Darius the Great is Not OKAY by Adib Khorram

As we greet new students at the start of the school year, I am reading a new YA novel called DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY by Adib Khorram which definitely makes me think about how difficult it can be to fit in, especially as a teen. Of course, this is especially true if, like Darius, you happen to be markedly different from classmates.  Darius calls himself a Fractured Persian, because his mother is from Iran, but his Dad is a white American. Darius is a frequent target for bullies at his school and from his own commentary it is possible to see that Darius struggles with social cues and with accepting his appearance since gaining some weight as a result of the anti-depressants he takes. The novel shares events as Darius and his family, including a much younger sister named Laleh, head to Tehran to be with his very ill grandfather. Once there, Darius experiences completely new aspects of his mother’s culture, plays soccer with other young men, including new friend Sohrab, and works at improving his relationship with his Dad. This is a story about learning to belong and coming of age to which readers will relate while also learning much about another place and religion. 

Khorram’s memorable debut received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal (for grades 8 and up). With an uplifting message, DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY also contains information on mental health resources like NAMI, ADAA, and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255).

Not Quite Not White by Sharmila Sen

NOT QUITE NOT WHITE by Sharmila Sen contains the reflections of an immigrant who grew up in Calcutta, India and came to America when she was twelve. In commenting about that experience, Sen references her subtitle, “losing and finding race in America,” saying “I will write about race as something once alien to my universe and later naturalized.” Her last chapter seems especially insightful. It is there, for example, that she comments, “we do not need to call the first forty-three presidents of the United States our white presidents or our male presidents or our Christian presidents because that is exactly what all presidents are supposed to be – white, male, Christian.  Only divergences need to be pointed out. A Catholic president. A Jewish President. A black president. A female president. They are a break from the norm. They require the armature of adjectives.”

From her perspective, Sen further forces readers to consider the language we use, saying, “Asian was a geographic term when I lived in Asia.  In the United States, I learned that Asian is a racial category.” Or citing “the quintessential American phrase my children have been taught by well-meaning teachers – stranger danger.”  She continues to comment about school textbooks’ description of the immigrant experience, asking: “should we also teach them [our children] that one day they too might be strangers in a strange land – pushed around the globe by forces of economics, politics, or nature?”

On a related note, our department is in the midst of reading Julie Lythcott-Haims’ memoir titled Real American and it would be so informative to hear these authors and others who write about race in a panel together. I wonder to what extent they would see parallels or whether they would agree with a colleague of ours who asserts that your personal paradigm makes you blind to the experience of others. If it is the latter, how do we find common understanding as a country? Do reading and discussing books like this help or hinder the process? Some of us felt that Lythcott-Haims had led such a privileged life and yet seemed so very angry.  Sen, at least, was better able to acknowledge and explain the anger she felt: “I have spent many decades carefully arranging my words, my gestures, my clothes, and my surroundings so that I do not appear threatening, unnatural, or ungrateful. … [Still] I am angry at myself for hushing my native-born son when he complains that a teacher systematically confuses the names of all the brown boys in class.” Much for all of us to reflect upon.

And, if you believe that you, too, may live in a bubble, try this “Bubble Quiz” that was published a few years ago by PBS.

Foundryside

FOUNDRYSIDE by Robert Jackson Bennett is the start of a fabulous sci-fi series by a master of the genre. Bennett has been recognized with numerous awards (Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel, an Edgar Award winner for Best Paperback Original, and a Philip K Dick Award Citation of Excellence) and many other short-list nominations. FOUNDRYSIDE is intended to be the first in a trilogy involving heroine Sancia Grado who has been sent to steal a powerful artifact in a world that uses coded commands and a revolutionary, magical technology to allow a type of consciousness for everyday items. The mix of sci-fi fantasy and mystery is especially appealing. 

The only potential drawback I see is the length (512 pages) and yet, for fans of sci-fi authors like Brandon Sanderson – who lavishly praises this new book – that is not a barrier at all. Nor is it a surprise that FOUNDRYSIDE received well-deserved starred reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly; the last summarizes FOUNDRYSIDE as “a crackling, wonderfully weird blend of science fiction, fantasy, heist adventure, and a pointed commentary on what it means to be human in a culture obsessed with technology, money, and power.” Wow! Start reading now!