Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

23 reviews

annakh16's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Emotional and reflective - a lovely YA book. 

This combines a lot of topics with vivid description - family relationships, friendship, living with depression as a young person, and the culture and history of Iran (I agree with most people here that the discussions on food were a highlight). Darius being both an insider and outsider to Iranian life made this a great learning opportunity as a reader, and really helped it come to life. 

Darius is well-written and likeable, and there is a good mix of character introspection and interactions with others. The Star Trek references in his language really helped shape his character, and actually weren’t overdone, which I find to be rare with things like this.  

I underrated the dynamic between Darius and his father for most of the book - not that it was badly done at all, but the author’s afterword - that this is about loving someone with depression, while also having depression yourself - really made me realise how meaningful it was. I thought their final conversation was great, though to me, Steven is not quite off the hook just yet. Very interested to see how this develops in the sequel. 

And Sohrab and Darius - I mean they’re just so sweet. „Your place was empty“ <3

Good audio narration too. A quiet and introspective book, with lots to learn (for me personally) - would recommend it for that! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Xenophobia, Grief, Terminal illness, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Islamophobia

tesslaah's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

In the afterword, Khorram says that they “wanted to show how depression can affect a life without ruling it.” They convey this well! Depression was central to the story but it wasn’t the only part of Darius’ life that made him who he is. Darius was portrayed as a whole person who also develops in how he views friendship, his relationship with his dad, and even his multi-racial background. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

erinrebecca922's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really enjoyed this book and how they used an authentic portrayal of depression. It wasn't the central part of the book, but it was an important part of the main character. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Racism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

adalinemccormick's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Body shaming

emcat591's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Religious bigotry, Racism, Fatphobia, and Mental illness

queerloras's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Grief, Confinement, Body shaming, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

montyalmoro's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Racism, and Religious bigotry

noahsingh's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

tbh an Immediate favourite book, really hit home as someone who is also mixed race and depressed and queer lol would b 5 starts if not for the weird occasional fatphobia:/

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death of parent, Mental illness, Body shaming, Colonisation, Terminal illness, and Islamophobia

Minor: Torture, Cancer, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, and Confinement

joisaddler's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Grief, and Mental illness

courtnoodles's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Sorry to everyone who was excited I was reading this

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Dementia, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Murder