A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

Publisher: HarperTeen
On Sale Date; October 16th 2018
Pages: 310

It''s a year after 9/11 happened when Shirin is a sixteen year old girl who just moved to a new high school. She is muslim and wears a hijab, and this is the reason for the other students to just ignore her or random harrass and bully her. High school turns out to be a real hell this way, and it's hard for Shirin to just keep her head high and move on, but she does. Her parents are from Iran, she was born and raised in the USA, but the most random people harrass her and shout to her that she ''should go back to her own country'' or ''take that fabric of her head''. There is just no justification for the things people do to her. But Shirin is a though girl and knows to pull through. Especially when she get's the chance to start breakdance classes and eventually performances, something she is truly good at.
And then she meets Ocean, a boy from her high school who doesn't take part in the ignoring, bullying and harrassing.  They have to be lab partners in science class where they have to pull apart a dead cat (yeah...eww!!) They become more then just friends and it becomes a romantic relationship. But then, some incidents happen at school that starts with a picture taken of Shirin in the bathroom that goes viral, and her relationship with Ocean is in jeapordy when she discovers he is one of the top basketball players at school. Will their relationship be strong enough to overcome this?

Oh wow, this book hit me at so many points. First of all, it is beautifully written, everything was just perfect and at the right time and place in the book. Secondly, the author hit the nail on the head with how bad bullying etc can unravel and how hard it is for the victim. It was like I was reading my own high school time again  and it was set in my own high school, it just felt the same and some of the incidents reminded me of when I was bullied in high school.  It truly showed the ugly face of bullying, harrassmant and truly bad racism. I really liked Shirin as altough she didn't always showed it, and it wasn't easy at all she kept her head up and somehow stayed positive which you could read and see between the lines. A true powergirl!! The relationship with Ocean was so sweet when it started it and before al the incidents happened. It was again written beautifully and all very realistic and real. And I truly liked how the author wrapped up the story in the end. 
This is a very impressive and entertaining book that I definately recommend reading!!