Status Updates From A Very Large Expanse of Sea

i’m always gonna hate the abrupt, heartbreaking end to this book, but i am beginning to see it as somewhat realistic.

i’d like to believe that shirin and ocean ultimately do find their way back to each other, perhaps in college, bc i can’t believe that as strongly as they both felt about one another, they were fine w letting things end just bc of distance. to me THAT is that most unrealistic end to this book.

i’m entirely unimpressed with how mafi tried to characterise the unnamed Indian girl as crazy for raising perfectly valid concerns regarding shirin’s behavior.

there 100% are expectations associated w the hijab and those that wear it, and shirin’s behavior 100% demonstrated a lack of respect and understanding of this. ofc, no one is perfect, but shirin at least ought to keep her business private as a hijabi.

Ocean 🥰

i feel like this time ’round i’m finally at peace w mafi’s representation of a persian-american muslim teenage girl surviving high school in 2002. and while it makes sense to me that perhaps shirin wouldn’t be particularly religious at this point in her life, i do simultaneously hate that this characterization of her is the extent of “true” muslim representation we see in modern media.