Darius the Great Is Not Okay

It is a beautiful story about love, family, mixed heritage and struggles with mental health and the toll it takes on everyone.

Prepare yourself for Darius the Great is Not Okay. You are about to fall in love with Dairouish, aka, Darius, a bullied, depressed, tea-making- obsessed, Lord-of-the-Rings and Star-Trek: The-Next-Generation-nerd who doesn't feel like he fits in at school, his family, or the world at large. He refers to himself as a Fractional Persian, his mother is Iranian and his father, Steven Kellner, is a blond-haired, blue-eyed white American. His adorable and precocious little sister, Laleh, is fluent in Farsi, and unlike him, converses easily with their Iranian grandparents over Skype. After a particularly humiliating bullying incident in which his bike seat was stolen and replaced with a pair of truck nuts, i.e., blue rubber testicles, Darius learns that the family is going to Iran to meet his grandparents in person. His grandfather is terminally ill. This story tackles chronic depression, body image, antidepressants, bullying, identity formation, cross-cultural issues, loneliness, and the emotional turmoil of growing up. This is not your average angsty, teenage dramedy with a Disney-esque ending. First time author, Adhib Khorram, captures Darisus's sensitivity, confusion, and self-doubt with honesty and humor. He reframes sudden mood swings as Mood Slingshot Maneuvers, crying as Containment Breaches, and bullies as Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy. On finding the right medication: "That was before Dr. Howell switched me off Prozac, which gave me mood swings so extreme, they were more like Mood Slingshot Maneuvers, powerful enough to fling me around the sun and accelerate me into a time warp." (33) Darius is surprised at the depth of his grandparents love for him and his love for them. He discovers the true motivation behind his father's "disappointment" in him. He experiences real friendship for the first time with a boy named Sohrab, a boy who laughs and loves as easily as Darius anguishes and controls. Although the relationship with Sohrab remains platonic, Darius has moments of allowing himself to examine his own sexual orientation. This is a stand alone book, but I would love to see how Darius continues to explore his romantic feelings as a college student and young adult. After reading the book, I knew that I had to hear the correct pronunciations, accents, and inflections. Michel Levi Harris's narration showcases the gorgeous Farsi language and captures the nuanced emotions of the characters. Darius the Great is Not Okay is rich, complex, authentic, and informative. Read it. Listen to it. Or both.

Reading Adib Khorram’s “Darius the Great Is Not Okay” reminded me of how my family used to travel to Vienna, Austria to visit my Tante Anni and other relatives—minus the interrogation. I love Persian people (not the regime) and I love Persian food (especially abgoosht), so this YA book was really fulfilling for me. For some reason, though, a high percentage of the population that contains testosterone is literally fascinated with their own genitalia. The book began with references to testicles and then graduated to penises, foreskins, and circumcision. While many of the references were indeed funny, I just can’t imagine why Khorram, who is a really creative writer, couldn’t come up with something else. The book, at first, was really clean. At first, there was just a single cuss word (sh%$), but near the end of the book, the author increased its usage. Either I’m just old school or the YA standards have changed. Either way, Khorram is a really good writer—so good, in fact, that he could have used other words. If he had chosen to. Overall, the book’s ending was satisfying, but there was one question that the author never answered and that really irked me. On page 287, Darius and his father were having a conversation after which, “…Dad looked at me for a long moment. Like he knew there was more. But he didn’t ask. Instead, he pushed the hair off my forehead, kissed me there, and rested his chin on top of my head again. Maybe he knew, without me saying it out loud, that I wasn’t ready to talk about more. Maybe he did…” I have an idea about what this so-called secret is, but the author never bothered to address it before the book ended. Adib Khorram is a really good writer and the story was interesting.

Darius Kellner is a high school sophomore who describes himself as a Fractional Persian, half on his mother’s side. Living in Portland Oregon, he is dealing with feeling that he doesn’t quite belong along with bullying at school. He has one person that he considers to be a friend, and he regularly feels that his dad disapproves of him. Darius also takes medication for clinical depression which has had weight gain as a side effect, and Darius is overweight (his self-descriptor). After his babou’s (grandpa) test results reveal that the brain tumor is growing, the Kellner family quickly makes plans to leave the U.S. for a 3 week trip to Iran to visit him and tell him goodbye. This is Darius’ first trip to meet his grandparents and his first time stepping foot in Iran. While there, he feels the tension of not quite belonging–he doesn’t speak Farsi like his mom and younger sister do, and those who find out that he takes antidepressants there don’t understand mental health and tell him that he should be trying harder. He does, however, meet Sohrab who helps out Darius’ babou. Sohrab invites him to play soccer (non-American football), and Darius feels a tug towards Sohrab and accepts his invitation. Over the course of the book, we get to see more of this whirlwind friendship and what it means to belong. This book was truly excellent. First: it’s a rare YA book that has a character on medication for mental illness from the beginning. Furthermore, it’s even rarer that the character’s mental illness isn’t completely managed by medication. This truly shows a realistic portrayal of how they can help to manage mental illness but don’t cure it. Another thing done really well is the relationship between Darius and his father. His father also has depression and also takes medication for it. However, this doesn’t mean that they are close. I thought this was honestly quite realistic, and I saw some of my own relationship with my father emulated in that. I liked that this book also continued to change the trend of having words other than English italicized. Instead, the Farsi that appears in this book is kept in the same stylized font as the rest. Honestly, this was a super fantastic heart-rending read, and I definitely recommend it.

A coming-of-age story of self-proclaimed “fractional Persian” Darius (he’s half Persian/half white), a teenage boy from Portland, OR who loves Star Trek and Lord of the Rings, and goes on a family trip to Iran for the first time to visit his mom’s family. Darius is a sweet and sensitive kid who is bullied at home, and makes his first really close friend in Iran with his grandparents’ neighbor Sohrab. Darius and his dad both struggle with depression, but their shared struggle doesn’t bring them together, things between them feel more awkward every day. Darius feels lonely, self-conscious, unsure, and unwanted in his own family, but dotes on his younger sister Laleh. Darius is just trying to figure himself out, deal with his strained relationship with his dad, his grandfather’s declining health, meeting his grandparents in person for the first time, trying to connect with his Persian roots, and feeling like he doesn’t fit in anywhere; too Persian in America and not Persian enough in Iran. His friendship with Sohrab is like a lifeline, and he feels fully accepted for the first time and appreciates Sohrab’s affectionate and understanding nature. This book is not a romance, and doesn’t really get into Darius’s sexuality, but that will be explored in the sequel. I just totally fell in love with Darius, Sohrab, and Darius’s parents and grandparents. This trip is really life changing for him and it was just beautiful to read about. I really didn’t want this book to end and immediately started the second book the moment I finished it. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was amazing. This book is going onto my all time favorite books list, I can’t even express how much I adored it. CW: Discussion of depression and its effects, racist comments, fatphobic comments, body-shaming, bullying

Darius the Great is Not OK by Adib Khorram is as the Kirkus review said, “Khorram’s debut novel is filled with insight into the lives of teens, weaving together the reality of living with mental illness while also dealing with identity and immigration politics. This tear-jerker will leave readers wanting to follow the next chapter in Darius’s life.” Darius is a sophomore with an Iranian mother and an American father living in America. He is also someone awkward, depressed and the butt of jokes at school. He and his parents and his younger sister travel to Iran because Darius’ grandfather’s health is seriously failing. Darius has never met his Iranian relatives and he’s never been to Iran. This powerful book is a journey of self awareness for Darius as he makes a friend in Iran and learns so much more about his family, both his father and his extended family in Iran. Adib Khorram is an artful writer. He captures the challenges of dealing with depression, learning what friendship is, and appreciating the differences and beauty of family.

my son like this book

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group, Dial Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. Darius is the child of a Persian mother an and American father, but he has always felt that his Persian side is lacking. He also struggles to connect with his dad even though they both deal with depression and have a mutual love of Star Trek. Making friends has always been a struggle for him as well. When his grandfather gets sick, Darius and his family go to Iran to spend time with him. While there, Darius finally makes a friend who accepts him as he is. Darius the Great is full of representation - depression/mental health, Persian/Middle Eastern, and (probably) LGBTQ+ representation. I really enjoyed learning about Persian culture and I learned more about tea than I ever need to know!

ポートランドに住む高校生ダリウス・ケルナーは、母親がイラン人で父親はドイツ系のアメリカ人。何をしてもうまくいかない、周りの期待に応えられない自分が嫌で、抗うつ剤を使っています。妹は母親が教えたペルシア語もちゃんと話せるのに、自分はほんの単語程度しかわからないなど、家でも何か居心地の悪い思いをしていて、学校ではいじめっ子のターゲットにされている始末です。 そんなとき、イランにいるおじいちゃんがもう長くないというので、生まれて初めて家族でイランに行くことになりました。あまり気の進まなかったイラン行きですが、祖父母の近所に住む同じ年頃のソーラブと出会い、生まれて初めて親友と呼べる存在を得ます。そしてあらゆることが変わりだします。 主人公ダリウスの名前は、アケメネス朝ペルシアのダレイオス1世から取られています。名前負けしているようにも感じているダリウスの、家族との関係や友人との関係、自分のアイデンティティの物語です。 笑いあり涙ありの素晴らしいストーリーで、たいへん気に入りました。 この本を読んで、イランにいつかぜひ行ってみたくなりました。この本に書かれている情景、イスラムの荘厳な建物から街の通りのような日常的な風景まで、見てみたいです。

"Suicide isn't the only way you can lose someone to depression." This book was a solid 4 stars until the last page. Then it made me cry and that was it. Darius's story, the discovery of Iran, Persian culture, his friendship with Sorhab was really beautiful, endearing and touching. But it was the way depression is shown and the toll it takes on one's life and mind, without dramatising it, just by showing things as they are, that made this book really powerful and made me love it. I'm still shedding some tears from the after-read, but I just wanted to say, as someone who suffers from depression: Thank you.

A beautiful story that I got the chance to read for school, I just wanted to travel into the book and be Darius' friend. Characters came alive and his story made me relate to him so much. A must read for youth!

i related to it very much as it talks slightly about weight, mental health, belonging ,and how it feels having two nationalities but not feeling that you belong in neither.

Libro en idioma ingles, pasta blanda sin sobre cubierta. Es una lectura agil y un ingles medio. Muy recomendable.