“You deserve people in your life who make you happy, Darius. No matter what. Just remember that. Okay?”

Wise words from Darius Kellner’s mother in Adib Khorram’s Darius the Great Deserves Better, the companion novel to the award-winning Darius the Great is Not Okay. Darius is back from Iran and seems to be in a great place. He is on the varsity soccer team, has his first boyfriend, landed an internship at Rose City Teas, and with the help of his supportive family and teammates isn’t allowing bullies to bring him down. But Darius soon discovers that life’s highs and lows often happen simultaneously. His parents financial struggle leaves them both exhausted and less engaged while his father’s depression is exacerbated. Darius feels powerless to help his younger sister navigate the complicated nuances of racism when she suffers microaggressions at school and her teacher seems oblivious. He likes Landon but is uncomfortable with his insistence to take things beyond kissing. Puzzling feelings for a teammate muddle the situation until Darius must decide what he wants and deserves. Khorram expertly balances consent, toxic masculinity, and intersectionality with the insecurities of a thoughtful teen trying to figure out life. Darius is once again the character we need and don’t see often enough. He’s honest, heartfelt, funny, willing to be vulnerable and strong. And don’t worry, the tea t

I was so happy to read this book as I loved Darius the Great and getting to spend more time with Darius is the best! I love everything about this book. The confusion, the vulnerability, and the questioning are all so much of the authentic teen experience that I know that all of my students can relate on some level to Darius. This also a perfect pandemic read as many families are struggling financially and most teens are struggling with their relationships right now. A must buy for the high school library collection!

This review is based on an ARC provided by Netgalley.

Refreshing. Bold. Honest. Gentle. These are just a few of the words that come to mind when I think of how well this book handled young complicated romance. The author does a good job of being open and frank about difficult often taboo topics. I didn't once feel like I needed to decipher a code or secret language in order to understand the messages presented in this novel. It was refreshing to have an open and honest conversation about depression, consent, peer pressure, bullying, friendships, and how sometimes they are not perfect. Above all else, this novel did a good job of not being cliche and tackled topics that young readers need to hear clearly represented in stories.

This was such a solid sequel! I’ve loved these books because of Darius himself—I feel a sense of deep understanding with him and his experiences with sadness and depression. There are tiny things that he mentions doing or thinking throughout the book, and they aren’t given much attention to but I instantly recognized those things with myself too. There were some… weird moments Darius had that made me lose the connection sometimes, but overall, excluding those bits, I was able to relate to him like in the first book.

I enjoyed the first book because of its focus on depression, family, friends, and personal growth, and I’m really happy that all of those didn’t take a backseat in this sequel. The scenes of Darius with his family, especially with his sister, were some of my favorites. Seeing Darius want to take care of and protect Laleh from the racist microaggressions she faces at school hits so close to home for me as an older sibling to a younger sister as well. I appreciated how we got to see his dad struggling with a depressive episode, because it was an excellent way to show that healing and recovery is never a linear journey and sometimes we get set back for some time before regaining our ground again.

Along with racism, the book also tackles homophobia and bullying. I thought Khorram made great commentary on the act of being a “bystander” in these situations—Darius is friends with someone who is also friends with Darius’ bully, and it’s clear that there is an issue with this person never calling the bully out and letting him continue to torment Darius.

My main problem was that I didn’t really care for the romance. I found Darius’ boyfriend to be bland and didn’t see much chemistry between them, especially since they had gotten together before the book started. I also couldn’t fully enjoy interactions with another person in the “love triangle” because I was scared it would veer into cheating and/or turn into something unhealthy based on power dynamics. I think I really would have loved this book a lot more without the inclusion of these romance elements.

I really loved the ending of this book, though, especially with my fear of how the romance part would be resolved. It was handled artfully, and I loved Khorram's emphasis on relationships sometimes failing because they simply don’t work as well as the importance of holding people accountable for their lack of proactiveness. I thought it was a perfect way to wrap things up but still leave some part of Darius’ story open. Overall, it was a sequel I felt satisfied with (though I wouldn’t say no to another installment!).

I absolutely LOVED this duology, so SO much!!

When the companion/sequel was announced, I was almost afraid to pick it up! Darius the Great Is Not Okay had this gentle, almost magic sort of beauty to it, that I was afraid a sequel wouldn’t be able to capture/improve upon. But Darius the Great Deserves Better felt just as vulnerable and honest, and I so loved being back with these characters as they continued to grow, and learn, and love.

It’s a story about friendship, and family, and learning how to love yourself, as you are. It feels like a warm hug and a lesson in acceptance, in equal measure, and I can’t recommend these books enough.

• Darius the Great Is Not Okay: 5⭐️
• Darius the Great Deserves Better: 5⭐️

Wonderful! So glad Darius had more to say. In fact, I'd love to hear what Sohrab has to say and learn more about senior year for Darius....(maybe a 3rd book coming???)

In this book we saw Darius mature so much and experience heartbreak, family struggles, and learn to survive/thrive. It was inspiring seeing Darius come into his own and become more confident both as an individual and as a caregiver. Beautiful writing that makes you feel as if you really are part of Darius's circle.

Oh how I lovedddd this book! I am so happy I won this in a BookCon Online giveaway a few months ago, I feel that this is a great sequel focusing on Darius' return to Iran. I like that this book continues to focus on Darius coming of age and figuring out who he is. I feel like this is the perfect sequel because it shows that there is no happily ever after and the character doesn't always overcomes everything in the first book and automatically know how to fix everything. I just felt like this was an accurate representation of a teenager's life and the endless amount of problems they would face and what they would deem important. I loved Darius' character development and I felt that it was natural. I found the other characters to be hilarious with their interactions with Darius, except for the ones who treated him horribly. I truly appreciated his relationship with his father and found it to be endearing.

THIS BOOK !!! i read this book in one 3hr sitting, and it was truly everything i needed right now. depression is really hard, but reading books like this that make you feel understood makes things a little more bearable.

this is 100% another character driven novel, but it explored a wide range of important topics and it's such a great coming of age novel. Darius deals with a lot in this book: his parents are overworked and struggling to make ends meet, Darius has a boyfriend who is pressuring him to have sex but he doesn't feel he's ready yet, his sister is dealing with racist bullies at school, and a lot more, but all of it is handled so well. the discussions about homophobia, racism, mental health, body image and confidence, and more, were handled so intricately and tenderly. it was just brilliant.

there's so much i loved about this book, but i think what i loved the most was getting to know Darius more and really connect with him even more than the first book. i'm itching to read a third book, and i'm hoping it happens eventually because i have so many questions after the semi open-ended ending.

once again, i loved the mental health representation, and there's something about the way that Adib Khorram writes about depression that really gets to me and makes me feel seen, and i can't appreciate that enough. i'm so glad this book exists, and i can tell it's going to be something i'll revisit in the future to feel a little less alone.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay made it on my top favorite books list last year, so I was excited and a little nervous to read the sequel. While I didn’t like it quite as much as the first book, I’m happy to say that I still love Darius and Adib’s ability to craft a story that is both sad and hopeful, and really cuts to the heart of how depression complicates already complex feelings of the human condition.

Now that I know Darius, his family, and the writing style, I think I connected with everything more and got more emotional than I did reading the first book. I definitely cried when I finished both of them, but I found myself tearing up more during this book. Darius is such a gentle and kind soul; he’s a great big brother to Laleh, he wants to have good relationships with his parents, he loves and misses his best friend, and he’s not afraid to express any of it when he has the words. I love that about him, because a lot of high schoolers are not so focused on things like that.

What kind of docks some points from me on this one is the redundancy of Darius’ thoughts on Chip. I get that he was confused, but ending every interaction with the same line got old. I also didn’t love how much Darius’ penis was discussed—it was almost like a main character itself! If I have to read the phrase “going number three” again, I might vom. (But I am glad, I guess, that this is probably relatable to many teenage boys. I’m trying to take the fact that I am an almost-30-year-old, graysexual woman into account when rating.)

I think the content wasn’t as strong as the first book, but there were still important things discussed—microaggressions, depression, sex, bigotry (and being an accomplice/witness to bigotry)—and it was just as heartfelt. Fully recommend! And crossing my fingers we keep getting more.

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

I'm just going to start with the fact that I really loved reading this book. I just love the way Khorram writes, specifically the way he writes just so completely moves me; he is excellent at making the reader feel the emotions he wants them to.

Darius the Great Deserves Better is the sequel to Darius the Great Is Not Okay , a book I loved earlier this year. Maybe you could read book two without reading book one, but I don’t think you should. This book starts a few months after Darius returns with his family from their trip to Iran. Darius is on the soccer team, has a boyfriend, works at Rose City Teas, his dream job, and is finally making friends at school. In addition to all this seemingly positive stuff, his parents are working way more because of the expense of the Iran trip, his sister is dealing with racism for the first time she has even noticed, his grandfather is still dying, and Darius is still figuring out how exactly to navigate in the world as himself. I am doing a poor job explaining the book; it really is an excellent slice of life character book. Those are hard to encapsulate.

I could probably try to nitpick and find something I didn’t like about this book, but that would be disingenuous. I really liked this book.

My favorite thing about book one was also my favorite thing about book two, the family relationships. I loved that we met Darius’ other grandparents, his Grandma and Oma, in this book. I had completely forgotten that Darius had a trans grandparent, and overall just really love the way this book has a diversity of different queer identities throughout. I liked the way his relationships with his grandmothers were different than his relationships with his mother's parents. Their story was so different, and Khorram did such an excellent job adding nuance to the dynamics on this side of the family as well. I loved that we got to explore deeper into Darius and Laleh’s, his little sister, relationship. The author also showed how his relationship with his father had continued to be positive while giving more time to the way he was now interacting with his mother. Basically, I just want to read books about families written by Khorram for the rest of my life. He does the best job.

I also really loved the friendships in this book. He wrote about so many different kinds of friendships and the different levels of complexity that come with different friend dynamics. The romantic relationship in this book was also very well done, it was a really good portrayal of a first romantic relationship. One of the many things Darius is trying to figure out is if he wants to have sex with his boyfriend, which is a narrative I have never seen with a male protagonist.

I also loved the themes of this book. Darius the Great Deserves Better is a perfect title for this book; it really is about Darius grappling with what he deserves from his family, friends, boyfriend, and just out of life. I thought it was excellently done. Also, I cried like four times.

Also, very weirdly for a contemporary series, I love book two just the same as I love book one.

I would recommend this book to so many people; clearly, I love it. If you like character-focused books, you really should jump into this series, if you want books full of queer characters, if you want to read about mixed-race characters trying to figure out how to operate in two different cultures, and if you just wanna read about this excellent nerd and maybe cry a little, you should pick up this series.

A thoroughly enjoyable follow up to Darius the Great Is Not Okay! I loved the new family dynamics and getting to explore the paternal relatives we didn’t see in the first. I also really liked how money was handled. It’s realistic that finances are tight after international travel for middle class families and this felt true to that experience. The conversations around depression, microaggressions, and queerness were also really well handled. I did love the relationship too although Landon’s overbearing nature was a hard sell. Overall this was a wonderful follow up to the stellar first book!

Life is looking up for Darius. He has a boyfriend, he's on the varsity soccer team, he's working at a great tea shop, and he has friends. This is such a great coming of age story and the best part is, it involves Darius! An amazing young man that is working through his struggles of depression, being bullied, love, loss, and relationships with his boyfriend and family. There are so many triumphs, too! Watching Darius grow and stand up for himself is, truly, inspirational. Teenage readers will identify with his struggles and, hopefully, find encouragement with his successes.

Darius the Great Deserves Better starts off a couple months after Darius the Great is Not Okay, Darius is working at his dream job at Rose City Teas, he has a boyfriend, and is on the soccer team at school.
This book is just so genuine. I feel like you could find all these people in real life, none of it feels forced. The relationships are well written, and any issues within the relationships are discussed and worked through.
This book fully holds up to Darius the Great is Not Okay, and Adib Khorram is now in my top 10 favourite authors.

Darius is a bit more deserving of something better. I loved the first book, because I love him, and that remains true for this new installment as well. However, the continuation of his story kind of felt like more of the same. So much tea. So much taarof explanation, when there was an opportunity here to maybe introduce some new terms for students instead. There was not much in the way of plot that could not have been considerably condensed, and this felt a bit like a stretch to make it into a second book.
All that said, I still love Darius. I loved him when he was okay, but I do believe he deserves a bit better, and I would certainly read a third book about him if it is written.

Quite a nice sequel to the original Darius the Great. Although the focus here isn't so much on his depression, as he's got the medicine and therapy routine properly adjusted now, mental health is still a part of the storyline, tied in with Darius' insecurities about dating the handsome Landon but finding he has certain feelings for his equally handsome friend and soccer teammate Chip. He's also got family issues, including his dying grandfather, his younger sister getting ethnically bullied, and how stress and financial strain are affecting his parents. And he can't always reach his best friend Sohrab in Iran when he needs a shoulder to lean on. There didn't seem to be as many Star Trek references this time around, but that's just fine; there were still enough to establish that part of his character if you hadn't read the first book. A sweet LGBT romance and a good book for showing how important it is to share your feelings and talk about difficult things with those you love, instead of keeping them hidden away where they can fester and cause problems.

Darius the Great Deserves Better is required reading. Khorram manages to do the impossible. Writing a sequel that surpasses its predecessor.

Darius the Great Deserves Better is an extraordinary--EXTRAORDINARY--sequel to Adib Khorram's Darius the Great is Not Okay.

I was surprised when I learned about this sequel because the end of Darius the Great is Not Okay left me emotional but fulfilled. However, Khorram does not disappoint readers with this new book.

Darius the Great Deserves Better is set a few months after the Kellner family's trip to Iran, and much has changed. Darius has a boyfriend, plays on the soccer team, has a better relationship with his father, stays in touch with his best friend Sorhab, and works as an intern at his favorite tea shop. Things are looking pretty great for our beloved character!

Unlike the first book, this one is less focused on a plot. Darius is just living his life: there are moments of tension, concern, and frustration, but there is also lots of connectivity, emotional support, and growth. Instead of learning one big, amazing lesson, we experience many smaller ones with Darius through his interactions with family and friends. The story has a natural and comfortable pace while leaving readers with heartfelt emotions.

This book was absolutely amazing. The first one was so good and fast paced that I couldn’t put it down and ended up finishing it in one go. Then this book was just as great and fast paced, keeping me reading through the whole book. I also read this in one night, simply because I couldn’t stop! The first book talked a lot about mental health issues, body image, and then finding your roots and the history and culture of your family as well as friendship. This book continued talking about all of those topics as well as more of dealing with bullying, specifically racist bullying. This also adds a romantic storyline, which I loved!! And I’m adding this other part to Darius’s story, the author included discussions of consent, which I don’t often see in books and was amazing to get to read through. Altogether this book was so great and I have started to recommend it to everyone. It has everything you could look for in a book!!

Darius the Great Deserves Better
All the stars


I loved it and I want more!!! Let me say that 4 books have made me cry in my life. The first book made me cry and this some did too. I love a book that makes me feel every emotion. I love Darius and his family. I love that this book really delves into depression and racism and homophobia. It’s great to see how much Darius has grown and how his relationship with Sohrab has continued. We get to watch Darius in his first relationship. He had joined the soccer team and he has made friends. I don’t want to give too many details but I will tell you I loved it and I’m ready for
More, so many more!

This novel was even better than the first one and I'm itching for a third installment in this series. After two books, I have deeply connected with Darius and all I want for him is happiness. My favorite part about these books is the depression representation. It is the most accurate portrayal of the mental illness that I have suffered that I have ever come across. It makes me feel for Darius and his father, who also suffers from depression, even more. I also had a lot of fun with the love triangle between three boys in this book. I really ship Darius with one of them and I'm hoping there's a third book so we can get all of the cute scenes between them. This book isn't plot heavy. It is very focused on Darius and his personal journey through depression, friendships, connecting to his culture, and his new found romantic relationships. Since I care so much for Darius, it didn't end up bothering me. This is a solid book although it isn't quite a five star read for me. I recommend it!