A VERY LARGE EXPANSE OF SEA by Tahereh Mafi

A VERY LARGE EXPANSE OF SEA by Tahereh Mafi follows the story of Shirin, a sixteen year old Muslim American girl in 2002. As a hijab-wearing teen, Shirin’s experiences have closed her off from nearly everyone besides her brother. But at the heart of the novel is a love story—Shirin must decide if she can open herself up to a boy with a heart of gold, who’s naive to the ugliness that she endures every day. 

I read this book after seeing Tahereh Mafi speak at Y’ALL WEST, a festival for Young Adult Literature. Mafi explained that while the book is fiction, it draws directly from her own experience growing up as a post-9/11 Muslim teen—both the good (her love of music, fashion and break dancing) and the bad (the stares, insults and violence that she endured).

Longlisted for the National Book Award, this is a quick-reading, heartfelt novel that stays with you (and may make you shed a tear or two). If books are doorways to empathy, I can think of few better than this. 

- Recommended by Tess