A Very Large Expanse of Sea

Fenomenal

I can honestly say this is one of the best books I have ever read. And the world would be a better place if more people did read it.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Good Story, But the narration...

I like the story, but the narrator sounds like a high school student reading in class. There is no variation in tone, pitch, or expression for the different characters and situations.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Amazing

This an amazing story I didint want it to end. You love the persistence of both characters and fall in love with their tale.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

AMAZINGGGGG

This was my very first audiobook ever and I absolutely LOVED THIS BOOK. I was so incredibly invested in Shirin & Ocean’s relationship. I felt her pain throughout the entire thing. It was just so incredibly written and so beautiful and heartbreaking and amazing. Ocean is probably one of my favorite book characters to date. I just loved the book so much. I would love a follow-up book to see if Shirin and Ocean ever find their way back to one another after high school because I just need them to be together and be happy. UGH.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A Very Large Expanse of Sea Book Review

A Very Large Expanse of Sea was a novel I picked up after reading the Shatter Me series. After reading the amazing series, I decided to read more of Tahereh Mafi’s work, and this novel did not disappoint. It is such a powerful story, one that opens up to the public to reveal the story of a struggling teen during turbulent times. The struggles this novel portrays captivates its readers and brings awareness to the prejudices a young, innocent girl received as a result of her culture and religion.

The story portrays the struggles Shirin ensures and how prejudice takes a hold of her life for so long that she closes herself off to the world. The story takes the reader on a journey of discovery and is full of emotion, anger, sadness, and raw insight into the life of a young Muslim girl who struggles to find herself in a world that sees her in such a negative manner. Shirin manages to find passion and a love for breakdancing and music and as a result discovers who she is as a result.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea is a beautifully written story. I enjoyed it and found it to be extremely enlightening. After reading so much science fiction and fantasy, it was so different to pick up a novel that places me back into the ‘real world’ and make me aware of the events that inspired so many authors. This novel is Tahereh Mafi’s testimony of hard times and how she managed to find love and happiness in music and breakdancing.

Audible Review:

Ayyar’s narration captivate the emotions in such a way that bring the story to life for listeners. The narration allows readers to keep listening and latches on to the frustration Shirin displays and her battle against prejudice. I extremely enjoyed listening to the story at a 1.50 speed. For those of us who like to multitask and listen on the go, I recommend listening at a 1.75 speed, so one does not miss anything. For those who are listening while reading the book, I found 2.5 speed and 3.0 speed to be the best speeds. 3.5 was too fast for me, and I was missing a lot of what the narrator was saying and had to eventually slow down the narrator’s reading speed.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A must read!!!

WOW! this book was beautiful and heartbreaking but more importantly, it was POWERFUL and eye opening!
Everyone should read/listen to this story!

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Amazing Book!

Following Shirin and her life was a great read and her struggle through this coming of age story is really inspiring! I liked everything about this book! It is important that young adult girls read this book to learn from Shirin and her friends and family. Her journey touched my heart. I hope to read more books like A very large expanse of sea in the future!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Let this book move you.

I wish I had the author’s capability to fully encapsulate the sensation of falling in love. Each moment between the main characters becomes reality; I was reliving the great loves of my life in real time alongside these characters. The novel reads like a Disney Channel original movie, but in the BEST way: genuine and never cheesy. The value of the story is of course the way Mafi illuminates all the bigotry toward Middle-eastern-Americans and the privilege it requires to ignore another persons humanity, but the love story that drives the narrative is true and beautiful. The “love is the answer” undercurrent is maybe cliché, but anything less would have been unsatisfying.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Couldn’t put it down

Couldn’t put it down
I think this book is a wonderful representation of the realistic,raw, surreal version of how modern day society works with both muslims and non-muslims. I really enjoyed the feeling of wanting to keep picking up the book because every chapter was so interesting, it was a real page turner! I really recommend reading this book with an open mind.

A Touching Love Story in the Face of Hatred

I cannot recommend this book enough. It is not often in YA fiction that we find a Muslim protagonist portrayed in a realistic, complicated, nuanced, and interesting way, and Shirin is all of that and more in this book. She's a funny, relateable, and unique character, and I immediately found myself getting wrapped up in her story.

This novel, while dealing with prejudice and hate in very important ways, also crafts an engaging love story. While parts of the middle of the book felt a touch slow (hence the 4 starts instead of 5), I was always invested in the story. I desperately, desperately wanted Shirin and Ocean to get their happy ending.

The narration was very good, and she did a wide range of voices and accents well.

Without spoiling the end, I will say that Mafi did a masterful job telling this story. She told a story that was very real, timely, and still just as engaging as the best teen romances. I would recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of YA romances and is looking for well-done diverse representation in the genre.