Reviews with content warning for Religious bigotry - Darius the Great Is Not Okay

I absolutely loved this. I related so hard to both being a mixed person with an immigrant mom who has gone back to the motherland a few times and also as a person with mental illness. That feeling of being too other in the U.S. and then being too other/not enough in the motherland is a difficult feeling to deal with. And family/friends making fun of you in what they consider normal per their culture while in yours it is rude/hurtful/a sensitive topic because you are hyper self conscious of certain things. Darius trying to navigate his relationship with his family in Iran IRL was also something I have done when I go back to the motherland.

When I tell you I bawled, it was full ugly crying. This is quite emotional and so wonderful. This is a book I def needed when I was younger but still resonates so strongly with me now as an adult. I connected so strongly with Darius throughout the whole book. Many of his thoughts and feelings I have experienced/do experience even now.

Informative in so many aspects about Iran and Iranian culture as well. I definitely want to go to Iran to see everything and eat everything!
I'm glad we didn't get told about Babou's illness progression past Darius leaving Iran because I don't think I could handle even more crying. Definitely look at content warnings because along with mental illness, there is some brief discussion on Babou's illness, and some discussion of Iran's political climate.
There is just so much in this book for me that made it 10000% worth my time.

Content Warnings

emhunsber's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted 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? No

4.5

Content Warnings

13m0n5's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.0

Content Warnings

imstephtacular's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

divaninoor's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

This book surprised me! I thought it wouldn’t be that interesting but especially about 1/2 the way through, I had developed a connection with the characters that made me want to see what happened. This isn’t the most lyrical or poetic of books, which is what I usually like to read. I would also say that some of the chapter endings, which have a repetitive structure, aren’t as emotional as they might have been planned to be. Still, the plot is very interesting and each character is developed in a way that we can all relate to some parts of them and want better for them. It was sweet and I can’t wait to read the sequel ❤️

Content Warnings

bendersreads's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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

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