![]() But Shirin is stronger than she realizes, and remarkably mature and self-confident, and that also helps. Shirin won’t stop wearing the hijab though she likes, and even needs, the power she feels it gives her over her own body. I was still so easily, pathetically, punctured.” She thinks she is weak though because she does get hurt: “I still cared too much. ![]() She also works out her frustrations physically by practicing break-dancing after school with her brother and some of his friends. ![]() Mostly she tries to tune it all out (literally) by listening to music all day through headphones that are invisible because of her hijab. ![]() Since the attack on 9/11, however, it has gotten much worse. Shirin has a virtual spike-covered wall around her to protect her from the slings and arrows of degrading, ill-informed, and cruel insults from fellow high schoolers and even high school teachers. Navid has an easier time adjusting than Shirin he is a good-looking male who can protect himself, and perhaps most importantly, he doesn’t wear a head scarf, as does Shirin. ![]() Shirin and her older brother Navid have moved a lot, because her parents are always trying to improve their lives. This short young adult novel about Shirin, a 16-year-old Muslim girl in 2002, born in America to Iranian parents, has won numerous awards, including a nomination for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2018. ![]()
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