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annakh16's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
4.0
Protect. Darius. at. all. costs! The title of this book is spot on. He does deserve better.
I’m glad this sequel was good. There is a wide range of (often tough) themes handled beautifully - grief, depression, family, first relationships, sexuality etc etc. It is lovely seeing such a complex and nuanced young character.
I also found the accountability refreshing - it wasn’t all “forgive and forget” (which I feel like happens sometimes in YA), but the characters had all the necessary conversations, which were also written very well. There were some great life lessons in there.
I would’ve liked to see more of some characters - Sohrab and Steven especially - but I think putting them aside was needed to make space for the new plot lines, so I get it. We still got some sweet moments with both. I also found Darius’ feelings about his relationship with Landon very relatable personally.
This series will stay with me, I’ll miss it. The sequel definitely cemented this as a new favourite YA contemporary.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Grief, Body shaming, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Racism
evelynyle_88'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Adib Khorram, you did it once again! I decided to listen to this beautiful story about Darius Kellner to continue my journey with him, his family and his friends... I feel like this story gave me comfort.
Knowing that there's Landon in his life at the start of the story... I could picture how happy he was. But, I sometimes felt Landon was too pushy toward Darius.
Darius really deserves better than the love he got from Landon. And I'm glad this quite heavy story ended well for all of them; including Darius. Great job, Mr. Khorram! You made me love Darius even more!🩷
Knowing that there's Landon in his life at the start of the story... I could picture how happy he was. But, I sometimes felt Landon was too pushy toward Darius.
Darius really deserves better than the love he got from Landon. And I'm glad this quite heavy story ended well for all of them; including Darius. Great job, Mr. Khorram! You made me love Darius even more!🩷
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Bullying, and Homophobia
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Racism
Minor: Sexual content
archiveofrasa's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I think I missed Iran from the story, that's probably why this book didn't hit as hard for me as the first one did. I still found a lot of things interesting and it still maintained the nuance of the first book, but there was also a lot more going on. I also read this in one sitting just a few hours after finishing the first book, so perhaps the speed at which I read it affected my perspective. I'm glad with how it ended and how a lot of the topics were handled, it was really nice to see in a YA contemporary, especially for a gay boy of colour. Darius absolutely deserves better.
I'm almost sad to see that the story ends here, because I would've loved to see more fo the main cast of characters, they are genuinely still so interesting to me.
I'm almost sad to see that the story ends here, because I would've loved to see more fo the main cast of characters, they are genuinely still so interesting to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Bullying, and Homophobia
Moderate: Racism, Grief, and Death
Minor: Sexual content
thebookpaiges's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Bullying, Homophobia, and Mental illness
Moderate: Terminal illness, Death, and Grief
Minor: Transphobia, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content
adalinemccormick's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Body shaming, Grief, Racism, Death, and Fatphobia
joisaddler's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Homophobia, Death, and Racism
thewrittenwarrior's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Death and Homophobia
mconant's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Mental illness, Bullying, Grief, Death, Homophobia, and Islamophobia
bladelikesbooks's review
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
Like the first book Darius is still going through a lot. Darius has to deal with a lot of complicated teenager feelings while also worrying about his family’s financial position, grieving his grandfather, maintining a long distance friendship, still dealing with bullies, and dealing with a boyfriend who wants more from him.
I love Darius as a character so much and i could easily read 10 more books about him. Khorram gives such a real presentation of teenage depression and regular teenage life. I really enjoyed the narration too! I literally don’t have a single bad thing to say about either of these books. I also really appreciated the inclusion of crisis lines at the end of the book.
Representation - Asthma (MC); Bahá’í (SC); Bisexual (LI); Black (BGCs); Depression (MC/A); Fat (MC); Gay (MC); Iranian (SC); Iranian American (BGC); Iranian/Persian American (MC); Korean American (BGC); Muslim (BGC); POC (SC); Queer (SC); They/Them (BGC); Trans MTF (SC); Sapphic (SCs)
TWs/CWs - Bullying; Death of a Loved One; Discrimination; Fatphobia; Homophobia; Islamophobia; Mental Illness; Racism; Weight Talk
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Fatphobia, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death
averyprettyboy's review
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, and Xenophobia