4.5 Stars!
Darius Kellner is half-Persian, or what he refers to as Fractional Persian. He also has clinical depression, is overweight, and has no deep friendships. His one friend is somewhat of a bully. He has never met his Iranian grandparents, and to him they only truly exist in a computer screen. Darius has a strained relationship with his father, but he loves his little sister - even though he knows his parents had her to replace him and be the perfect child he could never be.
Darius's life starts to change when he takes a trip to Iran. Suddenly he feels like maybe he isn't so fractional after all. He makes a friend and starts to feel that perhaps he could belong, at least during his stay in Iran.
I'll admit that this book gave me strong Ari and Dante vibes, and as much as I would have loved for that plot to be the case for this book, it really didn't fit. Darius's story stands on its own, and he really didn't need any kind of love interest for him or his story to be interesting. I found that refreshing. I also love how masculinity is presented in this book. Men cook, make tea, hug each other, and cry in this book and none of that is seen as weak or unmanly. Being a hodgepodge of Caucasian ethnicity, I feel like I never really had a "culture", so to speak. It was nice to see the story of someone who also felt outside and othered to discovered the meaning of culture and identity for himself. He can be exactly who he is, and like all aspects of himself.
And even despite his revelations, sometimes, Darius is not always okay, and that is okay. - A strong message for YA readers.
Darius Kellner is half-Persian, or what he refers to as Fractional Persian. He also has clinical depression, is overweight, and has no deep friendships. His one friend is somewhat of a bully. He has never met his Iranian grandparents, and to him they only truly exist in a computer screen. Darius has a strained relationship with his father, but he loves his little sister - even though he knows his parents had her to replace him and be the perfect child he could never be.
Darius's life starts to change when he takes a trip to Iran. Suddenly he feels like maybe he isn't so fractional after all. He makes a friend and starts to feel that perhaps he could belong, at least during his stay in Iran.
I'll admit that this book gave me strong Ari and Dante vibes, and as much as I would have loved for that plot to be the case for this book, it really didn't fit. Darius's story stands on its own, and he really didn't need any kind of love interest for him or his story to be interesting. I found that refreshing. I also love how masculinity is presented in this book. Men cook, make tea, hug each other, and cry in this book and none of that is seen as weak or unmanly. Being a hodgepodge of Caucasian ethnicity, I feel like I never really had a "culture", so to speak. It was nice to see the story of someone who also felt outside and othered to discovered the meaning of culture and identity for himself. He can be exactly who he is, and like all aspects of himself.
And even despite his revelations, sometimes, Darius is not always okay, and that is okay. - A strong message for YA readers.