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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
A wonderful dive into Persian culture, mental health, and how depression affects everyone in different forms.
Review in English down below
A decir verdad, me mola mucho este libro.
Me gustó por la única razón de que era brutalmente honesto y muy fácil de leer.
Otra razón para amarlo: se trata de la cultura iraní, que comparte muchas cosas culturales con mi cultura — cultura turcomana. La última vez que estuve en mi país fue en 2019 y la historia de Darius logró darme una nostalgia suprema.
Es que compartimos grandes fragmentos de historia con Irán y fue muy satisfactorio leer cosas que ya sabía en un idioma que estoy tratando desesperadamente de adquirir.
También fue satisfactorio en el sentido de sentir nostalgia al recibir esa dosis de una cultura similar: llamar dulcemente a tus seres queridos como "*inserta el nombre aquí*-jan", ver todos los nombres comunes como Laleh (Läle) y Shirin se me calentó el corazón.
“Darius El Grande No Está Bien” se trata de reconectarse con su cultura y familia (Darius es iraní-estadounidense), encontrándose a sí mismo en el gran mundo.
Es uno de los mejores libros YA que he leído.
————————————
Truth be told — I liked it a lot!
I liked it for sole reason that it was brutally honest and very easy to read.
Another reason to love it — it’s about Iranian culture, which shares a lot of cultural thingies with my Turkmen culture. Last time I was at home was in 2019 and the Darius’s story managed to give me an ultimate nostalgia.
You see, we share huge chunks of history with Iran and it was so satisfying to read things that I already had known in a language that I’m so desperately trying to acquire. It was also satisfying in sense of me being homesick getting that dose of similar culture: sweetly calling your dear ones as “*insert name here*-jan”, seeing all the common names like Laleh (Läle) and Shirin made my heart fucking cry with joy.
“Darius The Great Is Not Okay” is about reconnecting with your culture and family (Darius is from an Iranian-American household), finding yourself in the big big world.
I would say that this book is a gold standard of YA genre.
A decir verdad, me mola mucho este libro.
Me gustó por la única razón de que era brutalmente honesto y muy fácil de leer.
Otra razón para amarlo: se trata de la cultura iraní, que comparte muchas cosas culturales con mi cultura — cultura turcomana. La última vez que estuve en mi país fue en 2019 y la historia de Darius logró darme una nostalgia suprema.
Es que compartimos grandes fragmentos de historia con Irán y fue muy satisfactorio leer cosas que ya sabía en un idioma que estoy tratando desesperadamente de adquirir.
También fue satisfactorio en el sentido de sentir nostalgia al recibir esa dosis de una cultura similar: llamar dulcemente a tus seres queridos como "*inserta el nombre aquí*-jan", ver todos los nombres comunes como Laleh (Läle) y Shirin se me calentó el corazón.
“Darius El Grande No Está Bien” se trata de reconectarse con su cultura y familia (Darius es iraní-estadounidense), encontrándose a sí mismo en el gran mundo.
Es uno de los mejores libros YA que he leído.
————————————
Truth be told — I liked it a lot!
I liked it for sole reason that it was brutally honest and very easy to read.
Another reason to love it — it’s about Iranian culture, which shares a lot of cultural thingies with my Turkmen culture. Last time I was at home was in 2019 and the Darius’s story managed to give me an ultimate nostalgia.
You see, we share huge chunks of history with Iran and it was so satisfying to read things that I already had known in a language that I’m so desperately trying to acquire. It was also satisfying in sense of me being homesick getting that dose of similar culture: sweetly calling your dear ones as “*insert name here*-jan”, seeing all the common names like Laleh (Läle) and Shirin made my heart fucking cry with joy.
“Darius The Great Is Not Okay” is about reconnecting with your culture and family (Darius is from an Iranian-American household), finding yourself in the big big world.
I would say that this book is a gold standard of YA genre.
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:
Yes
From the very first page, I fell in love with the narrator, Darius. He is funny, sensitive, and extremely thoughtful, all without an ounce of self-esteem. Darius is an Iranian-American living in Portland, Oregon and he struggles with depression, feeling unvalued by his father, not feeling Persian enough, and the bullies at school who see him as an easy target. When he travels to Iran to meet his dying grandfather for the first time ever, his life changes in more ways than one. Not a single main character in this book is lacking in personality, flaws and strengths alike. I especially love Khorram’s focus on Darius’s friendship with Sohrab, his grandparents’ neighbor and close friend, as well as Darius’s love for his little sister Laleh, despite always feeling “less Persian” than her. Darius’s grandparents and their relationships with the characters in the story are also incredibly well written. Adib Khorram covers a range of themes without overdoing it, and I easily fell in love with his style of writing. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I found myself constantly smiling while reading it and when I finished it, I wanted more (good thing there’s a sequel)!
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:
Yes
Exactly what I wanted in this book 🧡 A YA paced so perfectly I truly feel like no page was wasted. The main character felt so alive, and acted like a real teen would. This is a story grounded firmly enough in realism that I truly feel like I learned a thing or two, but it’s not heavy enough to be a tear-jerker (which for me is a good thing). My only complaint is that I wanted to learn more about the characters and see their relationships continue to grow, but iirc there’s a sequel??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Racism, Terminal illness, Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Islamophobia
Minor: Homophobia, Self harm
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
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
Really cute with great representation and lovely dive into Iranian culture. I’m sure so many multi cultural people can relate to Darioush. The audiobook definitely enhanced the experience.
dark
emotional
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
This was so good.
I’m really glad I listened to the audiobook of this, because I gave a whole new experience.
There was angst in here, and miscommunication, and family drama, but it all tied together so perfectly to make a satisfying conclusion.
This made me want to be in their family, feel their love because it just seemed so genuine. The bond in Darius’ family was solid
I’m really glad I listened to the audiobook of this, because I gave a whole new experience.
There was angst in here, and miscommunication, and family drama, but it all tied together so perfectly to make a satisfying conclusion.
This made me want to be in their family, feel their love because it just seemed so genuine. The bond in Darius’ family was solid