Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Darius the Great Is Not Okay

by Adib Khorram

Darius doesn't think he'll ever be enough, in America or in Iran. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this unforgettable debut introduces a brilliant new voice in contemporary YA.

Winner of the William C. Morris Debut Award

“Heartfelt, tender, and so utterly real. I’d live in this book forever if I could.”
—Becky Albertalli, award-winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian—half, his mom’s side—and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life.
 
Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn’t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city’s skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush—the original Persian version of his name—and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab.
 
Adib Khorram’s brilliant debut is for anyone who’s ever felt not good enough—then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay.

Reviewed by Laurie on

3 of 5 stars

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Review posted on https://lauriesbookshelf.comA few months ago, I found out about the book Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram. I decided to keep an eye on it and its reviews before deciding whether to buy and read it. Well, all reviews were positive, so I did both. But am I just as pleased with this book as everyone else?





Expectations
As stated before, my expectations for this book were high. All reviews that I read about Darius The Great Is Not Okay were glowing. However, I have to tell you that my expectations were not met entirely and here's why.

Story
Yes, the story is okay. Not spectacular, but okay. We follow Darius, who suffers from clinical depression and faces a disapproving dad and a lot of bullying at school. He doesn't really know where he belongs, in America or in Iran. Throughout the book, we discover Darius' true self along with Darius himself.

Too simplistic
And here comes my biggest concern and my main critique. This book is way and way too simplistic for a young adlut novel. This is regarding both story line and writing style, but mainly the writing style. On a positive note, the book reads quickly. On the other hand, I find Darius The Great Is Not Okay more suitable as a middle-grade than as a YA. The writing really felt young and middle-grade, which annoyed me really bad at some point. Therefore, I got bored of the story and wanted this book to be finished. I missed any connection with Darius or any other character and this is mainly because of the writing style. The sentences are really short, which gives this book a somewhat immature feeling. Maybe I'm spoiled by all the fantasy books I read, but I have read contamporary books which have been excecuted much better.

Darius The Great Is Not Okay will find its Dutch release in April next year, and it totally found the right publisher. This publisher doesn't have much YA but more middle-grade and that is the best target group for this book.

Conclusion
Overall, I enjoyed reading Darius The Great Is Not Okay, but I did not as much as I hoped to do. The story is alright, but the writing style was way too simplistic for me. This made this book feel more suitable as a middle-grade than as a young adult novel. Apparently, this led me to enjoy the story less. I did not feel any connection to Darius or any other character and I even got bored at one point. The sentences are really short which made the excecution of the story feel a little immature. However, Darius The Great Is Not Okay still deserves a rock solid three stars, but I would not recommend this book to an older YA reader soon.This review was originally posted on Laurie's Bookshelf

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 November, 2018: Finished reading
  • 1 November, 2018: Reviewed