A review by tinyphrases
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

5.0

Book #1 for the Asian Readathon! I read this in two days simply because I couldn't put it down, and because I felt so close to it. Being diagnosed with depression, more specifically dysthymia, last year, I truly felt like I knew Darius. Both on the mental health front, the way he both treated himself and is seen by others, but also on the "not quite one or the other". I'm Russian but I grew up in the Netherlands, raised by a single mum. Going back to Russia was traumatising because I was raised in a very different culture, under different circumstances. To my grandmum and her sister I was a bad kid, even if they loved me - not nearly Russian enough.

This just hit a chord and I loved it for that, but also for the writing and the flow of it, how the references felt less like an invasion and more just a part of how Darius makes sense of this mess of a world. HIGHLY recommend this!