Reviews with content warning for Grief - Darius the Great Deserves Better

Trust Adib Khorram to write a book that makes me look like a fool - I was literally talking to someone just yesterday about how I felt like I had completely outgrown YA contemporary as a genre and then BAM, I decide to finally pick up the Darius sequel and of course it is amazing. There’s something about Khorram’s writing style and voice that I find so special and emotive, and the way he so accurately portrays what it’s like to live with depression, even when not in the midst of a depressive episode, is fantastic. Add in one of the best father/son relationships in YA, some soccer gays, and I am completely sold.

Content warnings: depression, bullying, homophobia, Islamophobia, sexual content (including being pressured into sexual activity), terminal illness, death of a grandparent, grief

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thewordsdevourer's review

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funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

i actually liked this better than the first book! darius the great deserves better is a book i wish i had read when i was younger: it was comforting in its assurance of continually discovering oneself; relatable in its depiction of grief; and affirming in its portrait of living w/ depression but still being ok.

darius's growth and his changing relationships w/ those around him were sth i enjoyed seeing, particularly his family dynamics and his new, supportive friendships. the characters--even the bully loser--were surprisingly multidimensional. this book was also refreshingly--almost effortlessly--diverse, and i rly like how the author tackled racism, microaggressions, homophobia, sexuality, consent, and mental illness w/ tact, somehow managing to interweave them all into the plot w/o ever sounding preachy.

similar to the first book, however, i was often annoyed by the writing, specifically the unncessary single sentences + line breaks and repetition that sounded more dramatic than they needed to be. i also wish the ending was less rushed, and that more time were spent on certain ideas and scenes, exploring them a lil further to fully grasp them. nevertheless, i still enjoyed this book, and it's def one of my top mental illness-related books for sure.

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1quillb's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring 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

This is so much better than the first book. Darius is such a relatable character, as is what he goes through in this book.

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callmeluh's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring 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

3.5

I was both excited and scared to read Darius the Great Deserves Better. Excited because I absolutely loved the first book, and scared because to me a sequel wasn't necessary. And unfortunately, I didn't feel the same things I did with Darius the Great Is Not Okay.
I found this book too predictable, I knew from the start how it was going to end (and the synopsis doesn't really help either). I did really appreciate how the conversation on depression was brought here. It's a little different than in the first book, especially as it essentially focuses on Darius' dad, but I think it was just as important.

Although I didn't like this book as much as the first one, I would still recommend it. Also, I hope there will be a third book. Even though I didn't feel like there needed to be a second book, with everything that happened here I feel like there could be a book 3.

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decklededgess's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

trigger warnings: depression, suicide mention, homophobia, racism, bullying, transphobia mention, body dysmorphia, fat shaming, sexual content mention, refugee mention, death of family member, cancer mention, grief

I didnt expect the second book to hit has hard as the first one did but here I am driving to work crying over the last few chapters.

Such an incredible duology and a strong follow up to a stunning first book.

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tyyne's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A nice YA story. The nerdy references were fun but got repetitive. Somehow got more boring as it went on, which was a bummer.

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addyson_raelynn's review

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challenging emotional 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

5.0

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