A Very Large Expanse of Sea | Three Hallows Book Club

A Very Large Expanse of Sea | January Book Club | #ThreeHallows

I had been wanting to read A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi ever since I saw a tweet mentioning it back in September 2018. A YA novel tackling xenophobia and 9/11? Yes, please. So, I am very happy that the other girls accepted this book as one of my book club picks and am even happier to hear that they have been enjoying it as much as I did.

The second word in the blurb of A Very Large Expanse of Sea is 9/11 which led me to believe the book would have a very prominent focus on this event and a very political focus in general. However, this is not the case. The book is very much a YA teenage romance novel more than it is anything else. And I think that is what I love most about it. It tackles the horrific nature of racism and xenophobia in a post 9/11 USA yet keeps the characters within reach of all teenagers by discussing a topic most teenagers can get on board with: romantic relationships.

There were times when I closed the book and interrupted my boyfriend and his reading to vent to him about various relationship struggles in the novel. And, as much as I think he really didn't care, it has been a while since I read a book and genuinely had to close it for a few seconds to process how the book was making me feel. The book also made me side with the popular basketball boy which brought back a lot of fond High School Musical Memories.

In a way, I would like to thank this book for forcing me to enjoy reading again. This book came at just the right time in my life and I am very grateful I was on holiday and able to read it. I'm pretty sure I read the whole thing in about two days (which is very good for me as lately I take weeks to get through any novel).

Overall, I will give the book 4 out of 5 stars. If you fancy giving it a read, get your copy from the Book Depository by clicking here!



PS- Can you tell I recently discovered that portrait mode on an iPhone also works on books too?

And as always, don't forget to go check out the blog posts from the other members of the Three Hallows book club!

February's book!

Next month the Three Hallows will be reading I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo!

I Believe in a Thing Called Love follows the story of a girl who begins to apply Korean drama tropes to her love life.....

Fancy reading along with us? Get your copy here.




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