a very large expanse of sea by tahereh mafi

#A very large expanse of sea by tahereh mafi how to#
#A very large expanse of sea by tahereh mafi series#

(It changed my life in a very interesting way, which I want to tell you, but it would be a huge spoiler!) I never thought it was that crazy or weird or exciting until I started mentioning it casually in conversations to people - “Oh yeah, I used to break dance in high school” - and the looks on their faces … I was just like, “OK, that doesn’t make sense to you when you look at me.” It’s like what you said about Shirin: People look at her and assume they know who she is. This, more than anything else, is what inspired the story. And the break dancing? I’m very excited about the break dancing.

#A very large expanse of sea by tahereh mafi how to#

Being a straight white man in the world comes with a great deal of privilege and when that man is now walking through the world with someone who is not accustomed to that level of privilege he has to learn how to readjust. There’s a learning curve that comes with being with someone who’s used to walking through the world in a certain way. And there are certain conversations that they have that I’ve absolutely had with my husband, things that they have to face together, like the complications of being in an interracial relationship. But Ocean’s personality is inspired quite a bit by my husband’s personality. The obvious answer is no: I met my husband as an adult, and we were very different people than this character and her love interest. I’m going to get asked this question so much because she falls in love with this white boy, Ocean, and I’m married to a white man. Is the love story based on personal experience too? She’s struggling against the stereotypes that dictate the way in which the world views her. She’s trying to identify herself in the way that every teenager is trying to identify herself, but she’s already been told by the world who she is and she disagrees with that. The book takes place the year after 9/11, and it’s inspired by my experience as a teenager living in this heavily frightened time in America: Shirin is hemmed in by the frustrations of being a teenager, but also the frustrations by being stereotyped so thoroughly by the world. I felt trapped, not just by the complexities of being a teenager, but because the world had already decided what kind of teenager I was. I was so angry and so frustrated by having to start over constantly. When the book starts, the main character has just switched to her third high school in less than two years and she’s still only a sophomore, and that was exactly my experience.

I was a high school sophomore living in Orange County. People of color are more than just our struggle, we also laugh, we also love, we also have complex, fulfilling lives. I didn’t want my identity to be tied to my struggle. I don’t only think about being Muslim and Middle Eastern all day every day. I didn’t want to shove myself into another box I wanted to have the freedom to write fantasy novels and paranormal romances and science fiction and whatever I wanted, because I’m a person with diverse interests. When I first started pursuing publication, I think I really wanted to establish myself as an author first, an author who could write anything. This is my story, the story I’ve been writing in my head for years. What made you decide to write a novel based on your own experiences as a hijab-wearing teen in post-9/11 America? 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.The book is a departure from your previous work. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin.

Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.But then she meets Ocean James. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. 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.

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.

#A very large expanse of sea by tahereh mafi series#

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.