Darius the Great is Not Okay

Darius the Great is Not Okay (2018) by Adib Khorram is a sweet YA coming-of-age book about depression, tea, Star Trek, family, and embracing all of the different sides of oneself.

Darius is a fractional Persian–his mother is Persian and his father is American. He is a high-schooler in the Pacific Northwest with his parents and his elementary-aged sister Laleh. He describes himself as an outcast in the social hierarchy of his high school, and the book opens with some bullying. He works at a tea shop in the mall, and as we learn more about him, we find out he has depression, is on medication, is obsessed with tea, and he’s never really felt like his father’s son.

Pretty early on, diet culture rears its head when we find out Darius’s father is somewhat controlling about what food Darius eats, and also that his medication caused weight gain (as antidepressants often do) and that he describes himself as “overweight.” Darius doesn’t want to feel bad about it, but he doesn’t know how else to feel. There are a couple of later instances of anti-fatness, but ultimately, Darius’s weight is not the focus of the book.

The one thing he and his father connect over is a daily watch of an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. His mother calls him in regularly to FaceTime her parents in Iran, and soon, he finds out that the whole family is going on an extended vacation to visit because her father is ill and is not going to get better. Darius has never seen them outside of a screen and he’s apprehensive about the visit, especially since he doesn’t know Farsi.

In Iran, he meets Sohrab, a boy his age who spends time with his grandparents often and helps them around the house (their mothers were friends when they were young). Sohrab has heard much about Darius, and they play soccer together, becoming good friends, despite some awkward moments of cultural differences. He’s never had a friend like Sohrab ever, back home. But then his father starts watching Next Generation with Laleh in the evenings and it seems like Darius is being replaced.

The worst thing possible happens to Sohrab, and they have a falling out, but are able to clear the air before Darius has to leave. Darius learns about his father’s depression, and the way his mother’s family sees him and his father (as “sweet”) give Darius a different perspective than the one he’s always had.

At home, he’s the same but also different. The PE teacher sees his soccer skills and encourages him to try out for the school’s team, and he thinks he might actually do it.

I loved the Star Trek references throughout (“mint is the Borg of the garden”) and his relationship with his little sister. I loved the setting in Yazd, Iran, and how Darius’s weight didn’t ultimately change, but he still became more comfortable with his whole self. I loved how Khorram wrote Darius’s growth in being able to talk more about his depression, even with the cultural differences between Iran and the US on mental health.

Even with the instances of anti-fatness, I still recommend it because of the overall messages about mental health, growing into one’s whole self, and the lack of any discussion about weight loss. And apparently there’s a sequel, Darius the Great Deserves Better!