A Very Large Expanse of Sea: A Review

By Estrella Bernal Lopez 

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi. It was inspired by the real events of her life. It was published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2018. Tahereh Mafi is the National Book award nominated and New York Times best and USA best-selling author.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea tells the story of Shirin, a sixteen-year-old, Persian-American girl trying to settle at her new high school. Since she was little, her parents moved frequently from towns for better job opportunities. For a better neighborhood, move to a bigger house, to a better school district. But Shirin didn't like that, she thought they didn’t consider her unremarkable struggles. Because every time she begins to adapt to a new place, her parents decide to move. Which means struggling with the constant attacks from students and comments from teachers. It makes her life miserable in school. She thought everyone was a monster until she met Ocean, a basketball player. Their friendship and relationship was complicated because they were from totally different worlds. This leads to people not accepting their relationship which causes many problems.                                                                                                                                                                                        

For instance, when I started reading the book, I was kind of skeptical at first, but as I went through the chapters, I started liking it. It made me think how rude people can be, even adults. I like how she portrays Islam. How she tells the good and bad things. I do dislike the fact that she always pushes away people who want to get close to her and how she thinks everyone is a monster. But It's understandable after all the things she has been through. I like how her perspective changes throughout the ending. And I also don't like how the author keeps going back and forth between them and their struggles. I wish it had more of an adventure between Ocean and Shirin. But it's understandable because they both were busy and because Shirin had a somewhat of a strict life. 

Without a doubt, Tahereh Mafi did a good job writing the book because it shows the representation of a Muslim girl living in a majority-white country and the things she has endured. I also think it's a good perspective of how Muslims feel when they are criticized or someone is racist toward them. Or how just a look towards them feels like they are being judged, even though that's not always  the case. And how Shirin can be an example to other Muslim girls by showing they don’t have to live their life in a certain way just because others tell them to. 

If you are looking for a love story and humorous book, but also a book that's based on the experience of Islamophobia, I think A Very Large Expanse of Sea it's the option. You will love it!

Holding Smoke: A review by Zakiya Venable

Holding Smoke by Elle Cosimano is overall a good mystery suspense book. The hook and the description of the book caught my eye. This is the story of John “ Smoke” Conlan, who’s serving a sentence in a juvenile rehabilitation center known as Y for murder of 2 people. Unlike the other inmates, Conlan can leave Y by astral-projecting. Other than the eye catching hook and description, the character development, and theme/plot of the book are amazing.

From GoodReads a reviewer wrote John Conlan is a very "real, identifiable character, with all his strengths and flaws. On the inside he's a good guy. His protective shell that he has built around him is not the real him, but an artificial shell built for the purpose of self-preservation,” and I agree with this review about John's character. Given what Smoke has been through, he is a great example of a strong character that you hear about in books, those characters that keep going on no matter what happens or what they've been through. Elle Cosiman did a wonderful job writing John’s backstory. Every detail really helps explain everything about Conlan. I wish the author had gone into a bit more detail with the characters Candy, Haggett and Rickers. I hoped to know a little more about their backstory too.

The book's setting was a little confusing. I felt like they should have been in prison rather than juvenile detention. The crimes that were talked about and how some of the inmates were portrayed was making me think that the setting should have been a prison or that some of the characters should be in prison. Then again, it could be a part of the plot that a certain character should be in prison, but they were able to pull a few strings and get themselves into Y.

The plot and theme of Holding Smoke was so attention grabbing. A boy that can astral-project after dying. After dying he is now in a juvenile center for murdering 2 people, one of the victims being his teacher. Later in the book, on one of Smoke's trips, he meets a girl that can actually see him. After they met, the girl discovers that Smoke is innocent in one of the murders and wants to help clear his name. Manipulation, corruption, and lies fill the lives of the characters. “Who do you trust? How do you tell who is genuine and who’s in it for their own gain? Protect yourself or protect others?” Are just a few of the questions Smoke and many other characters asked themselves. The Biggest question of all, “ How will this end?”

After The Shot Drops: A review

by Jacob Purtlebaugh

    The title of the book I read was After The Shot Drops by Randy Ribay. It was

published by HarperCollins Publishers on January 21, 2020. After The Shot Drops is a sports

drama. I personally liked reading the book After The Shot Drops. The characters in the book

were easy for me to identify with. The writing style of the two main characters maintained my

interest while reading the book.

    After The Shot Drops begins with Bunny and Nasir who are friends that go to the same

school, and they play basketball together. Then things begin to change when Bunny has to

transfer schools to have a higher chance of getting recognized by a college. They go their

separate ways until a new character named Wallace tries to plot them against each other. This

is when a rising climax occurs.

    Bunny is one of the main characters who is the better basketball player, laidback, and

non-dramatic. Nasir is a stubborn, cautious, and jealous character. Wallace is the character that

dislikes Bunny and is important to the plot. Wallace gets Nasir to steal from Bunny and then

tries to get Bunny to lose the state final on purpose. When things do not go the way Wallace

planned he takes things into his own hands.

    I enjoyed the fact that I could relate to the characters in this book. Basketball is one of

my favorite outdoor activities that my friends and I do on a regular basis. There is always

someone that is a better basketball player and someone who may be a little jealous of this. The

character I mostly related to was Bunny, because I had to move to a different school and leave

my best friend behind. I can understand his struggles with making new friends while missing his

best friend.

    The author did a good job of writing the book with two main characters and letting you

know who each chapter was about instead of just writing a book and placing the characters

throughout the book. The author showed two different points of view in this book, one from

Bunny’s point and the other from Nasir’s point. By writing the book this way, I believe it was easy

to follow and more interesting.

    After the Shot Drops is a good book and will keep you interested. My favorite character

is Bunny and I understand his struggles. This book will take you along with him through

changing schools, losing friends, finding enemies and coming out stronger. I believe the author

did a great job with detailing the characters and taking you on the journey with them.

JACKPOT$: ALL Bets Are Off

A review

By Xavier Miller

Nic Stone’s book JACKPOT$: All Bets Are Off was a treat. The story tells about real struggles in unorthodox situations which really catch my attention as someone who doesn’t really read. 

This is the story of Rico, a struggling store clerk who wants to change her life and gets the chance after selling a lottery ticket to a sweet old lady.

Zan is a rich kid who finds his life a bit boring until he meets Rico. He decides to help her, thinking it could be fun.

 

The story also seems realistic because of how the characters make tough decisions to get what they want. For example: Rico has to choose whether to help her mom with the next rent payment or go with Zan to a different city to find the ticket. 

There are moments when the characters have had enough and finally share their problems with other characters. For instance, Rico finally tells her mom that throughout her teenage life she’s the only one who’s trying to help but gets no appreciation for it. These are the moments I like because I get to tell how they feel about each other through their point of view. I think the point of the story was to know if the characters had a chance of changing their lives. 

If you’re looking for a story that could be based on real events and includes a few romantic scenes, READ THIS BOOK!