Read + Review: Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

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The book Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram follows the story of 16-year old Darius Kellner, a Star Trek loving outcast who also has depression, and his journey to his home country of Iran. At home in the U.S, Darius has never fit in. He is always getting teased by Trent Bolger and the Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy, and is made fun of for his Persian descent. So his expectations are low when Darius and his family travel to Iran for a holiday, only for those thoughts to completely disappear once he meets his grandparents neighbor Sohrab. Sohrab and Darius start spending time with each other, and soon enough become the best of friends. When they are around each other, Darius turns into Darioush, the Persian who loves to play soccer and eat faludeh. The rest of the story continues with funny twists and a heartwarming ending, that is sure to make you tear up.

My thoughts on this book were at the very least interesting. Near the beginning, I was very confused. The main source of this were all Star Trek references and the first few chapters. There were so many references to Star Trek, that after a while the book became unreadable since I did not understand any of them. The only references I did get were to the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, of which there are a lot, even more than the Star Trek ones. That was only my opinion though, and I’m sure all the Star Trek loving Hobbits would love this book. Other than this, I really did like this book. The plot-line was interesting, intriguing, and heartwarming, and I could really relate to some of the things in this book, with my parents coming from a country like Iran as well. Overall, the book was quite charming, and the characters were extremely likable.

One of my favorite parts of this book was something that happened near the end when some tension between Darius and his dad started to clear up. I really liked this part, because it was well written, and even made me emotional. All the lead up to that moment helps too, with all the suspense floating in the air, until this moment came clearing up the fog in a heartfelt way. This moment also was one of the main changes Darius went through in Iran and was a sincere moment overall.

Reviewed by Aryan A.,  Twin Hickory Library