Darius the Great Is Not Okay

by Adib Khorram

[Sam@WLABB]

Darius simply captured my heart! As a biracial teen, he felt not "enough" for either world, but his zeal for learning about his Persian heritage was wonderful! Seeing his first visit to Iran through his eyes was beautiful and exciting. I also loved the friendship he developed with Sohrab. Darius, like I said, felt in-between. He was also a bit awkward and a target of the school bully. Sohrab gave him a taste of what a real friendship was, and I could feel the joy it gave Darius. He was a beautiful soft-boy of the best kind. The way he doted on his sister and waxed poetic about his grandmother warmed my heart, and I also appreciated his honesty about his depression. The family dynamic and identity are explored throughout this story, but it was his relationship with his father that really hit me in the feels hard. Darius did not have the most favorable view of his father and their relationship was strained. During his time in Iran, he learned a lot about his father, past and present, which helped him see some events and his father in a different light. Beautiful story of a young man finding himself and learning to love all his parts.