Darius the Great Deserves Better Hardcover – 15 October 2020

This book is great and deserves all the love. I loved it. This is perfect just like the first book.The packaging was great and came in perfect conditions.

*sighs* where do I even start with this beautiful beautiful book?So tender and soft. Characters that are all about family and warmth and openness and growth and understanding and affection. Its so refreshingly beautiful. A book that should be read by everyone.Something we all desperately need at the moment.Find me talking about books on my insta @ZanyAnomaly

Darius the Great Deserves Better slowly glides us back into the life of Darius Kellner, instantly reminding us why we loved Darius the Great is Not Okay. There had been some wariness about the fact that Darius had come out as gay and gotten a boyfriend all behind the scenes, but it doesn’t feel like it. The moment the book starts, you can sense the journey Darius had taken, what had led him to the present moment.It’s hard for me weigh my love for Darius the Great is Not Okay versus Darius the Great Deserves Better, and declare one worthy because they both tugged on some very sensitive heartstrings of mine. The first book had focused on developing friendship and strengthening familial relationships that Darius already had. This one focuses on traversing the perilous waters of romantic attraction and relationships, all the while Darius’ established relationships worsen due to things out of his control. It painted a beautiful contrast, while also being reminiscent of the past. I loved watching Darius approach his family members differently than he would have in the past. denoting how he had grown in the first book. We see him become more confident with his thoughts and feelings, while also experiencing anxiety over new things and old. The book perfectly emulated the constant struggle a person with anxiety and depression faces. It faces the fact that even if you are doing well, you will never be completely rid of it. Through the course of the book, we see Darius realise and deal with his anxieties. He learns to prioritise and love himself, bit by bit.The tone is very consistent in both the books. I think, the only way I can describe it is as mellow. The way the story progresses and the characters react feels incredibly realistic and simplistic. There is no manufactured drama and the narrative continuously pushes Darius’ feelings over some big, weird love triangle, the fallout, or the aftermath. It doesn’t feel something out of a cringy teen rom-com; it feels real, tangible, mellow. Which is what made me love this book, that it is rooted in reality not some exaggeration of it. It doesn’t once shy away from discussing topics like body dysmorphia, racism, Islamophobia, homophobia and of course, depression and anxiety. It does all of these things in a way that it feels like you are having a conversation with your best friend, rather than preaching it. It doesn’t tell, it shows. All the while maintaining this mellow filter over it, which makes it a beautiful and warming read. If you loved Darius the Great is Not Okay, you will love this one. If you haven’t read Darius the Great is Not Okay, you should immediately correct that mistake.

Great story

I absolutely loved this follow up to Darius the Great is Not Okay. In this book, Darius has started his junior year at school with a little more confidence after his trip to Iran. He has a new job, his first boyfriend, has joined the soccer team, and suddenly feels he belongs somewhere and is making friends with his teammates. Like the first book, this is not a romance, but there is more discussion of Darius’s sexuality. Mostly it’s about Darius navigating the personal relationships in his life with his boyfriend, new friends, coworkers, his long-distance friendship with Sohrab, his parents, and his dad’s parents. His dad has two moms (one is trans) and Darius is desperate to talk to them about being queer, but they are not warm and affectionate like his grandparents in Iran, and he has a hard time connecting with them. His relationship with his dad has improved immensely after the events of book one, but his dad is really struggling with his depression in this book and it has a big effect on Darius and his family. Even though he has gained some confidence, Darius still struggles to feel like he fits in, and his soccer coach and team are so good for his self-esteem. I really love how emotional Darius is. He cries a lot and it just squeezes my heart every time. I felt like his relationships with Landon and Chip were portrayed with so much authenticity. I’m used to reading romance novels where relationships are pretty idealized, and it was so refreshing to see how complicated his relationship with Landon was in particular. I also felt like the way his Grandma and Oma were written was so relatable, and so different from his mom’s parents. I just love Darius and his family. I don’t know if this author is planning any more books in this series but I could read about this sweet kid forever!Again, I listened to the audiobook and the narrator Michael Levi Harris was fantastic. He did a great job of doing unique voices for several teenage boys, as well as the rest of the characters, some with Iranian accents. I even loved the slightly harsh voices he gives to Grandma and Oma, their voices fit them perfectly. His delivery was perfect. I hope he narrates more books because I thought he was just great.CW: Discussion of depression and its effects, racist comments, fatphobic comments, homophobic comments, body-shaming, bullying

Apesar de tratar de assuntos complexos e sensíveis como racismo, ansiedade e adolescência LGBTQ, o autor apresenta a segunda parte da história de uma forma muito humana e que você não consegue parar de ler. O primeiro livro é excelente também. Torcendo pra que haja uma terceira parte no futuro!

"Why come back to Darius? That's the question I kept asking myself," Adib Khorram admits, almost apologetically, in his Author's Note at the back of this novel. "But the answer ended up being fairly simple: because he had more to say." And that he does. As charming, poignant and well-told a read as 'Darius the Great Is Not Okay' was, it felt like a story only just getting started, so I'm pleased that Khorram returned to the character and his story in this, the even more successful sequel.Far less of a cultural study than its predecessor - although his half-Iranian heritage is one of the many things Darius has to learn to simultaneously embrace and contend with in this novel as well - it is a keenly observed portrait of a young adult facing not just the kind of ordinary struggles that come with being a teenager and trying to work them out as you go along, but also broader social and political issues and life-changing events. Darius is a lovable lead in all his insecurity and uncertainty: you can't help but champion him as the story progresses, and I'm delighted the author allowed him to stay true to his principles throughout. It makes for a slightly more downbeat ending than some readers may be hoping for, but arguably a far more realistic one, and leaves plenty of room to take Darius' story further.The other characters in the novel are equally well realised: complex, with their own quirks and flaws, and all the more believable for it. The only nits I would pick with the novel are that the sheer weight of issues threatens to overwhelm the narrative focus at times (although as this is again true to life, it's at least an accurate reflection) and that occasionally the author Mary-Sueing himself into the story is a little too obvious. That said, he does so for the right reasons, and with such heart - and for such valid and important reasons - that it's easily overlooked.This is a great second novel for Darius and for Adib Khorram. Here's hoping there's more to come from both.

This is not quite up to the level of the first book, mostly because it lacks the rich depiction of Iran. Also, the central feature of that book -- the developing relationship between Darius and Sohrab -- takes a back seat here to American high-school romances that are not that different from those featuring in many other books. Even so, it's still a 5-star book, displaying Adib Khorram's many skills as a writer and keeping us involved in Darius's search for love and his ongoing struggle with depression. I hope Khorram will write a third volume, because there are so many loose ends, especially regarding the likelihood that Sohrab will come to the U.S. and perhaps reignite Darius's passion in a more explicitly sexual way that was only hinted at in the first volume.