Notes

Tahereh Mafi.
296 pages.
Summary: 2002. A year after 9/11, it's an extremely turbulent time politically for Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who's tired of being stereotyped. 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. Now she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother. When she meets Ocean James, he seems to want to get to know Shirin. 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.