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Darius the Great Is Not Okay

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Darius the Great Is Not Okay is a young adult novel by Adib Khorram, originally published August 28, 2018, by Dial Books. The book has received various awards and has been translated into eight languages from the book's original language English (Russian, Japanese, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Dutch).[1] Darius the Great Is Not Okay follows the personal journey of Darius Kellner, an Iranian–American teenager with clinical depression, as he makes a best friend for life, reconnects with his grandparents, and repairs his relationship with his father.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay
AuthorAdib Khorram
Cover artistSamira Iravani and Adams Carvalho
LanguageEnglish
SeriesDarius the Great
SubjectDepression, friendship, grandparents, Iranian-Americans, Persian-Americans
GenreYoung adult fiction
PublisherDial Press
Published in English
August 28, 2018
Media typePrint
Pages320
ISBN9780525552963
Followed byDarius the Great Deserves Better 

Plot edit

Darius the Great Is Not Okay follows Darius Kellner, an Iranian–American teenager living in Portland, Oregon, who has clinical depression. He loves Star Trek, tea, and his little sister, Laleh. Darius struggles with bullies, a lack of friends, and his disapproving dad, Stephen Kellner.

Stephen believes that it's partially Darius's fault for being bullied, since he makes himself more of a target. He dislikes Darius's hair length. Stephen also has clinical depression. The main time they spend with each other is when they both watch an episode of Star Trek each night.

Upon discovering his babou (Darius's mom's dad) has a brain tumor, the family decides to take a trip to the desert city of Yazd, Iran, where Darius's grandparents live. Darius has not seen his grandparents in a long time, and has only talked to them through video calls, but Darius speaks little Farsi compared to his mom and sister, so he easily gets lost in the conversations. Upon arriving, Darius instantly connects with his mamou (grandmother), but struggles to get to know his babou.

Darius meets Sohrab, the son of one of Babou's neighbors. Sohrab invites him to play football, which Darius enjoys, but while showering after the game, other boys make fun of Darius' penis, calling it "Ayatollah", and Sohrab joins in. This leads to Darius leaving and having a breakdown, but Sohrab comes to apologize later in the day. Sohrab and Darius continue to bond as they hang out and begin to play football frequently. Darius feels comfortable around Sohrab; Darius feels like he can be himself around him. They often visit a rooftop (pictured in the cover) that provides a view of the city and an isolated place to talk.

Darius becomes frustrated when Laleh begins watching Star Trek with Stephen—the only thing that Darius and Stephen had together—and started without him, because he's already seen the episodes. Darius feels that Laleh is his better replacement. Darius receives an Iranian national football team jersey as a present from Sohrab, which he loves as it makes him feel like a true Persian and feel like he fits in. His family visits multiple sights of Yazd and Iran throughout the book, including Persopolis, Tower of Silence, Jameh Mosque, and the Fire Temple of Yazd.

In a few days before Darius and his family must leave Iran, Darius decides to buy Sohrab a pair of cleats as a gift. He visits the house to find their family in grief. Sohrab lashes out at Darius before revealing his father has just died (who was previously revealed to be jailed by the Iranian government for unknown reasons). Sohrab complains that Darius is always crying but has nothing to be sad for, and tells him to leave. Darius runs to the rooftop and cries.

Darius' dad finds him. They open up emotionally to each other: Stephen tells him of how he was close to suicide when Darius was young, and went on pills to prevent it. He states, "Suicide isn't the only way you can lose someone to depression." Darius explains why he was upset about Star Trek, and how he feels that Stephen thinks Darius was disappointment to him. Stephen reassures him that he loves him.

Sohrab apologizes to Darius, saying that since he was hurting, he wanted Darius to hurt too. They end on good terms and the family leaves Iran. Back in Portland, Darius has a better relationship with his dad, has frequent video calls with Sohrab and Mamou, is feeling more confident at school, and is motivated to try out for his school's soccer team.

Reception edit

Darius the Great Is Not Okay received starred reviews from School Library Journal,[2] Publishers Weekly,[3] and Kirkus,[4] as well as positive reviews from The New York Times,[5] BookPage,[6] Entertainment Weekly,[7] and Booklist.[8][9]

Accolades edit

Accolades for Darius the Great Is Not Okay
Year Accolade Result Ref.
N/A Junior Library Guild Selection [10]
2018 BuzzFeed's 24 Best YA Books Of 2018 Selection [11]
BookBub's 30 of the Best Young Adult Books of 2018 Selection [12]
Indigo's Top 10 Best Teen Books of 2018 Selection [13]
New York Public Library's Best Books for Teens Selection [14]
Publishers Weekly Best Books for Young Adults Selection [15]
Time Best YA and Kids Books of 2018 Selection [16]
2019 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Finalist [17]
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Young Adult Literature Winner [18][4]
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction & Poetry Honor [19][20]
Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice: Fiction for Young Adults Selection [21]
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens Selection [22]
Heartland Booksellers Award for Young Adult/Middle Grade Winner [23]
Indies Choice Award for Young Adult Finalist [24]
Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Children's/Young Adult Nominee [25]
Middle East Book Award for Youth Literature Winner [26]
Rainbow List Top 10 [27]
William C. Morris YA Debut Award Winner [28][29]
YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults Top 10 [30]
2020 Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee [31]
2021 Lincoln Award Nominee [32]
Time 100 Best YA Books of All Time Selection [33]

Adaptation edit

Universal purchased the rights to adapt Darius the Great Is Not Okay in a motion picture to be produced by Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman's Mandeville Films.[34] The book will be adapted by Kevin Hamedani and Travis Betz.[34]

References edit

  1. ^ "Darius the Great Is Not Okay". Adib Khorram Writes Books. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  2. ^ Fultz, Elaine. "Darius the Great Is Not Okay". School Library Journal. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  3. ^ "Children's Book Review: Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram. Dial, $17.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-525-55296-3". Publishers Weekly. June 4, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Darius the Great Is Not Okay". Kirkus Reviews. June 18, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  5. ^ Trudon, Taylor (October 12, 2018). "Young Adult Books That Plunge Into the Ecstasies, and Agonies, of Teenage Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  6. ^ Little, Jon (August 9, 2018). "Dazed and confused in Iran". BookPage. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  7. ^ Canfield, David; Douglas, Esme; Hoggatt, Aja; Longo, Joseph (September 3, 2018). "EW talks YA: Moroccan fantasy 'Mirage' and feminist pirate saga 'Seafire' are must-reads". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  8. ^ "Darius the Great Is Not Okay". Booklist. February 1, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "Darius the Great Is Not Okay". Booklist. August 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  10. ^ "Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  11. ^ Penn, Farrah (December 11, 2019). "The 24 Best YA Books Of 2018". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  12. ^ Lindem, Vicki (November 27, 2018). "30 of the Best Young Adult Books of 2018". BookBub. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  13. ^ "Top 10 Best Teen Books of 2018". Indigo Books & Music. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  14. ^ "Best Books for Teens 2018". The New York Public Library. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  15. ^ "Best Books 2018 Publishers Weekly". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  16. ^ "The 10 Best YA and Kids' Books of 2018". Time. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  17. ^ "The Walden Award". Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE. July 30, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  18. ^ "Literature Awards". Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  19. ^ "2019 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards Acceptance Speeches Roundup". The Horn Book. January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  20. ^ Khorram, Adib (January 3, 2020). "Darius the Great Is Not Okay: Adib Khorram's 2019 BGHB Fiction and Poetry Honor Speech". The Horn Book. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  21. ^ Horning, Kathleen T. (2019). CCBC choices 2019. Merri V. Lindgren, Megan Schliesman, Madeline Tyner, University of Wisconsin--Madison. Cooperative Children's Book Center. Madison, Wisconsin. ISBN 978-0-931641-29-9. OCLC 1096332792.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  22. ^ "Capitol Choices 2019 List". Capitol Choices. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  23. ^ "Heartland Booksellers Award". Midwest Independent Booksellers Association. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  24. ^ Jean-Philippe, McKenzie (May 1, 2019). "Buzzy Books Like Circe and Educated Just Received This Award". Oprah Daily. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  25. ^ "31st Annual Lammy Finalists". Lambda Literary. March 7, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  26. ^ "Youth Literature Honorees | Middle East Book Award". Middle East Outreach Council. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  27. ^ "The 2019 Rainbow Book List". Rainbow Book List. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  28. ^ Morales, Macey (January 28, 2019). ""Darius the Great Is Not Okay" wins 2019 William C. Morris Award". American Library Association. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  29. ^ "Darius the Great Is Not Okay | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  30. ^ "2019 Top Ten Best Fiction". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). February 19, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  31. ^ SBarta (March 25, 2019). "Announcing the 2019 RITBA Winner and the 2020 List! | Rhode Island Teen Book Award". Rhode Island Teen Book Award. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  32. ^ "Darius the Great Is Not Okay". Goodreads. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  33. ^ "The 100 Best YA Books of All Time: Darius the Great Is Not Okay". Time. August 11, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  34. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 24, 2019). "'Darius The Great Is Not Okay' YA Novel Set At Universal-Mandeville With Kevin Hamedani & Travis Betz Adapting". Deadline. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
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