A review by beanith
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

the good:
  • Ocean <3
  • Shirin’s wide range of interests was realistic and helped shape her into a unique and well rounded character. I felt like I completely understood why she acted how she did and how burdensome it was to around bigoted people
  • Her opinion on hijabs being a kind of power or comfort to those who choose to wear them is very dear to me. I love seeing this popularized.
  • I was completely sucked into the story and read this in a little more than 24 hours

things I’m unsure about
  • There are some things that feel  inauthentic about the 2002 setting. Yes, the characters use AIM and have old bulky computers but I just don’t believe that they’d all have cell phones? A couple of 2010s buzzwords words were also use that didn’t seem to fit the time period like ‘microagression’ and ‘binge-watched’ 
  • I don’t understand why it seems like Shirin is narrating to us in a way that breaks the 4th wall. “It will probably surprise no one to hear that I was terrible at ignoring ocean,” and “ I’m not sure whether it will surprise you to hear” - who is she talking to? Why is she conscious of us?
  • Things kind of come and go? The Global Perspectives class never comes up again. It seems like Yusef was kind of inconsequential, except to remind Shirin of what kind of boyfriend was expected of her.
  • Imbalances in show vs tell
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