Darius the Great Is Not Okay

By: Adib Khorram

Narrated by: Michael Levi Harris

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

Darius doesn't think he'll ever be enough, in America or in Iran. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this unforgettable debut introduces a brilliant new voice in contemporary YA.

Winner of the William C. Morris Debut Award.

“Heartfelt, tender, and so utterly real. I’d live in this book forever if I could.” (Becky Albertalli, award-winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda)

Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian - half, his mom’s side - and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life. 

Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn’t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city’s skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush - the original Persian version of his name - and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab.

Adib Khorram’s brilliant debut is for anyone who’s ever felt not good enough - then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay.

©2018 Adib Khorram (P)2018 Listening Library

Critic Reviews

William C. Morris Debut AwardAsian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature; Publishers Weekly Flying Start; TIME's 10 Best Young Adult and Children's Books of 2018; Boston Globe Best Books of 2018; Wall Street Journal Best Books of 2018; BuzzFeed Best YA Books of 2018; Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2018; Kirkus Best Books of 2018; New York Public Library's Best Books of 2018; Book Expo Young Adult Buzz Panel Selection; Indies Introduce Selection for Fall 2018; Indie Next Top Ten Pick for Fall 2018

“Layered with complexities of identity, body image and mental illness that are so rarely articulated in the voice of a teenage boy of color. Khorram writes tenderly and humorously about his protagonist’s journey of self-acceptance, making it hard not to want to reach through the pages, squeeze his hand and reassure Darius that he is, in fact, going to be O.K.” (The New York Times)

“Reminiscent of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (better known in movie form as Love, Simon) and Angie Thomas’ phenomenal The Hate U Give, the novel chronicles a politically aware teendom where microaggressions are as much an everyday obstacle as untamed acne and humdrum mall jobs… Darius the Great Is Not Okay will have you craving a freshly steeped tea, an episode of Star Trek, and a glass of faloodeh - all courtesy of one delightful package.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“This is the hilarious and heartbreaking story of Darius: a clinically-depressed, half-Persian lonely American teenage Trekkie who heads to Iran for the first time to meet his mom’s family.” (Cosmopolitan)

Amazing story, amazing book!

Thought the narrator was perfect! Truly a great book and I felt that the narrator captured emotions and characters fantastically. Its just such a deeper view into how depression affects people and it did an amazing job!

2 people found this helpful

Darius

Thought it was a great story for the young adult reader. I did also appreciate the afterward about mental illness. I especially enjoyed the narrators use of the different accents for different characters. He obviously did his research.

3 people found this helpful

Darius The Great is GREAT

I loved, loved, loved this book. I loved it so much I read it in one sitting and was left feeling all the feels. I could relate with Darius on so many levels and I was left speechless by how good the book handled the topics that are hard to talk about with love and care. The narrator was so good! I was extremely happy to find out there is a sequel coming out!

Great coming of age

Really enjoyed the novel and personal growth and struggles of the main character. It's one of the best coming of age stories and culturally sensitive audio-books. The performance was fantastic the and the flow of the writing as great. Definitely worth listening more than once.

trying to fit in

it was a great story full of cultural differences that I as the reader was enchanted and intrigued to learn more about. Darius was a very relatable character with depression and his struggle with his relationships in his family and friends.

Great narration - KSU

Amazing Narration! Read this book for Kansas State University 2019. a book of many themes that relate to early college students.

It’s better than OK

I love this book, and when I say love, I’m in love love with this book. Truly an amazing and inspiring tale. And it’s not a memoir. Truly a beautiful story .

Love Love Love

This story is so full of love on every page that I'm just bursting with it. And not "easy love" either, but the kind that's hard to understand and accept, and the kind that demands struggle and growth to express, like with language and culture, not to mention general personal/MH barriers.

These friendships! This family! The food! My heart might explode!

PLUS ALL THE STAR TREK TNG REFERENCES--LOVELOVELOVE!!!

amazing. simply amazing.

I think I cried at least twice while listening- so spectacular! I don't think I've ever really connected so well with a book character before.

It was so good!

Beautiful story beautifully read. Highly recommend to anyone!
The story is full without a possible romance, all the characters are well-developed and real and you instantly care about them.

mehhhh

The content was decent; i was waiting for something more to happen but it wasn't there lol. The narration was not bad at all.