![]() But then she meets Ocean - one of the popular boys in school - who is drawn to her and keeps hoping for more. She keeps to herself and channels her frustrations into something she's passionate about: breakdancing. But starting with a clean slate in every town doesn't wipe away the danger that follows her as a teen wearing a hijab in 2002, a year after the 9/11 attacks. Shirin and her family have moved around many times over the course of their lives. ![]() It's a cerebral, impassioned, and zeitgeisty bildungsroman that follows two young people ahead of their time but trapped by a society that strips them of any real power. Given what's going on most days in the headlines, Tahereh Mafi's new novel A Very Large Expanse of Sea - longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature - feels resonant in its somber portrayal of Shirin, a 16-year-old Muslim girl making her way in post 9/11 America. ![]() Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title A Very Large Expanse of Sea Author Tahereh Mafi ![]()
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