Give me a character who loves Star Trek, adores and takes tea seriously, and is honest about his struggles with depression. Enter Darius – the precious character of my heart. Seriously. The story is fantastic and it grips your hand, but Darius is the one leading us through it all. You can’t help but love his spirit, his perseverance, his journey.
I could write a whole review about how much I love Darius. About how much the ways that he rejects toxic masculinity touched my heart. About how seen I felt when he talked about tea. But seriously, there are so many things to love about him. His voice screams from the page in shouts and whispers. If these aren’t enough, Darius has some fantastic conversations about being Persian and the treatment he receives.
Darius frequently brings up jokes and ignorant comments he and his family receives for their Persian identity and features. These shake you to your core. It’s one thing to know they occur, but to feel them in your bones, to force a smile, to keep going was an entirely different experience. The ignorant comments I have received have never been this pointed. But at the same time, you can relate so much to these moments where you feel uncomfortable, ashamed, and hurt by their insensitivity.
I could write a whole review about how much I love Darius. About how much the ways that he rejects toxic masculinity touched my heart. About how seen I felt when he talked about tea. But seriously, there are so many things to love about him. His voice screams from the page in shouts and whispers. If these aren’t enough, Darius has some fantastic conversations about being Persian and the treatment he receives.
Darius frequently brings up jokes and ignorant comments he and his family receives for their Persian identity and features. These shake you to your core. It’s one thing to know they occur, but to feel them in your bones, to force a smile, to keep going was an entirely different experience. The ignorant comments I have received have never been this pointed. But at the same time, you can relate so much to these moments where you feel uncomfortable, ashamed, and hurt by their insensitivity.