Darius the Great Deserves Better
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4.5 • 35 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In this companion to the award-winning Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Darius suddenly has it all: a boyfriend, an internship, a spot on the soccer team. It's everything he's ever wanted--but what if he deserves better?
Darius Kellner is having a bit of a year. Since his trip to Iran, a lot has changed. He's getting along with his dad, and his best friend Sohrab is only a Skype call away. Between his first boyfriend, Landon, varsity soccer practices, and an internship at his favorite tea shop, things are falling into place.
Then, of course, everything changes. Darius's grandmothers are in town for a long visit, and Darius can't tell whether they even like him. The internship is not going according to plan, Sohrab isn't answering Darius's calls, and Dad is far away on business. And Darius is sure he really likes Landon . . . but he's also been hanging out with Chip Cusumano, former bully and current soccer teammate--and well, maybe he's not so sure about anything after all.
Darius was just starting to feel okay, like he finally knew what it meant to be Darius Kellner. But maybe okay isn't good enough. Maybe Darius deserves better.
Customer Reviews
Brilliant sequel to a brilliant story
The first Darius book changed my life. This book was a perfect sequel to the first. Darius Deserves Better perfectly expanded upon the world Darius lives in and gives us a window to see into more of his life outside of Iran, and his experiences as not only queer but also as a queer person of color. I adored the way Khorram verbalized the feeling of being in a relationship for the first time and not being quiet able to communicate every emotion. Darius is an incredibly relatable protagonist and it’s nearly impossible to not root for him. The ending was amazing as-well, which is rare since i usually don’t like the endings of books. I highly recommend this novel to anyone and everyone. Lastly; I love that you can read this book without even having to read the first one, I feel as if you read deserves better before is not okay, you would be able to fill in the small gaps since this sequel does a good job of filling the reader in and since the plot line revolves around different themes.
Darius the Great is just ok
In the sequel to “Darius the Great is Not Okay,” we find Darius back from Iran and so much has changed. He is out to his family and at school. With an internship at his boyfriend’s dad’s tea shop and a position on the soccer team, everything seems to be going great. But when his dad is called away to work and his two grandmothers move in, Darius tried to balance work, soccer, family, and his boyfriend.
I loved the first book about Darius, set in Iran, the special (non-romantic) relationship with Sohrab, and a very interesting exploration of depression and mental illness. I didn’t like the second novel as much. I was struggling to connect with Darius as a character. He seemed to have everything going for him, but he wasn’t ever happy, and only thought of himself. His boyfriend would make dinner for his family, got him a job at a tea shop and wanted to take things to the next level, but Darius just seemed to whine the whole time. With the introduction of another potential love interest without any real connection who also was a former bully, I just didn’t understand. The specific references to Star Trek and tea were fun in the first book, but I found the constant details distracting. I feel this book, and the main character of Darius, was too safe. The author didn’t want to risk too much pain (maybe because this is based on him) so the novel is free of much drama, substance, interest. This isn’t a terrible book to spend a weekend with, but I was disappointed overall. ★★★☆☆ • Hardcover • Fiction - Young Adult, LGBT • Published by Dial Books on August 25, 2020. ◾︎