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kaywhiteley's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I didn’t find this one as interesting or relatable as the first, but that’s probably because I’m not a teenage boy navigating high school. I also thought some of the dialogue was repetitive. But overall, good book! I liked the representation of depression that doesn’t just look like Person Stuck in Bed for Weeks. Important discussions on consent and bullying. Bonus points for queer trans grandmas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Death and Grief
traceyanderson's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Classism
jasper_readss's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, and Racism
Minor: War
_fathimanourin1234_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
This book actually changed my way of thinking and perceptions. The characters in this book, the way they are potrayed, it felt awesome. All of the characters are not loveable.
Darius has the best parents in the whole world. They are very expressive towards Darius and his little sister, Laleh. Especially Darius's dad, he is very affectionate. He kisses Darius, hugs him.
And also Darius's mamou and babou, they are the best. Actually, I really missed them in this book. Yes there were mentions of them. They face times with Mamou weekly. And yeah, Also Sohrab too.
And Chip is Darius's friend now.
As usual, Trent is the most Hateable character in this book. OMG! He is an asshole... Literally. He bullies Daruis, calling names, having homophobic comments right in his face. I really wanted to beat the shit out of him.
There were sad moments too.. The most important one was when,Babou died. I really cried and wept hard. The way Darius was remembering his Babou and also his mom and Laleh. And the second one was when Landon and Darius broke up. I didn't cry. But I was sad. There should have been more communication with them. There should have been more understanding. Landon made it clear, that sex is important to him, but he should understand that he can't force Daruis into sex. That's not how it works. There should have been a proper talk about it.
There were so many words that felt like a quote.
Daruis always has self doubt and overthinking because of his depression. And the way him and his father share it, was a great thing to read. And mom sharing her worries. But overall, it was a great ride.
I'm glad that I read this book. And yeah, you should read the first book called "Daruis the great is not okay", to understand this book and characters more.
Darius has the best parents in the whole world. They are very expressive towards Darius and his little sister, Laleh. Especially Darius's dad, he is very affectionate. He kisses Darius, hugs him.
And also Darius's mamou and babou, they are the best. Actually, I really missed them in this book. Yes there were mentions of them. They face times with Mamou weekly. And yeah, Also Sohrab too.
And Chip is Darius's friend now.
As usual, Trent is the most Hateable character in this book. OMG! He is an asshole... Literally. He bullies Daruis, calling names, having homophobic comments right in his face. I really wanted to beat the shit out of him.
There were sad moments too.. The most important one was when,
There were so many words that felt like a quote.
Daruis always has self doubt and overthinking because of his depression. And the way him and his father share it, was a great thing to read. And mom sharing her worries. But overall, it was a great ride.
I'm glad that I read this book. And yeah, you should read the first book called "Daruis the great is not okay", to understand this book and characters more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief
dreamer01's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Mental illness
Minor: Transphobia
nikia4's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first book, but it was still a lovely and comforting read. It’s honestly incredible how many storylines Khorram manages to weave together cohesively, a worse author would have written a book that felt overstuffed. I especially appreciated the subplots about Darius’s dad suffering from depression and Darius’s anxieties/their communication about the parent’s depression, and Laleh’s experiences at school. Darius is such a beautifully written character with so much softness and empathy and love and you get pulled into those feelings when reading these books. I really appreciated how many storylines weren’t perfectly wrapped up but still got a fulfilling ending because they ended on a hopeful note - it felt a lot more realistic and comforting than everything working out perfectly.
My main criticism is that maybe Landon and Darius’ storyline was too much of the same/took too long to build to an inflection point and it got kind of boring waiting for their relationship to end, but I guess it was also realistic to Darius’ character and what he was going through for the realization to take him longer. The tension with Chip/Trent in parallel also felt like a lot of the same for too long, and I wish the conflict between them happened a bit earlier so the nuances of that relationship could be explored more, but maybe the author is leaving it open to another book.
My main criticism is that maybe Landon and Darius’ storyline was too much of the same/took too long to build to an inflection point and it got kind of boring waiting for their relationship to end, but I guess it was also realistic to Darius’ character and what he was going through for the realization to take him longer. The tension with Chip/Trent in parallel also felt like a lot of the same for too long, and I wish the conflict between them happened a bit earlier so the nuances of that relationship could be explored more, but maybe the author is leaving it open to another book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Racism
clementineecho's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Racism
annakh16's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Protect. Darius. at. all. costs! The title of this book is spot on. He does deserve better.
I’m glad this sequel was good. There is a wide range of (often tough) themes handled beautifully - grief, depression, family, first relationships, sexuality etc etc. It is lovely seeing such a complex and nuanced young character.
I also found the accountability refreshing - it wasn’t all “forgive and forget” (which I feel like happens sometimes in YA), but the characters had all the necessary conversations, which were also written very well. There were some great life lessons in there.
I would’ve liked to see more of some characters - Sohrab and Steven especially - but I think putting them aside was needed to make space for the new plot lines, so I get it. We still got some sweet moments with both. I also found Darius’ feelings about his relationship with Landon very relatable personally.
This series will stay with me, I’ll miss it. The sequel definitely cemented this as a new favourite YA contemporary.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, and Grief
evelynyle_88's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Adib Khorram, you did it once again! I decided to listen to this beautiful story about Darius Kellner to continue my journey with him, his family and his friends... I feel like this story gave me comfort.
Knowing that there's Landon in his life at the start of the story... I could picture how happy he was. But, I sometimes felt Landon was too pushy toward Darius.
Darius really deserves better than the love he got from Landon. And I'm glad this quite heavy story ended well for all of them; including Darius. Great job, Mr. Khorram! You made me love Darius even more!🩷
Knowing that there's Landon in his life at the start of the story... I could picture how happy he was. But, I sometimes felt Landon was too pushy toward Darius.
Darius really deserves better than the love he got from Landon. And I'm glad this quite heavy story ended well for all of them; including Darius. Great job, Mr. Khorram! You made me love Darius even more!🩷
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content
archiveofrasa's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I think I missed Iran from the story, that's probably why this book didn't hit as hard for me as the first one did. I still found a lot of things interesting and it still maintained the nuance of the first book, but there was also a lot more going on. I also read this in one sitting just a few hours after finishing the first book, so perhaps the speed at which I read it affected my perspective. I'm glad with how it ended and how a lot of the topics were handled, it was really nice to see in a YA contemporary, especially for a gay boy of colour. Darius absolutely deserves better.
I'm almost sad to see that the story ends here, because I would've loved to see more fo the main cast of characters, they are genuinely still so interesting to me.
I'm almost sad to see that the story ends here, because I would've loved to see more fo the main cast of characters, they are genuinely still so interesting to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content