Overall, I enjoyed this book. I got a glimpse into the Persian culture, read about a bunch of foods I now want to try, and gained a new appreciation for the relationship I had with all of my grandparents.
I can only imagine how hard it is to try to fit into to a US high school when your name and your heritage set you apart. To have that heritage be one that is often mistakenly intertwined with such negatives as terrorism, and combine that w/ high school kids are just looking for a reason to be mean to someone, and it would be a lot to handle for any kid. Add a struggle with depression to the mix, and you get a feeling for where is Darius is at in this story.
I had a great relationship with my maternal grandparents, and know so much about our family and heritage from time spent around the table at holidays listening to the family stories from when they were kids and when my mom and her siblings were young. These stories are now being shared and passed down to our kids. What a void to have grandparents and extended family you have never even met or learned anything about. To finally have that chance and have it be tainted by the ever-present reminder that this will be the ONLY chance you have to be with them and feel like a family, and it's no wonder that Darius struggles both to fit in there and also with leaving to return home.
I will say that for a middle-aged woman, there was too much discussion of male private parts in here for me, but I was able to overlook that. And I was a bit uncomfortable with the physical response that Darius had to his new friend Sohrab. I felt it bordered on a gay relationship and the resources in the appendix seem to back that up since along with info on depression there is also LGBTQ/Trans resources.
The relationship with his dad and his male Persian relatives were somewhat disappointing - I kept hoping that he would find affirmation that is he OK somewhere, but it doesn't come until the very end. That ending is a powerful reminder that often our perceptions and reactions are often based on just our perspective or memory, and there is often more that happens behind the scenes than what we know. Communication is the key to finding where the truth is, and hopefully, that truth will bring people together.
I can only imagine how hard it is to try to fit into to a US high school when your name and your heritage set you apart. To have that heritage be one that is often mistakenly intertwined with such negatives as terrorism, and combine that w/ high school kids are just looking for a reason to be mean to someone, and it would be a lot to handle for any kid. Add a struggle with depression to the mix, and you get a feeling for where is Darius is at in this story.
I had a great relationship with my maternal grandparents, and know so much about our family and heritage from time spent around the table at holidays listening to the family stories from when they were kids and when my mom and her siblings were young. These stories are now being shared and passed down to our kids. What a void to have grandparents and extended family you have never even met or learned anything about. To finally have that chance and have it be tainted by the ever-present reminder that this will be the ONLY chance you have to be with them and feel like a family, and it's no wonder that Darius struggles both to fit in there and also with leaving to return home.
I will say that for a middle-aged woman, there was too much discussion of male private parts in here for me, but I was able to overlook that. And I was a bit uncomfortable with the physical response that Darius had to his new friend Sohrab. I felt it bordered on a gay relationship and the resources in the appendix seem to back that up since along with info on depression there is also LGBTQ/Trans resources.
The relationship with his dad and his male Persian relatives were somewhat disappointing - I kept hoping that he would find affirmation that is he OK somewhere, but it doesn't come until the very end. That ending is a powerful reminder that often our perceptions and reactions are often based on just our perspective or memory, and there is often more that happens behind the scenes than what we know. Communication is the key to finding where the truth is, and hopefully, that truth will bring people together.