We're introduced to Darius at a tea shop where he works part-time and where he really loves the tea making. There's a phrase used by his mother (quote taken from uncorrected proof)."We put hell in it and we damn it." It's a joke that he and his mother loves where in Farsi, hell (hel) is the cardamom and and damn (dam) means to steep. He appears to have a close relationship with his mother although he feels he lets her down by not having learned Farsi. His relationship with his father is strained at the start of the book but their love of Star Trek appears to be the only thing they have in common and the mental illness they both suffer from and both take medication for. Darius is bullied by a few of his peers, and he feels that he doesn't fit in.
His coming of age and change in thinking comes about during his trip to Iran to meet his mother's family which came about because his grandfather has a brain tumor. He makes friends with a young man that lives near his grandparents, and this young man helps him feel better about himself and change his attitude a little. This book is heartfelt and funny, and I could relate to the feeling of not fitting in and the stigma of mental illness. I really enjoyed reading this book.
His coming of age and change in thinking comes about during his trip to Iran to meet his mother's family which came about because his grandfather has a brain tumor. He makes friends with a young man that lives near his grandparents, and this young man helps him feel better about himself and change his attitude a little. This book is heartfelt and funny, and I could relate to the feeling of not fitting in and the stigma of mental illness. I really enjoyed reading this book.