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A review by streetwrites
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
5.0
VOICE, VOICE, VOICE!
I need Adib Khorram to extol the secret to writing with an incredible sense of voice. Because he’s honestly one of the most talented authors I’ve ever read when it comes to that aspect.
Darius Kellner is one of the most honest, most fully-realized characters I’ve read in a very long time. It’s hard to really even nail why. I think it’s because Khorram doesn’t overdo anything. There is just enough convention in this novel to give it the basic storytelling structure but, in the same vein as André Aciman, Khorram sort of throws the rules out the window, and Darius is a better book for it.
I love books that appear to be about one thing but, by the time you finish them, make you realize they have been trying to tell you this other thing the whole time. This book does a splendid job at showing how the realities of mental health factor into the everyday lives of...well...anyone. It was a unique element, to have both the main character and his father suffering from the same issues. To me, one of the greatest payoffs in the whole story comes at the end, when the two characters have a talk about mental health that I didn’t even realize I was anticipating so heavily until it happened.
I love how unapologetically real Darius is as a character. I love that he processes his world in a certain way, that he has formed a worldview based on his experiences, and that he is open to the change that comes his way.
I also have to say...it was refreshing to finally find a YA book that didn’t rely on a romantic relationship to carry its plot. This book was proof that authors can tackle SO MANY important topics of substance when they leave the romance angle out. I’m not saying there should be NO romance in the genre; that would be absurd and totally outside the realm of expectations and reality.
But Darius’s story shone even brighter, and important topics really took center stage thanks in part to the absence of a romance arc. (Though, there is some extremely subtle subtext going on toward the end of the book, and MAN, I really did ship a certain pair of characters.)
This book is a must-read for anyone struggling to reconnect with their roots, or experiencing a tragedy and trying to learn how to grieve, or for anyone who just wants to connect with a really awesome kid named Darius...whose voice I won’t soon forget.
I need Adib Khorram to extol the secret to writing with an incredible sense of voice. Because he’s honestly one of the most talented authors I’ve ever read when it comes to that aspect.
Darius Kellner is one of the most honest, most fully-realized characters I’ve read in a very long time. It’s hard to really even nail why. I think it’s because Khorram doesn’t overdo anything. There is just enough convention in this novel to give it the basic storytelling structure but, in the same vein as André Aciman, Khorram sort of throws the rules out the window, and Darius is a better book for it.
I love books that appear to be about one thing but, by the time you finish them, make you realize they have been trying to tell you this other thing the whole time. This book does a splendid job at showing how the realities of mental health factor into the everyday lives of...well...anyone. It was a unique element, to have both the main character and his father suffering from the same issues. To me, one of the greatest payoffs in the whole story comes at the end, when the two characters have a talk about mental health that I didn’t even realize I was anticipating so heavily until it happened.
I love how unapologetically real Darius is as a character. I love that he processes his world in a certain way, that he has formed a worldview based on his experiences, and that he is open to the change that comes his way.
I also have to say...it was refreshing to finally find a YA book that didn’t rely on a romantic relationship to carry its plot. This book was proof that authors can tackle SO MANY important topics of substance when they leave the romance angle out. I’m not saying there should be NO romance in the genre; that would be absurd and totally outside the realm of expectations and reality.
But Darius’s story shone even brighter, and important topics really took center stage thanks in part to the absence of a romance arc. (Though, there is some extremely subtle subtext going on toward the end of the book, and MAN, I really did ship a certain pair of characters.)
This book is a must-read for anyone struggling to reconnect with their roots, or experiencing a tragedy and trying to learn how to grieve, or for anyone who just wants to connect with a really awesome kid named Darius...whose voice I won’t soon forget.