A very large expanse of sea
(Book)

It's a year after 9/11, an extremely turbulent time, 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 rude stares, degrading comments -- even physical violence -- all of which she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she's built up protective walls; 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.