learn to discover that not everyone is the same.

I loved Shirin, I understand her sarcastic side, her desire to give up everything, she’s not always very friendly with Ocean but even that I understand her. It’s just a pity that it’s him who takes it and not all the idiots who hurt her. I love her apparent strength of character, when in fact she is like any teenager of her age, she needs love and friendship.

Ocean is adorable, he doesn’t give up anything, he doesn’t let her down even when she doesn’t want to see him anymore. The events are going on and nothing is going well but in the end Shirin and Ocean grew out of it.

Tahereh Mafi has told us a story that affects many young girls but of which few people are aware. I remember my high school years and young people are not always pleasant with others. There is always intolerance and I really hope that this will change one day. Above all, people should be less selfish and start thinking about others before themselves.

Quick word: You must ABSOLUTELY read this wonderful story by its reality and acceptance.

Chronique

Ce livre est tout simplement magnifique, il  nous raconte l’histoire de Shirin, une jeune fille musulmane qui arrive dans un nouveau lycée. Les évènements du 11 septembre n’étant pas très loin, elle se fait insultée à longueur de journée, autant par les élèves que par certains de ses professeurs. Elle essaie de faire profil bas mais lorsqu’en biologie elle se voit attribuer un binome, tout change. Elle ne peut plus être invisible et elle va apprendre à découvrir que tout le monde n’est pas identique.

J’ai adoré Shirin, je comprends son côté sarcastique, son envie de tout laisser tomber, elle n’est pas toujours très sympathique avec Ocean mais même ça je le comprends. C’est juste dommage que ce soit lui qui prenne et non tous les idiots qui la blesse. J’adore sa force de caractère apparente, alors qu’en fait elle est comme toutes les adolescentes de son âge, elle a besoin d’amour et d’amitié.

Ocean est adorable, il ne lache rien, il ne la laisse pas tomber même lorsqu’elle ne veut plus le voir. Les évènements s’enchainent et rien ne va comme il faut mais au final Shirin et Ocean en sorte grandi.

Tahereh Mafi a su nous raconter une histoire qui touche beaucoup de jeunes filles mais dont peu de gens ont conscience. Je me rappelle de mes années lycée et les jeunes ne sont pas toujours agréables avec les autres. Il y a toujours de l’intolérance et j’espère vraiment que cela changera un jour. Avant tout il faudrait que les gens soient moins égoïstes et commencent à penser aux autres avant eux-mêmes.

En bref : Vous devez ABSOLUMENT lire cette histoire magnifique par sa réalité et son acceptation.

About the author

Tahereh Mafi is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Shatter Me series. She was born in a small city somewhere in Connecticut and currently resides in Santa Monica, California with her husband, fellow author Ransom Riggs. She can usually be found over-caffeinated and stuck in a book. Shatter Meis her first series, with television rights optioned by ABC Signature Studios; Furthermore, her first middle grade novel, is on shelves now, and Whichwood, its darker companion, will be on shelves November 14, 2017.

Links

Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38720939-a-very-large-expanse-of-sea?from_search=true

Amazon : https://www.amazon.com/Very-Large-Expanse-Sea/dp/0062866567/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542284420&sr=8-1&keywords=a+very+large+expanse+of+sea