TW: This book contains mentions of suicide attempts and a murder by stabbing (off page).
This was a sweet, heartwarming story about the highs and lows of familial connections, tradition, friendship, and you know what? It’s just about connections in general. Not only that, this book manages to keep it real with us this entire time and still be light-hearted and heartwarming.
Darius (or Darioush for his Farsi name) Kellner is Iranian-American, but he’s never fit in anywhere. At school, he’s bullied relentlessly, at home, he’s ostracized by both his father and he feels disconnected from his Iranian roots because of the language barrier between him and his grandparents. When a life-threatening illness threatens to take Darius’s grandpa, the Kellners head off to Iran, and even there, Darius doesn’t feel at home. That all changes when he meets the next door neighbor, Sohrab, who makes Darius feel… like Darius.
First off, shoutout because Adib Khorram is based out of KC! Second off, this book handled everything it touched with great humanity, dignity, and respect. Darius felt real, like he could be a kid at my school, and HE STRUGGLED WITH REAL ISSUES! His depression (which he has guilt about because “he hasn’t been through anything sad”), his nerdiness, his identity struggles, and his friendship struggles all felt like Khorram really put thought, love, and time into Darius. Add that into an exceptionally well written book for YA, with a great friendship, great familial relationships, and a plot that did it’s job, this is an incredibly solid book (especially for a debut)!
Bottom line: an incredibly touching story that you definitely need to read.
4.5 out of 5 stars (rounded down).