Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
Publisher Information: New York, NY: Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2017
Summary: Darius thinks that he will never be enough, in America and in Iran.
Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He's about to take his first-ever trip to Iran, and it's pretty overwhelming--especially when he's also dealing with clinical depression, a disapproving dad, and a chronically anemic social life. In Iran, he gets to know his ailing but still formitable grandfather, his loving grandmother, and the rest of his mom's family for the first time. And he meets Sohrab, the boy next door who changes everything.
Sohrab makes sure people speak English so Darius can understand what's going on. He gets Darius an Iranian National Football Team jersey that makes him feel like a True Persian for the first time. And he understands that sometimes, best friends don't have to talk. Darius has never had a true friend before, but now he's spending his days with Sohrab playing soccer, eating rosewater ice cream, and sitting together for hours in their special place, a rooftop overlookng the Yazdi skyline.
Sohrab calls him Darioush--the original Persian version of his name--and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he's Darioush to Sohrab. When it's time to go back to America, he'll have to find a way to be Darioush on his own.
Book Talk:
Read-a-Likes:
Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Aristotle and Dante Discover teh Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Saenz
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green
Winger by Andrew Smith
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Links of Interest:
Author website: adibkhorram.com
National Alliance of Mental Illness: nami.org
Bring Change 2 Mind: bringchange2mind.org
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