In this companion book to Darius the Great is Not Okay, Darius Kellner is in a much better place. He has a fantastic boyfriend, his dream internship, and a spot on the varsity soccer team. He’s even getting a handle on his depression and his relationships with his family and friends is better than ever. However, things soon take a turn.

His best friend Sohrab isn’t joining him on Skype as much, his grandfather is deathly ill, and his family’s financial problems are forcing his dad to take long business trips. Darius starts to doubt how okay he is with things. And while things are great, maybe that’s not good enough – maybe he deserves better?

I loved this book for so many reasons, the first being that Darius has really grown as a protagonist and is starting to come into himself and figure out his relationships. He’s still his quirky, aloof self, but he’s starting to be comfortable feeling vulnerable and standing up for what he believes is right. It’s normal to feel proud of a fictional character, right?

While it’s a companion novel, the book holds its own (it helps to have read the first book, but if you didn’t, things will still make sense). Khorram expertly navigates many challenging topics, and I hope we see more of Darius in the future.

 

written by Mrs. Hiltner

edited by Saanvi Gutta and Tryphena Pilli

 

Khorram, A. (2020). Darius the great deserves better. Dial Books.