PositiveEntertainment Weekly\"A Very Large Expanse of Sea hits all the well-worn beats readers have come to expect from teen romances, but it’s able to reframe a familiar story through the lens of a culture too rarely humanized on page or screen. The result is a singular (and, rightly, National Book Award-longlisted) new novel from one of YA’s brightest voices ... Like any good teen love story, a second love interest is introduced, but this is where the book’s one weakness comes into view... the character is ultimately a missed opportunity ... These are small quibbles, though. Stories of an American Hijabi remain few and far between, and Mafi’s thoughtful, personal, and powerfully emotional novel delivers a strong argument for why we need more.\
