This tear-jerker will leave readers wanting to follow the next chapter in Darius’ life.Īfter surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself. Khorram’s debut novel is filled with insight into the lives of teens, weaving together the reality of living with mental illness while also dealing with identity and immigration politics. For the first time in a long time, Darius learns to love himself no matter what external forces attempt to squash his confidence.

Sohrab teaches Darius what friendship is really about: loyalty, honesty, and someone who has your back in a football (soccer) match. But all that changes when Darius meets Sohrab, a Bahá’í boy, in Yazd. When he arrives in Iran, learning to play the Persian card game Rook, socializing, and celebrating Nowruz with a family he had never properly met before is all overwhelming and leaves Darius wondering if he’ll ever truly belong anywhere. He’s mocked for his name and nerdy interests at Chapel Hill High School in Portland, Oregon, and doesn’t speak enough Farsi to communicate with his Iranian relatives either. Iranian on his mother’s side and white American on his father’s side, Darius never quite fits in. When Darius’ grandfather becomes terminally ill, Darius, along with his parents and younger sister, travels to Iran for the first time in his life. The often violent action flows logically from the plot.Īn absorbing read that won't let fans of the first downĭarius Kellner suffers from depression, bullying by high school jocks, and a father who seems to always be disappointed in him. Picking up only moments after the first book ends, this book features the same nonstop, breathless pace, adding new dimension to old characters and new plot twists that are hard to see coming. But it becomes clear there is only one way to go: back to school to destroy the enemy from within. Hiding out while Becky recovers, Ben tries to learn who is for real and who can be trusted, always looking for a path to safety. But these people are real, while the kids from his past were no more than clones of these originals. Ben finds a settlement outside the school grounds, but he is shocked to discover that it’s populated by people he already knows…or thought he knew. The hunt for them is on, and the clock is running against them. Ben has to find help before they’re discovered. In Variant (2011), Benton Fisher thought he lucked out when he was admitted to Maxfield Academy in New Mexico, and then even luckier when he escaped what turned out to be a virtual prison populated by robot clones, but…īen and Becky have fled into the forest, with Becky badly injured.

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