A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

Because of a 2 for 1 credit sale on Audible I got this book. It was one on my radar for quite sometime but I hadn't purchased in hard copy. I used to listen to audiobooks more often when I was commuting an hour and 20 each way to school. More recently it has been my husband who has made use of our audible account at least until COVID19 meant he was working from home and not driving in. And for someone who doesn't read much but loves stories this is great. Occasionally I will listen now on my walks or longer car rides when I am alone. This was one. 

I am so glad I did. The story is incredible. With audiobooks the voice reading to you is as important as the words they are reading so along with my thoughts on the story I will also talk about the audiobook specifics. 

Priya Ayyar did a wonderful job. It didn't come across as overly acted, but she added so much emotional and life to the words that you could feel them. That is something that can be missing from audiobooks, they can be dry and un-engaging.  When I read a hard copy of a book I often "hear" the voices while reading and the emotions of the characters, there is in essence a little narrator in my head. A dry or detached audiobook reader ruins the experience and can ruin a great story. Priya doesn't do that. She makes the story come alive, to make the listener/reader feel connected to the work even without the pages in hand. It leaves the listener free to absorb and enjoy the words, the story, the content. 

While a bad reader for an audiobook can ruin a great story there is nothing that can be done to save a bad story...this is not a bad story. I loved this book. It broke my heart. It made me angry. It made me laugh and cry. 

Set in the year after 9/11 we meet our main character, Muslim teen Shirin. Her family has moved a lot because of her father's work and the troubles with being the new kid so often are made harder now. She has built walls around herself that are Fort Knox level. She is tired of being stereotyped, tired of the rude stares and comments, tired of the horrible way people treat her, the way it is assumed she is some terrorist or terrorist sympathizer, assumed that she isn't American, can't be from "here." 

But then along comes Ocean. And her world is rocked and her heart begins to thaw. And what follows isn't a pretty neat typical teen romance novel. I mean there is some of that...two teens falling for each other face something that separates them and may end up keeping them apart unless they can overcome...but the what, the how, the details here are more raw and real...more relevant to the times we are living in. 

When the world tells you you aren't worthy it is so hard to believe you are even when someone comes along and says you are and tries to show you. 

Shirin talks about "the perfect ridiculousness of hight school." And that is so true. She is treated horribly, I mean really awfully, and not just by peers but by adults too. She finds a safe space and some joy in a Breakdancing club her brother and some others start. And this leads to something that changes how she is viewed and she is as shook by that as she was the way she was treated before...And the hypocrisy and ridiculous nature of it isn't lost on her...but it also allows for the chance to look within and learn about herself too. 

Tahereh does something I like a lot even as I find it frustrates the part of me that longs for the neat and wrapped up happy ending, she leaves room for more, either by her or by us the readers, there is room to imagine the next steps, to talk about them with each other...to understand that in life we don't always get the know or see the "what next" and since this is a YA book it is important to get the target readership comfortable with the uncomfortable, the unknown, the wait and see. 

I truly enjoyed and was moved by, left touched by my time in Shirin's world and I think you will be too. 

(Finished August 6, 2020)