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A review by keysmashhh
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Plot: 4.75/5
Character: 5/5
Relationships: 4.75/5
World-Building: 4.5/5
Genre: 5/5
things i liked
- the characterisation of the main character was just...amazing, I felt so much depth and so much just like realism, she felt so average-ly teenage in a way that's really hard for authors to construct but that Tehereh Mafi did so well!!
- Following on from that all of the side characters had such a good presence and purpose in this book, I loved her brother and his friends, they didn't overshadow the story but they had a really good place in the book - also I feel like each of them could realistically have a spin-off book of their own
- THE BREAKDANCING!!! omg I had no idea that this was an element going into this book but I loved it. tbh the image I was conjuring was of The Next Step haha - it was so fun and such a happy part of the book!! I'm happy that it continued all throughout and provided some joy for our MC.
- the dating of this book was just subtle enough not to be jarring but just present enough to remind me that this is set in the early 2000s, mentions of AOL and the lack of video calls and only phone calls were actually a really nice and easy way of placing the book in a definitive point in time.
- the cover of this book is so beautiful!! ugh I love it, the colours, the simplicity *chefs kiss*
- In terms of books that tackle serious issues of racism - i think this is the one that I have felt the most emotional and the most cathartic whilst reading. I felt so many of my assumptions being confronted in a good way - Shirin was such a balanced character and I felt like I truly got to know ALL sides of her throughout this book. her breakdancing, her love of fashion, her religion, her relationship with her family, her relationship with her brother, i just love love love the entire soul that was put into the development of her character
- Ocean's character and the way we saw him through Shirin's eyes. the kind of differences between him being the basketball "golden boy" and just a normal guy and the kind/honesty he has is just perfect in terms of his character :))
things i was meh on
- the relationship - now this book is just brilliant as a contemporary, the romance I'm still 50/50 on. don't get me wrong i loved it, i really do. I think like characters, Tehereh Mafi is brilliant at writing beautifully nuanced romance. Ocean and Shirin were lovely and the way their relationship wasn't *perfect* but it was right, it was inevitable and that made it beautiful - however... there was a deep sense of pathos knowing that they were going to HAVE to break up and I couldn't stop thinking that throughout the book - indeed that kind of mirrored Shirin's thoughts of "is it worth it" (which by the way was so validating to read as that kind of felt like a mirror of my own ideas of relationships) and that definitely somewhat blurred my feelings on the relationship's future.
things i didn't like
- my only real complaint of substance is that every character seemed to try and solve their problems by punching someone which seemed counter-intuitive. HOWEVER my own personal dislike of violence aside i conceded that the realism here triumphs and in real life conflict resolution by teenagers often ends up in a fight.
Character: 5/5
Relationships: 4.75/5
World-Building: 4.5/5
Genre: 5/5
things i liked
- the characterisation of the main character was just...amazing, I felt so much depth and so much just like realism, she felt so average-ly teenage in a way that's really hard for authors to construct but that Tehereh Mafi did so well!!
- Following on from that all of the side characters had such a good presence and purpose in this book, I loved her brother and his friends, they didn't overshadow the story but they had a really good place in the book - also I feel like each of them could realistically have a spin-off book of their own
- THE BREAKDANCING!!! omg I had no idea that this was an element going into this book but I loved it. tbh the image I was conjuring was of The Next Step haha - it was so fun and such a happy part of the book!! I'm happy that it continued all throughout and provided some joy for our MC.
- the dating of this book was just subtle enough not to be jarring but just present enough to remind me that this is set in the early 2000s, mentions of AOL and the lack of video calls and only phone calls were actually a really nice and easy way of placing the book in a definitive point in time.
- the cover of this book is so beautiful!! ugh I love it, the colours, the simplicity *chefs kiss*
- In terms of books that tackle serious issues of racism - i think this is the one that I have felt the most emotional and the most cathartic whilst reading. I felt so many of my assumptions being confronted in a good way - Shirin was such a balanced character and I felt like I truly got to know ALL sides of her throughout this book. her breakdancing, her love of fashion, her religion, her relationship with her family, her relationship with her brother, i just love love love the entire soul that was put into the development of her character
- Ocean's character and the way we saw him through Shirin's eyes. the kind of differences between him being the basketball "golden boy" and just a normal guy and the kind/honesty he has is just perfect in terms of his character :))
things i was meh on
- the relationship - now this book is just brilliant as a contemporary, the romance I'm still 50/50 on. don't get me wrong i loved it, i really do. I think like characters, Tehereh Mafi is brilliant at writing beautifully nuanced romance. Ocean and Shirin were lovely and the way their relationship wasn't *perfect* but it was right, it was inevitable and that made it beautiful - however... there was a deep sense of pathos knowing that they were going to HAVE to break up and I couldn't stop thinking that throughout the book - indeed that kind of mirrored Shirin's thoughts of "is it worth it" (which by the way was so validating to read as that kind of felt like a mirror of my own ideas of relationships) and that definitely somewhat blurred my feelings on the relationship's future.
things i didn't like
- my only real complaint of substance is that every character seemed to try and solve their problems by punching someone which seemed counter-intuitive. HOWEVER my own personal dislike of violence aside i conceded that the realism here triumphs and in real life conflict resolution by teenagers often ends up in a fight.