I enjoyed Darius the Great is Not Okay when it first released, but I enjoyed this follow up even more. Maybe because I already “knew” Darius, I found myself more invested in his world and more understanding of his choices and actions.

I really liked how all of his relationships—familial, friendships, and romantic— were explored as Darius came to better understand himself. While the story didn’t need it, this was one of those books that I wish were another hundred pages, just so I could see how the character’s relationships change over time.

I was a little nervous about the “love triangle” aspect of the plot because that’s not a trope I generally enjoy. However, it was handled really well and I liked the resolution, so I was pleasantly surprised. Also, the romance didn’t completely take over the story and Darius’s other relationships all got the page time they deserved.

I look forward to whatever Adib Khorram writes in the future (and definitely wouldn’t complain if it was even more of Darius’s story!)

4.5 Stars

CWs: Incurred bullying, racism, xenophobic comments, homophobic comments, descriptions of anxiety and depressive episodes, some toxic relationships, explores early signs of what could be emotional abuse

When I heard that this book was announced, I was so excited to have even more Darius content in my life, but I was also curious to see if a sequel to a contemporary YA story could hold up to the original. Now that I've read this book, let me just say: I am SO glad this story exists.

Right off the bat, Darius' life is so different from how it looked in Darius the Great is Not Okay. Now he's out to his family, he has a boyfriend, he has a loving best friend, he has a promising internship at a local tea shop, and he's playing for his school's varsity soccer team. To see all of those positive things happening in his life is so important, because it shows that the good can coexist with the bad. Having all of these great things in his life doesn't mean Darius' depression is magically cured or that he doesn't struggle with body image or self-doubt. The presence of those struggles does absolutely nothing to negate the happiness he experiences and vice versa. So it's refreshing to see mental health normalized and destigmatized in that way, which I think is going to resonate so strongly for many readers.

Darius' family life is also a key aspect in this story. The dynamic between him and his parents has definitely shifted for the better; their relationship is much stronger after their trip to Iran, and they are much more intentional in expressing their feelings and affection. It's almost cathartic to be able to see Darius' parents tell him that they love him and they appreciate him, and I am such a huge fan of that openness within their family. That said, it doesn't necessarily come naturally. It's hard-win, it's something they have to consciously practice, and being better communicators doesn't mean their family is now perfect. They all still have a tendency to keep the hard stuff to themselves and to doubt themselves, and I think it's so important to see them continuing to work through those issues as a family.

The story also makes a point to explore the importance of having safe spaces in your life—whether they be people, places, or activities. Again, it's just really nice to see Darius finding his place in the soccer team, having a space that challenges toxic masculinity and encourages affirmative friendship, and finding a sense of belonging there. Then he's able to pass those lessons onto his younger sister as well, which is so important.

That idea of safe spaces is also challenged, in a sense, when it comes to how Darius is navigating his budding friendship with Chip, who used to bully Darius by proxy before they became teammates. It raises the question of whether someone who's hurt you in the past can be absolved simply by being a friend in the present tense and how you go about gauging whether this person still has the capacity to cause you hurt. Being able to confront that trauma within a relationship is incredibly difficult but necessary work, so I appreciate the way that was handled.

I was a little wary about the "love triangle" aspect of the story, and while I won't spoil anything, I will say that I was proud of Darius for where he landed in the end. His relationship with his boyfriend, Landon, and his friendship with Chip were both extremely fraught, and I think Adib Khorram played it perfectly in the end.

All in all, I think both Darius books are revolutionary in their softness and their quiet affirmation. If you want to feel comforted, valued, and seen, then these are definitely the books for you. I absolutely love what this sequel accomplished and I'm so excited to see what Adib Khorram does next!

I really enjoyed this sequel to Darius the Great is Not Okay. I think the author's honest portrayal of growing up and dealing with issues such as new relationships and friendships as well as changing relationships, depression, family issues and prejudice, etc. was very well written. I think Darius was such a complex and compelling character to read about and would love to read more from this author and about Darius story in the future.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have literally nothing bad to say about this novel, so I’m just going to share some notes I made as I was reading it.

—I LOVE how openly and positively Darius’s dad is talking with him about sex. This is a beautiful model of how to have these conversations. Heck, if a teen hasn’t had the privilege of having this conversation with a parent, maybe reading this will provide some good info.
—Adib Khorram writes feelings really well. He writes depression so well: I’ve had some level of depression at least since I was a teenager, and even when it’s not acutely bad, it’s there in the background. Khorram also writes grief, and joy, and the confusion of being a sensitive person in a difficult world, beautifully.
—I love Darius and Laleh’s relationship. They are the best siblings. Laleh is going through some stuff in this book. His unconditional love and support of her, and his nondefensiveness about the ways that he (unintentionally, just in the course of being human) lets her down, are perfect and beautiful and make me melt.
—Come to that, I love Darius’s whole family.
—And I loved getting to watch Darius grow up a little bit more in this book.

Wow. Loved this book. The way mental health is talked about is so real. But it’s not the only thing about Darius. It’s so good.

A good continuation of Darius's story. This chapter see Darius as a little more confident, and focuses more on his relationship with his family and burgeoning romantic interests. Like the first, Khorram's writing is quietly lovely. It's queer and sensitive and real and focuses on finding identity and navigating relationships. I enjoy these slice-of-life novels for their authenticity and as a break from the sometimes overwhelming and showy YA conventions. This will have a large audience because the first book has been (rightfully) popular. It also feels like a third book might be on the horizon.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. Darius the Great deserves better sees Darius growing more comfortable in his skin, feeling at home on the soccer team, connecting with his dad, and continuing his long-distance friendship. On the other hand, his dream romance and dream job are not working out the way he'd hoped, and he's struggling with watching his father struggle with a strong depressive episode, while wondering if he can ever get ahold of his own emotional state.

We see Darius navigating his body dysmorphia in such a sensitive fashion, and the way he discusses and describes living with depression as part of life is worlds beyond anything I've ever seen. We've got moments of gorgeous prose, a new romantic spark, and just so much rooting for Darius to come into himself and feel confident in expressing his needs. I still have a book hangover more than a week after finishing this book, and I need to spend more time with Darius and his family, because it's the best. Also rooting for Darius to come out as demisexual!

Darius changed a lot during his trip to Iran, and now he's part of his school's soccer team and has actual friends! What he didn't realize is that Chip, one of the guys who used to torment him, is now a friend, and that having a boyfriend can be great. But there's also down sides to being out as a gay guy--boyfriends can want to do more than you're ready for and bullies have other ways to tease you.
What I really liked about this book was how open Darius was about everything with himself. Even when he felt conflicted, he recognized that and tried his best to truly figure out how he felt. I appreciated his discussions about depression with his friends, and how honest they were about it all. It's refreshing and important to see the nuances, ups and downs, and feelings that go along with depression. I also really enjoyed the frank conversations around all the various LGBTQ topics--how being queer is okay, transitioning and coming out as an adult, being bi, etc. I responded very positively, as an adult, to this book, and I hope many of my students do too.

I hope there will be more books about Darius! He has a beautiful heart, and he's such a well-formed character. This portrayal of his first romantic relationship had the honesty and authenticity that I fell in love with in book 1.

This was amazing. I loved Darius The Great Is Not Okay and this one picked up right after. The characters are real, going through what its like to learn about yourself and be in a relationship while figuring out your mental health. Its about teenagers who are figuring out their sexuality and their friendships, grief and learning about your family.

We see Darius really grow and become his own person, I love his relationship with his family. Especially how the relationship he has with his dad has grown. He makes new friends, seeing that people really like him for him and he learns to do things that make him happy.

I loved this so much.

Where are my Darius fans at? Who else was left with an aching heart at the end of Darius the Great is Not Okay? I loved that book so much and felt a bone deep need at the end to know what would happen next. Would things continue to improve between Darius and his father? How would life be for him now that he’s started to come out to his family and friends? Would he continue to be able to stay close with Sohrab and his grandparents from so far away?

Darius the Great Deserves Better answered all of those questions and more, calmed the ache in my heart, and left me feeling so hopeful. Khorram captured the same magic that made the first book so special while somehow changing the voice of Darius. He’s much less in his head in this book, and so much of that is because he’s repaired the relationships with his family, made some friends, and gained a lot of much needed self confidence. All of that growth was so apparent in this book, and while as readers we still get to be in his head, there is even more time spent seeing Darius navigate conversations with his friends and family.

In this follow up, Darius has a boyfriend, a place on the school’s soccer team, and his dream internship at Rose City Teas. His parents talk with him a lot about his new relationship and he has one of the best sex talks I’ve ever read with his father. It was just perfect. Full of great information about consent, the importance of communication, and a reminder that it’s normal and healthy to want to take things further and normal and healthy not to as well. His father even gives Darius the tools to move things in a different direction if he finds himself being pressured to do more than he’s ready for. It was the kind of talk I wish I’d had with my own parents and one that I’ll be having with my children someday.

I also adored his soccer coach. Every day at the end of practice and before games, she had the whole team stand in a circle and take turns giving each other compliments. I cannot overstate how delightful this was to read. None of them were embarrassed. No one made fun of it. Each team member took the time to give thoughtful answers and in doing so learned to positively communicate their feelings. Perhaps even more importantly, it opened the door to them to feel comfortable speaking to each other about some of the heavier stuff going on in their lives.

This book is just perfect, y’all. I cannot recommend it enough. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to PenguinTeen for the advanced review copy.

Darius the Great is Not Okay was an amazing book yet somehow Darius the Great Deserves Better was even more magnificent.

I really appreciated his dad in this book for his talks with Darius, especially the consent talk, and how honest he was about how he was doing mentally. Seeing the way their relationship grew compared to the first book was beautiful to read. Also all I’m a say is I've been Team Chip since the first book, so this book really took me on adventure with Darius trying to figure out his relationships with Landon and Chip. I really related to Darius' uncomfortability in always saying no or expressing how he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted, and I think this book did a great job of highlighting the importance of advocating for yourself and your best interests even if it upsets others.

Darius is still my fave, and I can't say enough good things about his vulnerability and kindness. Also I could read a whole book with Laleh as the main character cause she's such a force of nature. Overall, read this book!!!! (please)

I didn't think it was possible to love this more than Darius the Great is Not Okay... but I think I do? The first book was my very favorite read last year, and I had high expectations going in. This book exceeded them all. I loved seeing the growth in Darius' relationship with his father, seeing his soccer team accept him as he is, and Darius finding a community and support network with friends and family (the grandmas!). While best read after Darius the Great is Not Okay, I think this could also stand alone. Uplifting and lovely.

this book was truly EVERYTHING !!!! oh my goodness, i thought it wouldn't top DARIUS IS NOT OKAY but honestly? it did. i adored this book with everything in me

I love Darius. I didn’t think I could love him anymore than I already do, but I proved myself wrong. Heck, I love the whole family and I freaking loved this entire book. I loved seeing Darius’s growth from the first book and throughout this book. His love for teas is like no other and it was all those simple moments of him talking about or making tea, that I realized how much I cherished this book. I enjoyed seeing Darius make new friends, but also keeping in touch with Sohrab. His relationship with his little sister Laleh, and his relationship with his dad.

I know this is a contemporary book, but it was so much more than that. We start off with Darius getting his dream internship/job, he has a cute boyfriend, he is doing amazing at soccer, and he is making lots of friends. Soon his dad has to leave for work and his grandmother’s come to stay to help out around the house. He starts to doubt if he really wants to be in the tea business, he loves tea, but does he want that to be his job? He doesn’t know how he feels about Landon, his boyfriend, he always seems to want more than what Darius is willing to give. I really cherished how well this was written especially the moments between Landon and Darius. Not to mention the moments with his teammates from soccer and how they all have his back no matter what.

What I truly loved about this book was the discussion of SO many important topics like homophobia, mental health, racism, and body issues. They are woven so intricately throughout this entire book and were written so deeply and well. I had so much anger and sadness reading about the racism in this book and homophobia. My heart ached for Darius and Laleh and I wanted to flip out on all the bullies. I seriously need more books about Darius. I have questions that need answered, so of course this needs to be a trilogy. I want to know more about Sohrab and how he is doing, I NEED to know more about Chip and especially Chip and Darius’s friendship. I want to know how his father is doing and what Laleh is like as a young teenager. So, lets all hope that there is going to be another book. Darius is the greatest.

This review appears on Goodreads: I wasn’t sure if I wanted a sequel to Darius the Great is Not Okay. How do you top such a perfect, cohesive coming of age story? You don’t. You create a sequel at exactly the same level of brilliance, which is just what Adib Khorram did. I have one bone to pick, which is that they drink a LOT of caffeinated tea at night and seem to have little difficulty sleeping! Otherwise, I think this was the Darius sequel I never would have asked for, but I’m so glad I got! Brilliant writing, beautiful story, and nontoxic masculinity. And Star Trek references galore, if you go in for that sort of thing.

I just finished and this was truly such an amazing way to end my weekend.

I have so many feelings. Words are hard, but I can safely say that I love Darius as a character, and I loved this sequel. I want to take the whole series and start rereading immediately--that is how much I loved this.

It's definitely a different time of Darius' life than what we saw in Darius the Great Is Not Okay. You absolutely could pick this up without reading book 1--but why would you want to? Nonetheless, Darius is now at school, has a kind of boyfriend, is working at his favorite tea shop, is on the soccer team who supports him, has a good relationship with his dad, and is in a very different headspace and environment than in Darius the Great Is Not Okay.

I adored the things we did get to see from book 1--Darius' love of teas & Star Trek, his love for his sister Laleh, his friendship with Sohrab--and I loved seeing what changed. He forges a lot of new relationships, breaks off old ones, and manages to create/find a space more welcoming for himself.

It keeps that kind of slice-of-life approach to Darius as the first book, where the reader gets to see this time frame of Darius' life and what growth he went during this time. There is no concrete end goal, it just is. And this might be disconcerting, but it's wonderful and meaningful and real, and I'd highly recommend. It felt like it had a purpose and wasn't just fluff or unnecessary.

We got to explore romance and relationships for Darius overtly and not just in subtext like the first book. He's currently dating Landon, but they might not be a perfect fit for each other. Darius is good friends with Chip and isn't sure what he feels towards him. I know some people call this a love triangle, but I wouldn't personally use that term for this. It's so much more complicated than just trying to decide between two guys, and Darius himself isn't really trying to decide, but is more navigating his relationship with Landon and dealing with what isn't clicking, while Chip is in the background.

It's messy and real and it's Darius. I don't know what else I can say.

There is absolutely nothing that I disliked about this book. I loved every moment, and I wish it would never end. I cannot recommend this enough, and although I know Darius isn't for everyone, this series is so dear to me and I'll love it enough for all of us.

4.5 stars

This book picks up post-Darius’s trip to Iran and he has got a lot on his plate, from a new boyfriend to finally landing his dream job to being on his school’s soccer team to keeping in touch with Sohrab. This book is definitely character-driven, so not much happens plot-wise. It’s really just a collection of joyful and sorrowful moments in Darius's life that we get to witness and experience alongside him.

This book dove headfirst into discussions and depictions of homophobia and racism. Darius is still dealing with a relentless tormentor in Trent Bolger, while also beginning to develop a friendship with Trent's best friend and right-hand-man, chip. this relationship is a major part of the story and Adib Khorram raises a really important question: How can you call yourself an ally or a friend to someone if you also align yourself with their bullies and harassers?

I really loved getting to watch Darius's familial relationships develop. he is doing his best to help his little sister, who is dealing with microaggressions from her classmates and even her teacher. His father is beginning to burnout from overworking and is falling into a depressive episode that Darius is desperate to help him through. And Darius is beginning to suspect that his mother is not comfortable with and does not approve of his being so open with his sexuality and identity as a young gay man.

My one and only gripe with this book was the abundance of Star Trek references. I understand that this show is very important to Darius and a way for him and his father to bond. However, these references happened so often and so frequently that they began to take me out of the story.

This book was written with such love and care. It wraps you up and brings you close and refuses to let you go. I loved getting to follow along with this second part of Darius’s coming of age journey. And if Adib Khorram wants to continue and give us even more Darius… well, I personally wouldn’t mind at all.

Thank you BookCon and Penguin Teen for this advanced copy of Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram.
Darius the Great Deserves Better takes place after Darius the Great is okay and we find Darius dating hunky Landon, interning at a trendy tea shop and playing on the soccer team. He is still dealing with his clinical depression, worrying about his grandfather in Iran and dealing with local bully Trent.
Like the first novel, Darius approaches everything with his own unique humor and sensitivity. I think readers of all ages will appreciate watching him fumble through his first relationship and his candor about not being ready for sex.
I highly recommend Darius the Great Deserves Better for readers of all ages and I hope Adib Khorram will continue to follow Darius through his senior year and beyond.

Really enjoyed this and will be telling friends about it! I loved the messages in this book and how it went about things.