![]() ![]() ![]() Shirin’s first clue that this year will be different is Ocean, the unusually named boy she’s paired with for biology lab. “Sea” grapples with everyday prejudices and assumptions, yet it’s also a dizzying teen romance with all the outsize feelings that come with first love, a potent critique of how the deck is doubly stacked against her as a girl compared with her brother’s experiences (“the handsome exotic boy all these pretty girls would inevitably use to satisfy their need to experiment and one day rebel against their parents”), and an indictment of the weight of parental expectations. ![]() Shirin is a Muslim, yes, but she’s so much more in Mafi’s portrayal. Now she’s written about it in what she’s called her most personal novel to date, A Very Large Expanse of Sea. Everyone simply reverts to their reductive presumptions about her religion and her politics. No matter that she grew up in the States, is an avid reader, an aspiring break dancer and possesses a vitriolic sense of humor. The slings and arrows of high-school social dynamics are amplified for her, a Muslim in America just after 9/11. ![]()
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