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.
This book has so much going on and I'm here for all of it. In a post 9/11 world Shirin is doing what she can to survive. She's incased herself in a hard unapproachable shell, because she's seen how vile the world can be. While at her newest school, one of many, is fairly similar to the others, teachers who assume she can't speak English, students who stare at her scarf, and no one can properly pronounce her name, there's a boy names Ocean who seems to really be putting in an effort. When Shirin, her brother, and a few new friends decide to start a breakdancing team things take a slight turn for the better.
I don't even know where to start. This book is one of the most accurate depictions of high school that I've seen in a while, and I REALLY feel like ghat because of what we send at the end of the book. I don't want to spoiler too much but seeing a school full of people (not just the children) pretend like they weren't awful to Shirin after she impresses them is... very real world.
I think what I liked most is that there are moments in the book where the reader may not like Shirin. She's very stand-off-ish and although her feelings are VERY valid and understandable as we lean about some of her past experiences. There are so many female protagonist out there who are... sassy but cute about it (AKA a good chunk of my own personality) but Shirin is 100% living her truth and it isn't always pretty.
Tahereh has done it again and this is why I am a life long fan!
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