A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi (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.

• For ages 12-15
• Format Paperback | 304 pages
• Dimensions 129 x 198 x 19mm | 218g
• Publication date 18 Oct 2018
• Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint Electric Monkey
• Publication City/Country United Kingdom
• Language English
• ISBN10 1405292601
• ISBN13 9781405292603
• Customer Reviews: 4.5 out of 5 stars   96 customer reviews