{"id":38305,"date":"2020-09-08T21:32:17","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T01:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=38305"},"modified":"2020-09-08T21:37:01","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T01:37:01","slug":"review-of-darius-the-great-deserves-better-by-adib-khorram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=38305","title":{"rendered":"Review of Darius the Great Deserves Better, by Adib Khorram"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Darius the Great Deserves Better<\/em><\/p>\n

by Adib Khorram<\/p>\n

Dial Books, 2020. 342 pages.
\nReview written August 31, 2020, from a library book
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

I was delighted when I heard this book was coming out. Its predecessor, Darius the Great Is Not Okay<\/a><\/em> came out during my Newbery year, when I was reading everything, so I compared it with lots of other books, and still named it my #3 Sonderbooks Stand-out in General Teen Fiction for that year. In the first book, Darius is dealing with depression in the context of bullying and trouble getting along with his father. Then the family makes an extended trip to Iran to see the grandparents he\u2019s never met, because his Babou is dying of cancer. In Iran, he feels like he fits in even less, but makes his first true friend, ever. <\/p>\n

In that book, the reader is pretty sure Darius is gay, but it\u2019s never explicitly stated, and Darius hasn\u2019t put it into so many words. This book begins as Darius is with his boyfriend getting a haircut to match the other guys on his soccer team.<\/p>\n

So Darius came out as gay in between books, though he hasn\u2019t told his grandparents in Iran. Relationship issues are a big part of this book, and Darius\u2019s boyfriend wants to have sex, but Darius isn’t ready. This involves discussion of body parts that I don\u2019t even have, so I didn\u2019t relate to it quite as much as the first book, but I still love Darius and his over-willingness to examine his feelings. Because a book narrator who examines his feelings makes the reader realize their own feelings are not so unusual. <\/p>\n

Darius is getting along better with his father, but his family is under stress because of the money they spent to go to Iran, and they\u2019re working extra hours. So they decide to have his father\u2019s parents come stay with them \u2013 Oma and Grandma. Darius hoped they would have some insight into being queer, but they aren\u2019t very forthcoming. I was interested when I found out that Oma is a transgender woman, and she didn\u2019t come out as transgender until after her grandson Darius was born.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to explain why these books are so heart-warming. Darius is someone I can\u2019t help caring about. He\u2019s so authentic, and cries much more often than he\u2019d like to. In this book he\u2019s dealing with romantic problems, which are perhaps more typical problems for an American teen. He handles them with thoughtfulness and sensitivity, but also enough mistakes that you root for this kid.<\/p>\n

The cover does give away that there will be some romantic decisions to make, but they didn\u2019t show up in the way I expected. And it does point out that romantic quandaries are universal, whether you\u2019re gay or straight. I hope this isn\u2019t the last book about Darius the Great.<\/p>\n

adibkhorram.com<\/a>
\nPenguinTeen.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/darius_the_great_deserves_better.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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