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Darius the Great Is Not Okay

Taschenbuch
2019 Penguin Us; Penguin Books
336 Seiten; 213 mm x 139 mm; ab 12 Jahre
ISBN: 978-0-525-55297-0

€ 10,³⁰

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Praise for Darius the Great is Not Okay

One of TIME's 100 Best YA Books of All Time
William C. Morris Debut Award
Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
YALSA Best Fiction For Young Adults Top 10
Publishers Weekly Flying Start
TIME's 10 Best Young Adult and Children's Books of the Year
Boston Globe Best Books of the Year
Wall Street Journal Best Books of the Year
BuzzFeed Best YA Books of the Year
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year
Kirkus Best Books of the Year
New York Public Library's Best Books of the Year
Book Expo Young Adult Buzz Panel Selection
Indies Introduce Selection
Indie Next Top Ten Pick

Layered with complexities of identity, body image and mental illness that are so rarely articulated in the voice of a teenage boy of color. Khorram writes tenderly and humorously about his protagonist s journey of self-acceptance, making it hard not to want to reach through the pages, squeeze his hand and reassure Darius that he is, in fact, going to be O.K.
The New York Times

Reminiscent of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (better known in movie form as Love, Simon) and Angie Thomas phenomenal The Hate U Give, the novel chronicles a politically aware teendom where microaggressions are as much an everyday obstacle as untamed acne and humdrum mall jobs Darius the Great Is Not Okay will have you craving a freshly steeped tea, an episode of Star Trek, and a glass of faludeh all courtesy of one delightful package.
Entertainment Weekly

This is the hilarious and heartbreaking story of Darius: a clinically-depressed, half-Persian lonely American teenage Trekkie who heads to Iran for the first time to meet his mom s family.
Cosmopolitan

This is an incredible story of friendship, family, and identity that you absolutely won't regret reading.
Buzzfeed

Is your heart still full from reading Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda? Well, do we have the perfect book for you. Adib Khorram's Darius the Great Is Not Okay is a tender look into the life of Darius Kellner, a nerdy half-Persian teenager who's having difficulty finding his place in the world.
PopSugar

Darius the Great Is Not Okay brings Iran alive, with sounds and smells and imagery, and you'll tearfully be rooting for Darius as he struggles with this mental health, identity, and his place in the world.
Bustle

First-time author Khorram s coming-of-age novel brings to life the sight, sounds, smells, and tastes of [Iran] . . . as it shows how a boy who feels like an outcast at home finds himself and true friendship overseas.
Publishers Weekly, starred review

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.
Kirkus, starred review

Darius is a well-crafted, awkward but endearing character, and his cross-cultural story will inspire reflection about identity and belonging. A strong choice for YA shelves. Give this to fans of Adam Silvera and John Corey Whaley.
School Library Journal, starred review

A refreshing bildungsroman and an admirable debut novel that will leave readers wanting more.
Booklist

Khorram s debut novel is an affectionate portrait of Iran: the food and aromas, the rich traditions and eclectic culture. . . . Readers will understand that home can be more than the physical place you live, and that people who make you feel at home can come into your life unexpectedly.
The Horn Book

"Heartfelt, tender, and so utterly real. I'd live in this book forever if I could."
Becky Albertalli, award-winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

I love this story, and the way it combines the bitter of adolescence with the sweet of friendship and family. Brewed together they make a beautiful, memorable book.
Laurie Halse Anderson, award-winning author of Speak

Darius the Great is not just okay he s wonderful. A story about learning who you are, who you want to be in the world, and how family will always be there, no matter how great the physical or emotional distance.
Sara Farizan, author of If You Could Be Mine

"I've never read a book that so powerfully demonstrates how connecting with where you come from can illuminate who you are and help you figure out where you're going. From its deadpan Star Trek humor to its brilliant examination of mental health, Darius the Great is Not Okay is a supernova of heart and hope that's sure to become a classic."
Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin

"A love letter to anyone who has felt uncomfortable in their own skin and wondered where exactly they belonged. A big-hearted and marvelous debut."
Jasmine Warga, author of My Heart and Other Black Holes

Darius the Great is Not Okay is a total knockout. This story of identity and friendship and how one can inform and reveal the other will stay with me for a long time. And challenge me too, as a person and artist, which all great books should do. For its exploration of male friendship and cultural expectations alone, Adib Khorram s lovely debut should be required reading.
John Corey Whaley, award-winning author of Highly Illogical Behavior

"Prepare to fall hard for Darius. His voice will grab you instantly, with sharp humor and tender growing up moments, and won't let go until the very last page. This is openhearted storytelling at its best."
Arvin Ahmadi, author of Down and Across

Langtext
Darius doesn't think he'll ever be enough, in America or in Iran. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this unforgettable debut introduces a brilliant new voice in contemporary YA.

Winner of the William C. Morris Debut Award

Heartfelt, tender, and so utterly real. I d live in this book forever if I could.
Becky Albertalli, award-winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He s a Fractional Persian half, his mom s side and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life.

Darius has never really fit in at home, and he s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city s 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.

Adib Khorram s brilliant debut is for anyone who s ever felt not good enough then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay.

My grandmother loomed large on the monitor, her head tiny and her torso enormous.

I only ever saw my grandparents from an up-the-nose perspective.

She was talking to Laleh in rapid-fire Farsi, something about school, I thought, because Laleh kept switching from Farsi to English for words like cafeteria and Heads-Down, Thumbs-Up.

Mamou s picture kept freezing and unfreezing, occasionally turning into chunky blocks as the bandwidth fluctuated.

It was like a garbled transmission from a starship in distress. Maman, Mom said, Darius and Stephen want to say hello. Maman is another Farsi word that means both a person and a relationship in this case, mother. But it could also mean grandmother, even though technically that would be mamanbozorg.

I was pretty sure maman was borrowed from French, but Mom would neither confirm nor deny.

Dad and I knelt on the floor to squeeze our faces into the camera shot, while Laleh sat on Mom s lap in her rolling office chair.

Eh! Hi, maman! Hi, Stephen! How are you?

Hi, Mamou, Dad said.

Hi, I said.

I miss you, maman. How is your school? How is work?

Um. I never knew how to talk to Mamou, even though I was happy to see her.

It was like I had this well inside me, but every time I saw Mamou, it got blocked up. I didn t know how to let my feelings out.

School is okay. Work is good. Um.

How is Babou? Dad asked.

You know, he is okay, Mamou said. She glanced at Mom and said, Jamsheed took him to the doctor today.

As she said it, my uncle Jamsheed appeared over her shoulder. His bald head looked even tinier. Eh! Hi, Darioush! Hi, Laleh! Chetori toh?

Khoobam, merci, Laleh said, and before I knew it, she had launched into her third retelling of her latest game of Heads-Down, Thumbs-Up.

Dad smiled and waved and stood up. My knees were getting sore, so I did the same, and edged toward the door.

Mom nodded along with Laleh and laughed at all the right spots while I followed Dad back down to the living room.

It wasn t like I didn t want to talk to Mamou.

I always wanted to talk to her.

But it was hard. It didn t feel like she was half a world away, it felt like she was half a universe away like she was coming to me from some alternate reality.

It was like Laleh belonged to that reality, but I was just a guest.

I suppose Dad was a guest too. At least we had that in common.

Dad and I sat all the way through the ending credits that was part of the tradition too and then Dad went upstairs to check on Mom.

Laleh had wandered back down during the last few minutes of the show, but she stood by the Haft-Seen, watching the goldfish swim in their bowl.

Dad makes us turn our end table into a Haft-Seen on March 1 every year. And every year, Mom tells him that s too early. And every year, Dad says it s to get us in the Nowruz spirit, even though Nowruz the Persian New Year isn t until the first day of spring.

Most Haft-Seens have vinegar and sumac and sprouts and apples and pudding and dried olives and garlic on them all things that start with the sound of S in Farsi. Some people add other things that don t begin with S to theirs too: symbols of renewal and prosperity, like mirrors and bowls of coins. And some families like ours have goldfish too. Mom said it had something to do with the zodiac and Pisces, but then she admitted that if it weren t for Laleh, who loved taking care of the goldfish, she wouldn t include them at all.

Sometimes I thou

Adib Khorram is an author, a graphic designer, and a tea enthusiast. If he's not writing (or at his day job), you can probably find him trying to get his 100 yard Freestyle (SCY) under a minute, or learning to do a Lutz Jump. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri.