Darius the Great Is Not Okay
  • Published: 15 September 2018
  • ISBN: 9780525552963
  • Imprint: Dial
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $37.99

Darius the Great Is Not Okay

Formats & editions
Paperback
20 Aug 2019
Hardback
15 Sep 2018
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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.

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.
  • Published: 15 September 2018
  • ISBN: 9780525552963
  • Imprint: Dial
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $37.99
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Also by Adib Khorram

Bijan Always Wins
The Breakup Lists
Kiss & Tell
Seven Special Somethings: A Nowruz Story
Darius the Great Deserves Better
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Praise for Darius the Great Is Not Okay

Praise for Darius the Great is Not Okay
 
One of TIME MAGAZINE’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time

"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