I really enjoyed the structure of this book. It flips back and forth between Amir and his family in separate interrogation rooms after a scene on an airplane and everything that has led up to where they are. The beginning of the book drew me in as well with Amir admitting openly that he is gay,  Iranian, and a nonpracticing Muslim, and that he knows that these don't mix. 

Ultimately, this is a story of Amir coming to terms with his identity and learning what it means to be true to yourself. His family made a big move his senior year of high school which he didn't mind too much. On his first day, he meets a good looking, popular, football player and after some time passes, they begin a secret romantic relationship. Until Amir is blackmailed by a couple of guys at school. They threaten to tell his parents about his sexual identity. This is something Amir is unprepared for, so he manages to get the money together for them. And then the blackmail continues. 

Rather than tell his family the truth and risk losing them forever, Amir decides to run. First, he goes to New York. This plan is ruined when he is on the phone with his family and they hear an announcement in the background. After seeing a gelato stand, he decides to go to Italy instead. In Italy, he is introduced and accepted into a gay group of friends where he learns more about what it means to be gay and another way family can look. 

Throughout his life, Amir has kept a point system in his head. This point system is what he uses as an excuse not to tell his parents the truth about himself. All to often, his parents have criticized the idea of being gay, that it's an American fad. Not only that, discussing sexual preference just isn't done. 

His coming out is less than ideal, for sure. And there are situations that happen in the book that Amir does not handle well AT ALL. However, his experience in Italy helps him develop confidence and an acceptance of what it means to be Amir.

3 and a 1/2 stars. I enjoyed the premise and found it original: a coming-out story related in a mix of Mediterranean flashbacks and a US customs/border interrogation room. The multiple voices and perspectives of Amir, his sister, and their parents were important for me to understand the wider context of an Iranian-American family. Those were probably the sections I enjoyed the most. The dynamics of the friendships and expat community that Amir finds also rang true.
At times it was difficult to believe that certain plot points would be possible, however the story zips along at a fast enough pace that the reader can suspend their disbelief. This is a fast read, and I managed to almost finish it all in one go (lockdown 2020 style). There was one gory detail that unfortunately I don’t think I will ever get out of my head...

Thank you to Viking for the ARC, sorry that it took me so long to post the review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3500509872

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital arc of this title in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Amir Azadi, the 18 year old protagonist, has fallen in lust with one his high school's football players. Only problem is...some bullies at his school threaten to out both Amir and his partner, Jackson, if he doesn't start paying them. As a result of his emotional distress, Amir decides to run away to Italy where he stumbles upon a group of openly gay men who are loving and accepting. However, he must inevitably return to America. On the plane ride back to his hometown, him and his family get in a huge argument over his sexuality; and, they are detained because they are Muslim.

This fast-paced, action-packed book is told from multiple perspectives in an airport interrogation room. This is a very engaging tale about what it means to be a gay, Muslim teenager growing up in a post 911 society.

Amir just KNOWS that being gay won’t be acceptable in his family— so he decides to disappear in Rome to gain his sexual freedom. Told in conversations alternating between family members detained after a raucous on a flight back home, this story combines the tough lesson of finding ourselves and our comfort alongside of traditional views and familial expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative voice and the experiences Amir had with his troupe of Roman friends.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC— I can see this book being appreciated by many readers!

Having followed Arvin Ahmadi's career from the beginning, it's clear that this is his most personal book to date, and it also happens to be his best work! The storytelling was exciting and succinct, the ensemble cast was such a joy, and it was so much fun exploring Rome through 18-year-old Amir's eyes. But the strongest part of the book was the family/coming out storyline. Such an important step in queer YA that we should all do ourselves a favor and read.

Oh my gosh, this book. My heart. So happy. Love the "Love, Simon" vibes and what this story means for so many young adults. I flew through this book and EASILY a 5 star read! I adored the family aspect and learning about Muslim culture, specifically Persian. This book was absolute perfection. Definitely had some wanderlust going. Definitely one I recommend everyone to read!

I feel like describing this book as beautifully written would still not do it justice. Everyone should purchase a copy to read for themselves. The plot of the book is so inclusive which I think everyone could always use more of that on their shelves. I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone. It’s absolutely a must read and will move you deeply.

Told in flashbacks while being questioned in an airport police interrogation room, Amir tells of his last thirty days.  He explains why he missed his high school graduation and how he ended up spending a month in Rome. Of why he has always felt like he was pretending to be one person to his family and how going away to college was his goal so he could be his real self. Of how, when he arrived in Rome and became friends with a group of older gay men, he felt like he was finally his true self.  Of how all of this led to the altercation on the plane that has landed his family in the airport interrogation rooms.  There are also portions of the story told from the viewpoints of his family; his mother, his father, and his younger sister.  A coming-of-age story of an Iranian gay teenage boy.

While the story itself was overall enjoyable I didn’t feel like it dove deep enough into the characters. Everyone felt rather one dimensional and more to fill a role than to actually be a dynamic character in the story. I also didn’t care for the method of storytelling via being detained in the airport. There were certainly heartfelt and moving moments interspersed throughout but my takeaway at the end was pretty surface level.

thank you to netgallery for the arc of this book! :)

first of all i wanted to say that i was REALLY excited for this one. i had such high hopes. and i ended up dnfing it. this was entirely on me, however. there was a certain “nipple story” as is called in the book that just pushed me over the edge and made me extremely uncomfortable to the point i had to put it down.

I went back and forth on this book. I realise I am not necessarily the target audience for this book, and I could definitely see the positives that this book presents. Amir is about to graduate high school and is conflicted about his sexuality; he runs away rather the address the fact that he is gay with his family. Despite my not having experienced such difficulties in my own life, I could empathise completely with Amir and this was a testament to the character that Ahmadi created in this story. 

There were some truly lovely moments in this book. The friends that Amir makes whilst in Rome are so welcoming and accepting, allowing Amir to discover himself without judgement and I felt this was an important depiction of how friendship can be for all teens and young adults. Amir's sister, Soraya, is a force to be reckoned with, and I loved how much she loved her brother and how invested she was in finding him, and ensuring that he was accepted by his family. She was my favourite part of this book, along with the setting of Rome (one of my favourite places in the world!)

My one issue with this story was at time I felt the characters and scenarios came across as stereotypes as opposed to delving deeper into the details, especially in the presentations of Italians and young gay men. There was nothing overtly offensive, but I felt as though sometimes the descriptions were over exaggerated and leant towards caricatures. That being said, the message of the book was not lost in this and it was clear that this book is important for anyone who may be/or has been struggling with the sexuality, how this may be received in their family or religious community (though this was not touched on much), and how we strive to find who we are at 18. 

3.5 /5.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE THIS BOOK.  The characters, the plot, everything.   
I think honestly its because Amir is so human and I relate to him so much.  Perhaps its because as some struggling to decide how to tell people shes close to her sexuality, I saw myself in Amir and I understand his fear.  It also gave me a wonderful throw back to when I went to Italian and got to experience how wonderful the country is.  And the author didn't make it up, I remember the scene where Giovanni gives Amir his shirt because Amir's is dirty, and Italians are just that friendly (shameless plug to visit Italy please)
Another thing I love about the book is how its in flashback mode.  I think the author addressed the very real reality of people who are Middle Eastern or Muslim and how they are, sadly, more likely to be stopped by the TSA in airports with this writing structure.  I also think it gave us a chance to interact and see how Amir's family felt during the book
5/5. I've literally told 2 people about this book just yesterday.

A must read for everyone! A perfect coming of age story you will fall in live with and wanting more.

"It is such a privilege, you know? To get to be yourself, all of yourself, in this great big world."

How It All Blew Up is an interesting book about identity, family, acceptance and being true to yourself. I loved Amir's character. He was real and multi-dimensional as he struggled with how his sexuality and culture clashed. Amir's fear that his family would not be able to accept him was heartbreaking and something that too many people deal with in their lives. 

I enjoyed all of the characters in this book from Amir's family to his fellow high school students and his new Italian friends, who were so full of life, fun and yet complex. The Italian setting was described so vividly. I could picture the piazzas and bars and cafes. Arvin Ahmadi's format of alternating between the interrogation room, Amir's high school experience and his time in Rome worked really well to build curiosity about "how it all blew up". This was a quick, enjoyable read with great messages about identity and unconditional love. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin and Viking Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review. Quote above is from an ARC and is subject to change.

"How It All Blew Up is an arresting story readers won't be able to put down. It's certainly not perfect, but it's messy and honest and real all the same. Ahmadi skillfully uses the past/present points of view to craft a story that, at its heart, speaks of finding your place in the world and reconciling your identities."

I absolutely sped through this novel in a couple hours the night before (morning of? *sweats nervously*) release. I started it thinking, "just a few pages" and then I'm suddenly swept away in the story of Amir and his fears and experiences.

Amir's life is messy and his coming out story might be triggering for some people, so please check the content warnings! He's dealing with a lot, but he's also just a cool character. He edits Wikipedia pages in his free time! He really likes Mean Girls! He flies to Italy because he's scared of being outed to his parents on graduation night by a kid who's blackmailing him.

There are a lot of critiques out there that are criticizing how this is not a Muslim story because the character does not practice frequently nor is it a focus of the book. #OwnVoices reviewers are absolutely able to criticize based on their own experiences, but as someone who is not Muslim, Iranian, or a gay teenage boy, I don't really think it's my place to criticize Ahmadi's portrayal.

I think what's important to recognize is that Amir is not just Muslim. Or just Iranian. Or just gay. He is a human being and we will never be able to appropriately quantify his identity or full self through small discrete units like this. Maybe the marketing was misleading. But ultimately, How It All Blew Up is still a story revolving around a Muslim, Iranian, and gay teenage boy, regardless of how the amount the story focuses on each aspect.

Amir is not always rational, and this is part of what makes him human. He writes off his family as not being able to understand his identity right off the bat. Which is a big generalization (there are queer & out Muslims!) but is absolutely something any person considering coming out would be fearful of, regardless of how accepting or not your family is.

I don't think How It All Blew Up is a perfect story. But it is an honest and real one, with an extraordinary use of past/present point of view with very poignant themes. I enjoyed, and maybe you will too.

How it All Blew Up is an entertaining read, but didn't blow me away, Amir is an Iranian-American teenager who has made a lot of money writing for WIkipedia. When a classmate threatens to tell Amir's parents that he is gay unless Amir gives him some of his money, Amir is suddenly faced with coming out to his family. Even though his mom watches Ellen, there have been many signs in the past of his family's negative feelings about homosexuality. Being outed by a classmate is just not the way he wants to end his senior year.

Instead of going to graduation, Amir flies to New York and then to Italy to avoid dealing with the backlash of his family finding out about his sexual orientation. However, it turns out that the blackmailing teenager was not actually brave enough to tell Amir's family anything. Now, his family has absolutely no idea why he has suddenly vanished. 

The story begins with Amir's family on a plane traveling back to the United States. They are arguing and end up being racially profiled as Islamic extremists. All the members of Amir's family are put into separate rooms to be interrogated and part of the story is shared through these monologues. This alternates with Amir flashing back to the past month of his life and all that has happened. 

While Amir is amusing and the story is entertaining, it is not all that realistic. How many teenagers have the option of fleeing the country instead of coming out to their families. I had anticipated that there would be more of an internal struggle with religious beliefs that conflict with one's own feelings. I think this book is a perfectly pleasant read, it just didn't move me.

"Life’s not about keeping score like that. It’s just not. It’s about finding people who see you, because the minute they do, everything else goes away. All the points even out.”

I finished reading How It All Blew Up yesterday and have been reading up on it since then. The author, Arvin Ahmadi wrote such a lovely and heartwarming introduction to the book that just captured my heart. He also mentioned on twitter that this is his most personal book, and how it is a celebration of all parts of who you are. And as I read those tweets, things made more sense to me about this book.

Amir Azadi is the eldest son, Iranian, Muslim, and gay. But he doesn't know how to approach the topic with his family. As in High School, he meets someone that made him feel seen but one thing led to another, and he finds himself being blackmailed. Amir runs away on the day of his graduation and makes the unconscious decision to go to Rome. We are then met with his adventures in Rome and the incident that led to them being held in detention as they arrived at the airport.

The question that comes to mind whenever I think about this book is, how often, openly, and honestly do we really communicate to the ones we love? Are we able to really be unfiltered, and be assured of how they percieve and feel about us? I think about this because, ever since realizing I'm pansexual, I have not really told my family. In the same way that Amir was scared of coming out, growing up Filipino has its obstacles when it comes to queerness too. We as a people don't really fully accept queer people, instead we are tolerant of them. Although there are movements and you see more people being more inclusive, the masses are a different matter. So you see, I totally get it. It is so difficult to be yourself and finding a way to show you, and who you are, and who you want to be is a gift, a privilege. 

I really enjoyed How It All Blew Up. It spoke of obstacles and the tough journey of finding out who you are and living that truth, of living with consequences, and it is also the prejudice towards people of color, or culture and religion that we don't fully understand. Arvin Ahmadi wrote this book with such a beautiful purpose, I highly recommend this book.

How It All Blew Up is an entertaining coming of age story that adds to the available representation for LGBT+ and Middle Eastern communities. Amir is a high school senior who is grappling with pressure from a blackmailer to reveal his homosexuality to his family. Faced with a potentially life-upending reaction from them, Amir acts very much the teenager and impulsively leaves the United States for Rome, rather than face his parents. The story is told from four perspectives and in multiple settings, including TSA interrogation rooms. In telling the story from Amir's, his sister's, and his parents' perspectives, the reader is able to feel not only Amir's struggle and apprehension to come out to his parents, but also see his parents' humanizing thought-processes regarding their son. During the scenes and events in Italy, Ahmadi creates a vivd cast of adult characters who are perfectly imperfect, but frustrating at times. He does not shy away from their humanity, and instead creates tension and conflict, which truly helps Amir to grow and experience life as an out teen with a found family. How It All Blew Up is believable, relatable, and a fantastic addition to YA literature.

I thought this would be an interesting coming-of-age story. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough character development for me. And Islam did not play as much of a part in the story as I would have thought. Otherwise, interesting setting & premise.

Amir’s carefully ordered world is falling apart. He’s about to be outed at high-school graduation. His Iranian parents are going to find out about his football player boyfriend.

So Amir runs — all the way to Rome.

Affecting, funny and full of heart, “How It All Blew Up” (Viking/Penguin, $17.99) is Arvin Ahmadi’s third novel for young adults. His previous books were “Down and Across” and “Girl Gone Viral.”

All his books have incorporated elements from his life, but this one is his most personal, Ahmadi explained in a phone interview. He’ll talk about the book Thursday at a virtual BookPeople event.

“I was working on a totally different project when I went on this trip,” Ahmadi said of his summer in Rome, where he became friends with a close-knit group of fellow gay men. “It wasn’t until meeting this group that became a found family for me, and specifically this Iranian friend of mine, that I realized I had been keeping all these parts of my life separate. I didn’t have to wedge this wall between the different parts of myself. I could come out with all of them.”

In “How It All Blew Up,” Ahmadi creates that revelatory friend group for 18-year-old Amir. The teen meets his own found family in Rome through Jahan, the kind Iranian bartender and poet who befriends him.

“Was this man messing with me?” Amir thinks as Jahan greets him. “I don’t know how else to say it, but this man did not look like any other Iranian person I had ever met in my life. I mean, his name was more Iranian than kabob and Persepolis. But his skin was covered in tattoos. And quite a few shades darker than mine.” Most of all, Jahan is both proudly Iranian and proudly out.

Amir loves his life in Rome, but he’s acutely conscious that it’s an escape. Back home, his parents and sister are texting and calling, desperate to know why he’s disappeared.

We know from the beginning that they eventually reunite, but that presents its own hurdles. When we first meet Amir and his parents, they are separated once more — this time in rooms being questioned by airport officials.

“Telling a coming-out story, telling a Muslim story in an interrogation room, those are narratives we see over and over again,” Ahmadi said. “That was the trick of the novel. You’re really getting all this depth and learning about the gay community and then at the same time you’re seeing the different ways to be Muslim and Middle Eastern.”

Ahmadi wanted to invert expectations about parental judgments while also acknowledging Amir’s fears about revealing his identity to his parents. Amir keeps a running tally in his head of how they might react to the news:

″+1: Mom watches Ellen DeGeneres and doesn’t bat an eyelash whenever Ellen talks about her wife, Portia. ...

″-20: The trailer for a gay rom-com comes on while we’re at the movie theater, and Dad calls it propaganda. ...

“Pluses and minuses aside, I had bought into the same idea as everyone else, that Muslims and gay people are about as incompatible as Amish people and Apple products. I wish I could say I was better than that, that I ignored the stereotype. But when your safety hinges on a stereotype being true or not, you don’t get to be brave. I wasn’t going to bet my happiness on the fact that my mom watched a talk show hosted by a lesbian.”

“By the end he learns a lot about his family,” Ahmadi said of Amir. “I still don’t fault him for not having the faith in the beginning.”

Above all, Ahmadi said, “How It All Blew Up” is about honesty.

“Our only agenda is to pour honesty on the page, specifically our own honest truths,” Ahmadi said of writers for young adults. “Teens crave honesty and authenticity. When you’re that age, what you want most is to find your place in the world. I think these windows into characters and experiences can help you discover a part of yourself.”