Darius the Great Is Not Okay

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This leads to Darius leaving and having a breakdown, but Sohrab comes to apologize later in the day. This novel, and its predecessor, is one of the finest examples I can think of in regards to development of character voice. I honestly think I loved this even more than the first book ( Darius the Great is Not Okay), and I REALLY loved that book.

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram | Goodreads Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram | Goodreads

His dad has to travel a lot for business and he seems to be struggling emotionally, his sister is having trouble at school, he's still getting bullied by his nemesis, Trent, and sometimes he just worries that everything is going to come crashing down.Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series, and he also makes a brief reference to Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby-Dick. And it didn't feel like Sohrab either, who felt like the kind of person I could count on for anything.

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

It talks about terminal illness and grief; racial slurs, homophobia, mental health and gender identity. Darius becomes frustrated when Laleh begins watching Star Trek with Stephen—the only thing that Darius and Stephen had together—and started without him, because he's already seen the episodes. Suffering from chronic depression and bullied at school in America, Darius isn't sure how he'll fare in a country he's never seen.I love this story, and the way it combines the bitter of adolescence with the sweet of friendship and family. Meanwhile, Darius’s grandfather’s condition is deteriorating; he sometimes forgets where he is, or he has violent mood swings.

Darius the Great Deserves Better - Common Sense Media Darius the Great Deserves Better - Common Sense Media

Darius the Great is Not Okay, published in 2018, was Khorram’s first novel, and it was published to great acclaim—it’s been awarded YALSA’s William C. A love letter to anyone who has felt uncomfortable in their own skin and wondered where exactly they belonged. I thought about that: How back home, all Persians—even Fractional Persians like me and Laleh—were united in our Persian-ness. He’s not sure he enjoys his job, his grandmothers that don’t seem to like him are staying with Darius’ family, and he begins questioning everything when a teammate catches his eye despite him being in what he thought was a happy relationship. In his grief, Sohrab lashes out at Darius—but he also then makes a point to apologize and take ownership of his misplaced anger.After learning tons about Perisan culture in Darius the Great is Not Okay, I was overjoyed to read a second novel following Darius and his family! How did you go about building the relationships in your book, particularly the friendship between Darius and Sohrab? They open up emotionally to each other: Stephen tells him of how he was close to suicide when Darius was young, and went on pills to prevent it. Gradually, Darius begins to feel more at home and opens up to Sohrab about his depression and insecurities (particularly where his father is concerned).