A Netflix-worthy LGBT coming of age story

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karliesch Avatar

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"It's hard enough living one life; no one should have to go through the trouble of living two."

How It All Blew Up is a great coming of age story by Arvin Ahmadi about high school senior, Amir.  Amir is gay and Muslim, but his family doesn't know.  To keep them from finding out, he runs away on graduation day...to Rome. On the journey of a lifetime, Amir ends up finding himself, friends he can call family and a new outlook. Told in first person in an interrogation room, with some short alternating viewpoints from his parents and sister, this story unfurls in an extremely readable fashion. Throw in some amazing references to Nina Simone and Mean Girls, and I couldn't put this book down, reading it in its entirety in a few hours.  I could picture this becoming a Netflix movie or series one day.

Disclaimer: The quoted text is from an uncorrected proof of this book that I received from Penguin Teen in exchange for my honest review.