A Very Large Expanse of Sea is the story of Shirin, an American-Muslim girl who had to constantly move with her family because of discrimination caused by 9/11. A year after the 9/11 incident, the novel occurred when Shirin and her family had just moved to a new location. During her sophomore year, Shirin had experiences she never imagined she would ever have before as she explored friendship, love, and herself.

A year has just passed since 9/11, and Shirin has experienced discrimination and harassment, even attacks, because not only Shirin is Muslim, but she also wears a hijab. Due to her experiences, she developed a self-defense mechanism. At school, she talks to no one, does not attempt to make friends, she barely even looks at other people. Shirin’s brother, Navid, started a break dancing club in school, which later in the novel had a magnificent performance during the school talent show. Shirin utilizes breakdancing as an escape from her pressures in real life. However, the absence of friends still tortures Shirin within. She assumes everyone who looks at her is secretly making judgments. However, a series of incidents lead to the start of her friendship with Ocean, a star basketball player. Shirin later discovers that Ocean has fallen in love with her. Despite their efforts, their relationship and story came to a bitter-sweet end separating the two, but their shadows remained in each other’s hearts.

I think one of the most important themes of the book is judgment. Although the problem the author primarily addresses is the xenophobia Shirin experiences, Shirin judges those around her as well, and it makes her life even harder. When Ocean showed kindness toward her, she was scared that Ocean was like everyone else who wanted to make fun of her, which became a massive obstacle in their relationship. Shirin is lucky. She met someone like Ocean, who is devoted to protecting her at all costs, even if that means he will sacrifice all his hard work through high school. Yet Shirin’s story is just a story eventually. Many individuals suffer the same type of judgment and discrimination Shirin experiences in real life, but they don't have someone like Ocean.

The title of the book is brilliant. For Shirin, Ocean is like a vast sea expanse that covers the world's immense malice. Yet the author still reminds us that there are still myriads of people, as many as waterdrops in the sea, suffering from discrimination in this world.