Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: October 16, 2018
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover/Own
It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. 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. 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. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.
But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. 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.
Review: I absolutely loved this book. There was so much raw emotion in it. I couldn't put it down. I read the entire book in one sitting and I stayed up til 3AM to finish it. This was just such a powerful story. You could really see everything Tahereh put into this book. For those of you who don't already know, a lot of things in this book are based off of Tahereh and her love for certain things (like breakdancing, which she wrote as Shirin's getaway from the awful things she dealt with) and her own experiences after 9/11. Everything that she put in this book just made it so genuine and raw but perfect. This was such a eye opening read for me, and it really just broke my heart knowing this is how badly people were constantly treated after 9/11. I mean, I knew people got a lot of shit after 9/11, but I never saw it this bad where I am.
So I don't know a whole lot about Islam or Persian culture. I've known quite a few people in school that practice Islam but haven't known much about the religion or their culture beyond the basics we all learn. So I thought this was such a great look into the culture and religion. Obviously we see it in a more Westernized sense, as I do know it's supposed to be more strict with a number of things. But I thought this was good. We know Tahereh grew up in the US so it makes sense that she wrote Shirin to reflect how she grew up. I thought this was great because it showed how Shirin's family retained their identity with their culture and religion, but still adapted to the society and country of which they live in. I think this especially is incredibly important since in our current society, everyone looks at those of minorities and who practice other religions besides Christianity as unwilling to assimilate and destroying America's culture, and that simply isn't true. And this book really helps show that.
So thought this book was just incredibly reflective of the Xenophobia we see in America. Shirin deals with a lot of awful, hateful, crude comments thrown at her because of her race and religion. They look at her as if she is exactly the same as the terrorists who attacked. She has even been physically attacked. She's literally had teachers start lectures about
"how people who don't love this country should just go back to where they came from" - pg. 10
I kept track of all the racist, xenophobic, cruel comments with tabs and there's just so many in this book. And this is the reality of what people deal with daily. This has never gone away either. Its just got worse and spread to more and more minorities now. This kind of stuff happens to every single minority now, and if you don't see it, you have to be living under a rock. This is just such an important novel to have in our current state. It really makes you double take about how little has changed. This is eye opening.
I really liked Shirin's growth as a character in this book. She starts off being angry and super closed off. She doesn't really make friends, she doesn't consider any love interests, she just keeps far away from people because of the way she's been treated. And I don't even blame her. She's been used and treated like dirt by most of the people she's tried to let in. And on top of that, she just doesn't want to pull anyone into the shit show she has to deal with. She knows anyone she lets in will end up being subject to those nasty comments and hatred. Which is why she tries so hard to push Ocean away. She does really like him. But she doesn't want him to have to deal with all the hatred of being with her. And its really hard for her to convince herself its ok to let him in, especially when everyone, coaches, parents, etc are telling her to stop destroying his future just by being with him. But Ocean himself is so determined to fight for her. He puts up with so much for her and eventually she lets him in despite all the bs. And she lets go finally of the anger and hatred she holds towards everybody. She was looking at everybody as a mass of people who hated her and everyone was incredibly frightened of her. Once she let go of the anger she learned that not everyone around her was so bad and that a lot of people were just as scared of interacting with her as she was with them. This was such a huge thing for Shirin!
And Ocean. I absolutely loved Ocean. He had an interest in Shirin, not a use and toss her to the side interest, but a genuine interest in her and her life. He really did want to get to know her. But because of her fears and anger he had to fight incredibly hard. And he did! He fought so hard to be a part of Shirin's life, despite all the hatred thrown at him for associating with her. He wanted to learn about her culture, why she wears a hijab, what she's gone through. He was so excited over having thanksgiving at Shirin's house because he got to have a real taste of Persian culture and food. Ocean was just such a genuine person. You want people in your life that fight for you, want to get to know your culture, know you! I just absolutely adored Ocean. And Shirin was definitely needed for him as well. For the longest time he played basketball for everyone but himself. He didn't even want to play it anymore. And Shirin helped him realize that he should be doing things he wants to do, not doing things for everyone but himself. I just love how Shirin and Ocean helped each other grow. It was beautiful and Tahereh couldn't have wrote a better love interest if she tried.
So I don't know a whole lot about Islam or Persian culture. I've known quite a few people in school that practice Islam but haven't known much about the religion or their culture beyond the basics we all learn. So I thought this was such a great look into the culture and religion. Obviously we see it in a more Westernized sense, as I do know it's supposed to be more strict with a number of things. But I thought this was good. We know Tahereh grew up in the US so it makes sense that she wrote Shirin to reflect how she grew up. I thought this was great because it showed how Shirin's family retained their identity with their culture and religion, but still adapted to the society and country of which they live in. I think this especially is incredibly important since in our current society, everyone looks at those of minorities and who practice other religions besides Christianity as unwilling to assimilate and destroying America's culture, and that simply isn't true. And this book really helps show that.
So thought this book was just incredibly reflective of the Xenophobia we see in America. Shirin deals with a lot of awful, hateful, crude comments thrown at her because of her race and religion. They look at her as if she is exactly the same as the terrorists who attacked. She has even been physically attacked. She's literally had teachers start lectures about
"how people who don't love this country should just go back to where they came from" - pg. 10
I kept track of all the racist, xenophobic, cruel comments with tabs and there's just so many in this book. And this is the reality of what people deal with daily. This has never gone away either. Its just got worse and spread to more and more minorities now. This kind of stuff happens to every single minority now, and if you don't see it, you have to be living under a rock. This is just such an important novel to have in our current state. It really makes you double take about how little has changed. This is eye opening.
I really liked Shirin's growth as a character in this book. She starts off being angry and super closed off. She doesn't really make friends, she doesn't consider any love interests, she just keeps far away from people because of the way she's been treated. And I don't even blame her. She's been used and treated like dirt by most of the people she's tried to let in. And on top of that, she just doesn't want to pull anyone into the shit show she has to deal with. She knows anyone she lets in will end up being subject to those nasty comments and hatred. Which is why she tries so hard to push Ocean away. She does really like him. But she doesn't want him to have to deal with all the hatred of being with her. And its really hard for her to convince herself its ok to let him in, especially when everyone, coaches, parents, etc are telling her to stop destroying his future just by being with him. But Ocean himself is so determined to fight for her. He puts up with so much for her and eventually she lets him in despite all the bs. And she lets go finally of the anger and hatred she holds towards everybody. She was looking at everybody as a mass of people who hated her and everyone was incredibly frightened of her. Once she let go of the anger she learned that not everyone around her was so bad and that a lot of people were just as scared of interacting with her as she was with them. This was such a huge thing for Shirin!
And Ocean. I absolutely loved Ocean. He had an interest in Shirin, not a use and toss her to the side interest, but a genuine interest in her and her life. He really did want to get to know her. But because of her fears and anger he had to fight incredibly hard. And he did! He fought so hard to be a part of Shirin's life, despite all the hatred thrown at him for associating with her. He wanted to learn about her culture, why she wears a hijab, what she's gone through. He was so excited over having thanksgiving at Shirin's house because he got to have a real taste of Persian culture and food. Ocean was just such a genuine person. You want people in your life that fight for you, want to get to know your culture, know you! I just absolutely adored Ocean. And Shirin was definitely needed for him as well. For the longest time he played basketball for everyone but himself. He didn't even want to play it anymore. And Shirin helped him realize that he should be doing things he wants to do, not doing things for everyone but himself. I just love how Shirin and Ocean helped each other grow. It was beautiful and Tahereh couldn't have wrote a better love interest if she tried.
