”Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Jag har ju pratat om Tahereh Mafis kommande bok förut, men varför inte göra det igen? Jag har läst Shatter Me-serien av henne och har även Furthermore här hemma som jag tänkte läsa. Men den nya boken verkar onekligen intressant och jag tror definitivt att jag kommer vilja läsa den.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea släpps i alla fall den 16 oktober.

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.