An Emotion of Great Delight by Tareheh Mafi


 

The main character in An Emotion of Great Delight is a hard feeling girl. As a Muslim living in a post 9/11 world, she deals with the normal issues of a every teen ever and then some. A father who is dying, a brother already dead, a former best friend who seemingly now hates her, a mother who self harms, and now her friend's older brother might be in love with her?

I am really curious to see how my students feel about this book. The title is kind of misleading-there's not that much happiness in this book at all! OR.... is there? It will be interesting to see the kids' take on whether or not simply making it through life's everyday struggles is enough to make oneself happy. Then again, is there a simpler happiness that comes with being comfortable in one's true identity? Perhaps that's the message here.

-TK

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