Darius the Great Is Not Okay

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When Dayi Jamsheed started herding us together into a big group photo, my eyes started burning. I couldn’t help it. He talked so much about you. When you came here, I thought I already knew you. I knew we would be friends.”

Darius the Great Is Not Okay Study Guide - LitCharts

This potentially rich and moving plotline, however, turns out to be a McGuffin for the real story at the heart of DARIUS THE GREAT, in which Darius finally finds a friend in Sohrab, his grandfather's neighbor's child. Sohrab is a charming, athletic boy around Darius' age, with a winning smile (repeatedly referred to as a "squint"). Sohrab is nonetheless socially outcast due to local prejudice against Bahá'ís as well as the fact that his father was taken political prisoner during the Green Revolution protests that took place several years before the novel is set.Darius, oh Darius. I can’t stress just how much his character means to me. The way his depression was handled was amazing, the growth in his relationship with his father had me in tears. Teenagers everywhere will easily be able to relate to this beautiful character because of his faults and struggles. It was nothing short of breathtaking to follow Darius’ journey of self discovery. At this point, I truly have no idea what else I can say to make you read this book besides this: IT MADE ME CRY. I mean, crying has been happening more often with books now, but it’s still not a common thing and that should tell you just how emotionally powerful this book is!!!!

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This definetely wasn't one of the worst book I've read this year, but I still had way higher hopes considering how many people actually love it and I ended up being let down. I know so many other people will be able to enjoy it so please don't let anything I said discourage you from reading this book. This story wasn't for me, but I'm sure there are many other readers who will be able to see themselves in Darius' place. The focus on friendship and anxieties around culture/diaspora was really interesting. I've never read a book set in Iran so that element had me so interested throughout. The depression rep is also GREAT. Just overall great rep here. (This is ownvoices Persian & depression rep I believe)Darius the Great Is Not Okay” has been on my TBR for years now and even though a lot of people say it’s underrated and needs more attention I actually saw it quite often on my feed. Which is the reason it landed on my TBR in the first place. Trudon, Taylor (October 12, 2018). "Young Adult Books That Plunge Into the Ecstasies, and Agonies, of Teenage Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved January 1, 2022. Darius doesn't think he'll ever be enough, in America or in Iran. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this unforgettable debut introduces a brilliant new voice in contemporary YA. I originally actually thought that this was going to be centred around a gay romance and that it was m/m, simply because I had heard that it was queer. It certainly appeared to be a queer novel and Darius is a queer character, even though it isn’t explicitly stated in the text. What was really great however was that the book actually focussed on this friendship between Darius and Sohrab, which was wonderful. It largely felt really realistic, considering the things the characters have to go through and what their past experience with friends has been like. It was genuinely just such a beautiful friendship and I’m so glad that is was just a friendship instead of a romance as we really need more friendships in novels and normalise that there isn’t a romance. There were some aspects that weren’t entirely developed or explained, but for the most part, I really liked the friendship between the two of them. And while Darius does get to know his grandparents and aunts and uncles, he ends up also growing closer to his dad, who he hasn’t been on really good terms with. It was honestly so beautiful to see their relationship developing, especially because they also talked about depression (which his dad has as well!).

Darius the Great Is Not Okay Themes | LitCharts Darius the Great Is Not Okay Themes | LitCharts

It made me into a zombie. That’s why I couldn’t tell you stories. I could barely tell the time of day.” In my OWN joyful Walk through the Aristotelian Village of Old-Fashioned Values, with Side Trips (in my reading) into Literary Utopias like Darius the Great! But the road isn’t easy here. Arriving at adulthood always involves the encounter with your Green Man...I will rave about this book. A lot. I have so many good things to say about it that I need to gather my thoughts before I can write a coherent review. This book took my heart by storm. It made me sad and happy and also very hungry. Darius and his father have very frank discussions about sex and relationships. Would you be embarrassed to talk that openly with your parents? Darius the Great Is Not Okay is my favorite kind of YA book: the kind you appreciate even more when you are not a YA. If you have read Aristotle and Dante, you know what I’m trying to explain when I say that a teen may relate more to the characters, but as an adult the whole book is going to resonate better. I know what you're thinking and no, I am not a masochist. This books sure has its heartbreaking elements but they aren't "sad" sad. They are more touching than sad. It's just one of those books which make you have really wholesome break downs. And if you don't what I mean by that, there is only one way to find out - READ THIS BOOK.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay Summary - LitCharts Darius the Great Is Not Okay Summary - LitCharts

I didn't exactly care about the characters. They were okay, I just don't believe they were fully fleshed out and the author could have done a way better job at creating everyone. Darius wasn't an exceptional main character. Most of the times he was actually extremely boring and reading from his POV got tedious very fast. It was interesting seeing the way he dealt with some of the situations he was put in, but at the same time I didn't really cared about those. None of the other characters stood out that much which makes sense considering this is Darius's story. The only other two characters that stood out were his father and Sohrab. After a meet-cute involving a post-soccer-game shower*****, Sohrab and Darius find themselves "joined at the shoulder," and (without any spoilers), the most probable narrative arc unfolds from there: there are confidences, moments of adorable whimsy, fights and reconciliations. In other words, not exactly the kind of stakes that are going to blow anyone away. I was sort of debating on whether to give it four or five stars, and normally if I have to think about giving a book a four or five, I generally go with a four. For like the first eighty percent or so, I was feeling around a four star, and it wasn’t the last twenty percent or so that I did get a bit emotional and that last bit was a solid five stars. That being said, it is a very high four stars, and who, knows I may change my mind in the future.

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This is such a special book. It is so full of heart and the characters are so memorable. I was utterly hooked on this book from start to finish, and unbelievably, read the entire book in one day (and I worked, too). Adib Khorram does such a fantastic job telling a simple yet poignant, rich story, and he makes you feel the same emotions the characters do. I enjoyed this book so much I am willing to overlook my one pet peeve, which is that nearly every sentence Darius said started with, "Um." I know this is probably accurate for teenage boys, but it got a little monotonous after a while.