Being a teenager is not easy. Making it even more difficult is being Persian in America. When his grandfather falls ill, Darius must go to Iran, leaving behind a place that makes him miserable. Being in Iran, Darius finds a friend and starts to look at life a little bit differently.
Opinion
This is a great young adult book. Darius' self discovery made me cheer for him. I found it interesting to learn about what life is like in Iran but more interesting was Darius and what he went through. I would recommend this to any young adult who was having similar issues.
Many thanks to Net Galley and to Penguin Group for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This coming-of-age story follows Darius, a self-proclaimed “fractional” Persian as he struggles to connect with his father and make friends. The typical teen angst is realistic and relatable. Darius’s trip to Iran to be with his ailing grandfather is a life changing experience. My students enjoy this book because Darius’s struggles and need to fit in are something they have experienced.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I received this book so long ago and had no idea it would become such a classic. Beautiful story. This author is so talented in writing stories that capture your heart.

Darius the Great is not just okay, it's phenomenal.

I really loved this book and its world. Darius's voice is unique and fun to read, and his relationship with Sohrab was something to root for all the way through. I love the idea that platonic friendships can change your life just like romantic ones—they certainly have for me. I hope everyone can have a friend like Sohrab.

This book also made me tear up, which is rare. I was so attached to Darius's entire family, and them leaving Iran at the end really got to me. The world building here is actually incredible too, given that Khorram has not actually been to Iran himself. It felt like I had a home there.

Pick up this wonderful story when you get the chance. I plan to start the sequel as soon as possible.

I am reading this novel as part of a group selecting my district's next 9th grade core novel selection. While I can see my students enjoying this book for free reading, I am reluctant to consider it as strong enough for teaching a whole novel unit. There isn't enough richness of language for the type of close reading that helps students grow as readers and writers, and honestly, the whole circumcision scene would be a nightmare to navigate in a room full of 35 14-year olds.

A wonderful story of a young person trying to figure out where they fit. Every page leaves you wanting to hold on to Darius and assure him that everything will be okay.

I loved this book! The story was interesting and a great introduction to other cultures for students in my area who don't have the personal experience. There was a strong exploration of various types of family relationships that really gave the story depth. I selected it for use in our book club and can't wait to have discussions with my students.

Adib Khorram’s “Darius The Great Is Not Okay” is a breathtakingly sweet, heartfelt, tender coming-of-age story of a half-Irani, half-White teenage boy with depression, who doesn’t fit in - either in the US, with his (primarily) white classmates, or with his ‘manly’ dad (who also has depression), or with his Persian family & friends. When Darius goes on an extended visit to Iran, for the first time he makes a friend who understands him - maybe more than anyone has ever understood him. This book was so sweet that I’m getting a little choked up just talking about it. Tissues are a must, and so is reading this heartfelt YA debut.

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!

Darius the Great Is Not Okay is a fun coming-of-age story set mostly in Iran. I really liked how Khorram showed Darius dealing with depression, loneliness, and anxiety. It felt real, but the novel is also filled with humor and friendship.

Darius the Great is Not Okay is a beautifully written ode to all of those who have ever felt like the odd one who didn't quite understand themselves. There are four reasons I loved the book. One was the story itself. It was a tender realistic telling about a friendless teenager who doesn't fit in at school and is bullied. He also doesn't feel like he is living up to his father's expectations. And lastly, he didn't have a sense of who he was. He knew that he was half Persian named after a revered ruler of Iran, but what does that really mean and could he really live up to that name. A trip to visit his dying grandfather in Iran serves as a backdrop that helps him navigate through these issues. It is also there were he meets Sohrab, the son of his grandparents' neighbor. Their friendship is the second reason I loved this book. It provides a message about acceptance, resilience, love, and filling those "empty" places. The third reason I loved the book is how the day to day life with depression was portrayed. So many times, fiction shows such a dark manic caricature side feeding into the stigmatization of the disease. Instead, author Adib Khorram chooses to give a compassionate and realistic glimpse of how one can live with and manage depression on a daily basis. Lastly I loved the book because of its bonus of providing the reader an opportunity to see the beauty of the Persian people, the culture, food, and architecture of Iran. I give this book 5 stars and would recommend it to middle and high schoolers, and adults too!

This book hit me in the feels. I shared it with my entire grade level teachers and with some students. I have also seriously considered adding it to my curriculum. I loved that this novel was young adult and didn't have any romance. Do you know how rare that is? It's super rare: the novel centers around friendship and family. I adore all the Star Trek references. I also love when cultural novels contain food/recipes/and languages from that culture. This novel made crave Persian food something fierce - so I came up with a new book club idea: read cultural books and when finished go out to dinner at a place that serves that specific type of food. I think it could be a thing.
Darius goes on a family trip to Iran to reconnect with his grandparents. He gets super jealous of his younger sister who is better at all things Persian than he is. He is also very much stigmatized about his mental health and the medication he has to take. His dad's shame of it trickles into his fear of talking about it too. This novel tackles so many of the aspects of depression and mental health.
Darius never had many friends stateside and he doesn't have high hopes to make any aboard. However, he meets the boy next door to his grandparents: Sohrab. This friendship is glorious. It made my heart happy.

This is a deeply touching, humorous novel about not fitting in where you are. Darius feels like an outsider at home in the United States, not being enough like his white father to please him and being harassed by peers for his Persian heritage on his mother's side. Coupled with depression, Darius is having a rough go of it. This all changes when Darius flies to Iran for the first time to visit family and meets Sohrab. Being with Sohrab feels natural, and Darius starts a transformation. I highly recommend to YA fans!

I somehow thought this book would be to old for my middle school kids. I was very wrong. This books is wonderful and perfect in its approach to stereotypes of depression, races and cultures. It addresses so many issues that young people (and adults for that matter) face in very real but subtle ways.
Darius is a young man who was born in the U.S. to an Iranian born mother and US born, but Iranian decent, father. He has never been to Iran or met his maternal grandparents there in person.. He has had trouble making friends and connecting with others and it often bullied. His relationship with his "perfect" father is strained because Darius feels he can never live up to his dads expectations.
The story deepens and becomes so much richer when Darius and his family travel to Iran because his mothers father has a brain tumor and it cannot be treated. We are treated to details about the Iranian culture, food, politics and architecture all while Darius navigates a new friendship, his first true friendship, the dynamics of his extended family and his own identity.
The beauty of this story is that it touches on subjects that all youth experience. The addition of his Iranian heritage and the stereotypes he faces does enriches the story without becoming the exclusive focus of the story. I would love to see middle school teachers introduce this story to their classes as it would be an amazing springboard for so many discussions..

This was a warm coming of age story, a story about love and family and friendship. It was very interesting to read about Persian culture, both here and there

Darius Kellner isn't sure where he fits. At school, he's the Persian kid that sticks out as being different. At home, he struggles to connect with his dad, who is a blond Teutonic ideal. Darius doesn't speak Farsi like his mom and little sister. Even the way he makes tea isn’t Persian enough.

His grandfather is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Darius and his family head to Iran. He is in a country where he doesn't speak the language or understand the customs - not really even the family. He's there to visit his grandparents that he has only spoken to through a computer screen. In this strange world, Darius finds his first real friend and a greater understanding of who he is.

This story is character driven. I feel it is very well written. I loved the growth that Darius accomplishes. This is a simple, sweet coming of age story set in a culture rarely written about in English.

5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my opinion.

Very well done and worthy of all the praise it has received since its publication. Engaging characters from worlds with which I am less familiar - I like when I walk away from a book feeling like I've gained a better understanding of the world.

Darius is a character that will stay with me for quite awhile. (My students have talked with me about him. He is apart of their lives too!) I appreciate the family dynamic and family relationships. It's needed for my students to see. I also appreciate one of the major themes. It's okay to not be okay.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Abid Khorram was a fun read, even though the male protagonist was having a struggle with depression, which he openly and frequently would admit to anyone willing to listen. What I loved about the book was that it gave me a glimpse into the culture of the Persian people through the eyes of a teen who was born in America to a father who was "American" and a mother who was Iranian. Darius knew almost nothing about his mother's homeland although he did have a relationship with his grandparents back in Iran through online conferencing. When his grandpa grew ill, with a terminal diagnosis, the family decided to go to Iran to visit with the family there.
Throughout the adventures Darius has there in Iran, he grows and develops personally despite his struggles with his mental illness and his self defeating attitude that sometimes comes with depression. It was a good read and I was grateful for the opportunity to preview the book. I recommend this book to teacher to have in your lending library for your students as it is an easy and painless way to introduce the Iranian/Persian culture to your students. I learned a lot.

The family relationships, cultural exploration, living with depression, and questions around identity were all phenomenal!

The huge turn off for me is the degree to which Darius' nerd-status is reinforced in what feels like every paragraph with Star Trek references. I get he likes Star Trek. I personally also like Star Trek, but I'm not sure how comparing people he's meeting to Vulcans or Klingons would help most readers relate to or imagine what's going on. As a bookseller, I would be hand selling this to a very specific human.

I am hesitant to blanket recommend this to folks who love Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda (which is how this was sold to me). I see the comparisons in the family closeness, present and loving parents, and even Darius' voice feels very "Simon." I just think it is less "neutral" in its references and those unique references come up WAY more often to the detriment of really engaging with everything that's awesome about this story.

I personally want to check out the sequel. All of the pros to this book -- culture, family, identity -- I want way more of! I'm hoping for a whisper of Darius' nerdiness now that he has a whole book establishing it. We shall see... 🤔