Darius the Great Is Not Okay Hardcover – August 28, 2018

Darius Kellner is a high school sophomore who describes himself as a Fractional Persian, half on his mother’s side. Living in Portland Oregon, he is dealing with feeling that he doesn’t quite belong along with bullying at school. He has one person that he considers to be a friend, and he regularly feels that his dad disapproves of him. Darius also takes medication for clinical depression which has had weight gain as a side effect, and Darius is overweight (his self-descriptor).After his babou’s (grandpa) test results reveal that the brain tumor is growing, the Kellner family quickly makes plans to leave the U.S. for a 3 week trip to Iran to visit him and tell him goodbye.This is Darius’ first trip to meet his grandparents and his first time stepping foot in Iran. While there, he feels the tension of not quite belonging–he doesn’t speak Farsi like his mom and younger sister do, and those who find out that he takes antidepressants there don’t understand mental health and tell him that he should be trying harder.He does, however, meet Sohrab who helps out Darius’ babou. Sohrab invites him to play soccer (non-American football), and Darius feels a tug towards Sohrab and accepts his invitation. Over the course of the book, we get to see more of this whirlwind friendship and what it means to belong.This book was truly excellent. First: it’s a rare YA book that has a character on medication for mental illness from the beginning. Furthermore, it’s even rarer that the character’s mental illness isn’t completely managed by medication. This truly shows a realistic portrayal of how they can help to manage mental illness but don’t cure it. Another thing done really well is the relationship between Darius and his father. His father also has depression and also takes medication for it. However, this doesn’t mean that they are close. I thought this was honestly quite realistic, and I saw some of my own relationship with my father emulated in that.I liked that this book also continued to change the trend of having words other than English italicized. Instead, the Farsi that appears in this book is kept in the same stylized font as the rest.Honestly, this was a super fantastic heart-rending read, and I definitely recommend it.

Prepare yourself for Darius the Great is Not Okay. You are about to fall in love with Dairouish, aka, Darius, a bullied, depressed, tea-making- obsessed, Lord-of-the-Rings and Star-Trek: The-Next-Generation-nerd who doesn't feel like he fits in at school, his family, or the world at large. He refers to himself as a Fractional Persian, his mother is Iranian and his father, Steven Kellner, is a blond-haired, blue-eyed white American. His adorable and precocious little sister, Laleh, is fluent in Farsi, and unlike him, converses easily with their Iranian grandparents over Skype.After a particularly humiliating bullying incident in which his bike seat was stolen and replaced with a pair of truck nuts, i.e., blue rubber testicles, Darius learns that the family is going to Iran to meet his grandparents in person. His grandfather is terminally ill.This story tackles chronic depression, body image, antidepressants, bullying, identity formation, cross-cultural issues, loneliness, and the emotional turmoil of growing up.This is not your average angsty, teenage dramedy with a Disney-esque ending.First time author, Adhib Khorram, captures Darisus's sensitivity, confusion, and self-doubt with honesty and humor. He reframes sudden mood swings as Mood Slingshot Maneuvers, crying as Containment Breaches, and bullies as Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy.On finding the right medication:"That was before Dr. Howell switched me off Prozac, which gave me mood swings so extreme, they were more like Mood Slingshot Maneuvers, powerful enough to fling me around the sun and accelerate me into a time warp." (33)Darius is surprised at the depth of his grandparents love for him and his love for them. He discovers the true motivation behind his father's "disappointment" in him.He experiences real friendship for the first time with a boy named Sohrab, a boy who laughs and loves as easily as Darius anguishes and controls. Although the relationship with Sohrab remains platonic, Darius has moments of allowing himself to examine his own sexual orientation.This is a stand alone book, but I would love to see how Darius continues to explore his romantic feelings as a college student and young adult.After reading the book, I knew that I had to hear the correct pronunciations, accents, and inflections. Michel Levi Harris's narration showcases the gorgeous Farsi language and captures the nuanced emotions of the characters.Darius the Great is Not Okay is rich, complex, authentic, and informative.Read it. Listen to it. Or both.

I bought this book for my high school classroom. I read it before putting in on the shelves, though. I appreciate the insight into Iranian culture and I want it on my shelves for my students for that reason. However, the writing itself is not particularly engaging. It's quite simple and, honestly, mediocre. The dialogue has a lot of room for improvement. The main character, too, is supposed to be one that draws out sympathy, but I didn't find myself really investing in him.

I have not seen any lessons about this book anywhere on the internet, so I had to make up my own to go with the book. I highly recommend this book for those who want to have an inside look at a culture that is unfamiliar to many. In addition to the cultural aspect, the author addresses emotional health issues through the main character. As social-emotional learning is becoming recognized in schools, this is highly recommended to teach in a literature classroom.The author, Adib Khorram, who has suffered from depression himself is what inspired him to write Darius the Great is Not Okay, which allows the reader to understand the illness: “I hated that question: What are you depressed about? Because the answer was nothing…’Nothing,’ I said. ‘My brain just makes the wrong chemicals is all,” (pp. 68-69).Not only will students have an open mind about another culture, but they will understand how tough it is for someone with emotional-health issues struggle with the people they love.The author did a double-whammy on culture and mental health illness. A must-read for everyone!

Awkward, nerdy, tea loving Darius is going to Iran to meet his family for the first time. While there, he makes his first ever friend. This is a book about depression and ethnicity and it's so good and I read it all in one day, and I want a sequel, and you should read this, too. (If you want to know why it has LGBT shelf on Goodreads, that's subtext. This story is about Darius finding things out about himself and his relationship to everyone in his world, and first and foremost this about depression and finding out about your family and heritage. The rest of his potential is subtext, and that's what makes this book so good--there is so much show not tell, so much to read between the lines.)

This is quite possibly the loveliest book I’ve ever read. Darius and I are nothing alike and yet it feels as though many of my past and present struggles get expressed through him. From my life with depression with a desperation to be understood and feel connected, and as a Portlander myself, Adib Khorram has walked me through my mind and my heart with intelligence, charm and wit and I wanted to burst into tears at the end. The honesty Khorram infuses the book with is rare, from Darius’ struggles (and the positivity which can come from them) through to the depictions of Iranian life. This is a book about hope in spite of crushing darkness, and shared humanity and with that in mind it’s fitting that Star Trek: TNG should envelope the entire story. I’m reading the sequel the second it arrives.

This was absolutely lovely: a touching coming-of-age story about a Persian-American boy taking his first trip to Iran to visit his dying grandfather. The characters felt so real, especially Darius himself, and the relationships between the different family members were so nuanced and relatable. I particularly liked Darius's complex relationship to his father and how depression had affected both of them. I loved how much I learnt about Iran from it, too, and all the descriptions of food were amazing - I finished it in one sitting and was starving by the end.

Great story. Well written and flows effortlessly. The central character is well created as are his family. A story of the transformative power of friendship and impact of depression. I would definitely recommend this book.

Adib Khorram gets everything right in this quietly moving story of a teenager with depression coming to terms with his duality. A trip to his visit his ailing grandfather in Iran opens his eyes to why he struggles to find a foothold in America and shows him the value and meaning of friendship. His relationship with his father is beautifully nuanced, and their gradual acceptance of each other is heart-warming without being schmalzy or artificial. Of course the main relationship is between Darius and Sohrab, a tender and platonic friendship that changes Darius on an elemental level.This book is a small masterpiece, and I can't wait for the sequel.