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How It All Blew Up
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda goes to Italy in Arvin Ahmadi's newest incisive look at identity and what it means to find yourself by running away.
Eighteen-year-old Amir Azadi always knew coming out to his Muslim family would be messy--he just didn't think it would end in an airport interrogation room. But when faced with a failed relationship, bullies, and blackmail, running away to Rome is his only option. Right?
Soon, late nights with new friends and dates in the Sistine Chapel start to feel like second nature... until his old life comes knocking on his door. Now, Amir has to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth to a U.S. Customs officer, or risk losing his hard-won freedom.
At turns uplifting and devastating, How It All Blew Up is Arvin Ahmadi's most powerful novel yet, a celebration of how life's most painful moments can live alongside the riotous, life-changing joys of discovering who you are.
Eighteen-year-old Amir Azadi always knew coming out to his Muslim family would be messy--he just didn't think it would end in an airport interrogation room. But when faced with a failed relationship, bullies, and blackmail, running away to Rome is his only option. Right?
Soon, late nights with new friends and dates in the Sistine Chapel start to feel like second nature... until his old life comes knocking on his door. Now, Amir has to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth to a U.S. Customs officer, or risk losing his hard-won freedom.
At turns uplifting and devastating, How It All Blew Up is Arvin Ahmadi's most powerful novel yet, a celebration of how life's most painful moments can live alongside the riotous, life-changing joys of discovering who you are.
271 pages, Hardcover
First published September 22, 2020
About the author
Arvin Ahmadi
5 books587 followersArvin Ahmadi is the author of Down and Across, Girl Gone Viral, and How It All Blew Up. He graduated from Columbia University and worked in the tech industry prior to becoming a full-time writer. When he's not reading or writing books, he can be found watching late-night talk show interviews and editing Wikipedia pages. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,011 reviews
September 28, 2020
Please read this before you read the other reviews.
I'm a Brazilian reader who has followed Arvin Ahmadi on social media for about some years. I first heard about How It All Blew Up when he announced the book in 2019 as “my most personal book yet”.
The book
The premise is striking: Amir Azadi is Iranian, gay and does not feel comfortable with his conservative parents. When something terrible happens, he decides to run away from home — and, without thinking about the consequences, ends up in Rome. In this book, we followed his adventure in Italy interspersed with an interrogation in an airport interrogation room.
This book is everything I needed and more. This is a story about not feeling free to be yourself until you have a unique chance to explore your sexuality and have new experiences without fear. It is a book that touches on delicate subjects from the perspective of a protagonist who is still very afraid to open up to other people. After all, what if they hate you? What if nobody understands it?
Arvin Ahmadi does a fantastic job of touching on issues that queer people go through. The fear of being judged by the family. The fear of never being loved again. The fear of rejection. The fear of being open with the LGBTQ+ community itself. All this goes through the character's head as he lives a unique adventure in Rome.
The controversy
How It All Blew Up was sold as a book about a gay Muslim boy and there were many negative comments because the character does not practice his faith or does not speak of it repeatedly during the book. About this, the author said:
“So many queer kids growing up in Muslim families feel that they don't get to own those labels, gay and Muslim and Iranian and Middle Eastern. They see them as antithetical, as contradictions. And so it was especially important for this book to label it as such, even if you don't see the day to day practices. Even if you don't see a lot of 'Muslimness' on the page. I do think it's a valid criticism - 'I would have loved to see more of the religion on the page' - but I think actively complaining that it isn't a 'Muslim book' is harmful, especially to people who've been told, explicitly and implicitly, their whole lives that they can’t be gay and Muslim.[...]"
I am not a Muslim, but I know what it is like to have a religion and not to practice it. To have religion and to think your life is wrong, that you are broken in some way. So, think more carefully before continuing with the cancel culture about someone else's personal experience.
The perfect book?
I don't think How It All Blew Up is the perfect book. In terms of narrative, the interrogation room scenes bothered me a little, because sometimes the lines didn't seem natural. I think the narration could have been done differently in these moments.
Still, I don't think that it has in any way hindered the story the author wanted to tell. Amir's trajectory is important, valid, and deserves all possible prominence. As Angie Thomas said, the book is "authentic, hilarious, and heart-wrenching all at once." I agree with that.
I read reviews that said that the character didn't focus on "what mattered the most" (wasn't what he was experiencing the most important thing? The opportunity to be who he was for the first time? Should he have returned to the family that would not welcome him?) or that the friends he makes are “toxic and are not a good example” (weren't the people who allowed him to open up for the first time a good example? Can't they be imperfect too? Can't they be people who still have something to learn?), and I obviously disagree. Of course, this is my opinion, you may disagree, but be careful with reviews that invalidate personal experiences.
Some quotes
The book has memorable and well-written passages, so I think it's worth sharing some of them here.
“It’s hard enough tiptoeing around your entire life with a secret like that. It’s draining, constantly feeling that you might not be safe around your own family.”
“[...] if I told them I was gay, I would cease to be their son. I’d become a stranger they had wasted their time raising.”
“But when you’re gay— your family isn’t different like you anymore. They don’t understand. And worst of all, they might hate you for it. The family you were born into, the people who are supposed to love you no matter what, might hate you.”
Final thoughts
I hope you support the author and give this book a chance. How It All Blew Up has become one of my favorites of the year and I think it can become yours too. I read this book in two days and I can't wait to reread it.
TW: Homophobia, racism, blackmail.
I'm a Brazilian reader who has followed Arvin Ahmadi on social media for about some years. I first heard about How It All Blew Up when he announced the book in 2019 as “my most personal book yet”.
The book
The premise is striking: Amir Azadi is Iranian, gay and does not feel comfortable with his conservative parents. When something terrible happens, he decides to run away from home — and, without thinking about the consequences, ends up in Rome. In this book, we followed his adventure in Italy interspersed with an interrogation in an airport interrogation room.
This book is everything I needed and more. This is a story about not feeling free to be yourself until you have a unique chance to explore your sexuality and have new experiences without fear. It is a book that touches on delicate subjects from the perspective of a protagonist who is still very afraid to open up to other people. After all, what if they hate you? What if nobody understands it?
Arvin Ahmadi does a fantastic job of touching on issues that queer people go through. The fear of being judged by the family. The fear of never being loved again. The fear of rejection. The fear of being open with the LGBTQ+ community itself. All this goes through the character's head as he lives a unique adventure in Rome.
The controversy
How It All Blew Up was sold as a book about a gay Muslim boy and there were many negative comments because the character does not practice his faith or does not speak of it repeatedly during the book. About this, the author said:
“So many queer kids growing up in Muslim families feel that they don't get to own those labels, gay and Muslim and Iranian and Middle Eastern. They see them as antithetical, as contradictions. And so it was especially important for this book to label it as such, even if you don't see the day to day practices. Even if you don't see a lot of 'Muslimness' on the page. I do think it's a valid criticism - 'I would have loved to see more of the religion on the page' - but I think actively complaining that it isn't a 'Muslim book' is harmful, especially to people who've been told, explicitly and implicitly, their whole lives that they can’t be gay and Muslim.[...]"
I am not a Muslim, but I know what it is like to have a religion and not to practice it. To have religion and to think your life is wrong, that you are broken in some way. So, think more carefully before continuing with the cancel culture about someone else's personal experience.
The perfect book?
I don't think How It All Blew Up is the perfect book. In terms of narrative, the interrogation room scenes bothered me a little, because sometimes the lines didn't seem natural. I think the narration could have been done differently in these moments.
Still, I don't think that it has in any way hindered the story the author wanted to tell. Amir's trajectory is important, valid, and deserves all possible prominence. As Angie Thomas said, the book is "authentic, hilarious, and heart-wrenching all at once." I agree with that.
I read reviews that said that the character didn't focus on "what mattered the most" (wasn't what he was experiencing the most important thing? The opportunity to be who he was for the first time? Should he have returned to the family that would not welcome him?) or that the friends he makes are “toxic and are not a good example” (weren't the people who allowed him to open up for the first time a good example? Can't they be imperfect too? Can't they be people who still have something to learn?), and I obviously disagree. Of course, this is my opinion, you may disagree, but be careful with reviews that invalidate personal experiences.
Some quotes
The book has memorable and well-written passages, so I think it's worth sharing some of them here.
“It’s hard enough tiptoeing around your entire life with a secret like that. It’s draining, constantly feeling that you might not be safe around your own family.”
“[...] if I told them I was gay, I would cease to be their son. I’d become a stranger they had wasted their time raising.”
“But when you’re gay— your family isn’t different like you anymore. They don’t understand. And worst of all, they might hate you for it. The family you were born into, the people who are supposed to love you no matter what, might hate you.”
Final thoughts
I hope you support the author and give this book a chance. How It All Blew Up has become one of my favorites of the year and I think it can become yours too. I read this book in two days and I can't wait to reread it.
TW: Homophobia, racism, blackmail.
May 9, 2021
So this is required reading, just so everyone is aware.
There are few things I love more than being immediately pulled into a story, one of those just happens to be having a gut feeling a book is five star worthy on the first page. There was never a moment in this book that I didn't love Amir. I also want to give this book credit for managing to make me appreciate it as much as I did when it has one of the tropes I hate the most; a queer character being blackmailed as part of a coming out narrative. That said I think that How It All Blew up handles that trope in the most interesting possible way. It also was refreshing in that this book really centered Amir and his family and not Amir and a love interest. It's not to say that there aren't romantic aspects to the book, but it is very clearly not the focus and seeing Amir come to terms with himself and come to terms with his family was all very much something that I think is needed, particularly in Young Adult fiction.
The cast of characters that Amir finds in Italy were among some of my favorite supporting casts I've read, and I will also say that messy heart did find a lot of joy in reading about those exploits.
I don't truly have any negatives to say about this book, other than I do wish that it was longer. Given the scope and the framing device I can see why that's not the case. I understand why the story is what it is and I think that as far as slice of life contemporaries sets a new gold standard. Truly can't recommend this book more highly; it will feed your soul.
There are few things I love more than being immediately pulled into a story, one of those just happens to be having a gut feeling a book is five star worthy on the first page. There was never a moment in this book that I didn't love Amir. I also want to give this book credit for managing to make me appreciate it as much as I did when it has one of the tropes I hate the most; a queer character being blackmailed as part of a coming out narrative. That said I think that How It All Blew up handles that trope in the most interesting possible way. It also was refreshing in that this book really centered Amir and his family and not Amir and a love interest. It's not to say that there aren't romantic aspects to the book, but it is very clearly not the focus and seeing Amir come to terms with himself and come to terms with his family was all very much something that I think is needed, particularly in Young Adult fiction.
The cast of characters that Amir finds in Italy were among some of my favorite supporting casts I've read, and I will also say that messy heart did find a lot of joy in reading about those exploits.
I don't truly have any negatives to say about this book, other than I do wish that it was longer. Given the scope and the framing device I can see why that's not the case. I understand why the story is what it is and I think that as far as slice of life contemporaries sets a new gold standard. Truly can't recommend this book more highly; it will feed your soul.
September 29, 2020
I really wanted to like this book yet sadly I came out of this thinking that this is one of my least favourite books I've ever read. My first major issue is that this is sold as a gay Muslim YA book. However, Islam plays no part in this story. The character openly says that he and his family are not religious at all yet somehow this is a Muslim book. This is an issue across all of publishing; calling books Muslim YA books when in fact it's just culture that plays a part in the story. Aside from this, the story itself was just all over the place. None of it made any sense and certain aspects were glossed over that shouldn't have been. This book also featured some of the cringiest dialogues I've ever read in my life and I even had to put the book down multiple times in the middle of a scene because it was that bad. I wish this book had been good but instead, it was a major disappointment.
{full review}
I feel like I need to clarify and expand my review of this book. I was so excited to read it because I wanted to see good queer Muslim rep in YA because it is something that we never get to read about. However, I was incredibly disappointed when the religion played no part in the story. The main character is asked at one point if his family are religious and he says no. Therefore, I have a problem with calling this a Muslim YA book. Yes, they are Iranian and they look Muslim. But if the characters say themselves they don't identify as Muslim (and none of their practices and mannerisms show that they are Muslim), then I don't believe they are. I really wish the author had used this book to talk more in depth about Islam and sexuality because it would have made for a more interesting story. Yes, it is important to have more Muslim rep in YA but it needs to actually have Muslim rep. Having an Iranian family, who get detained at the airport, does not make the book Muslim. Being born into a Muslim culture is completely different to identifying as Muslim and I think that distinction needs to be made.
On top of that, I just felt as if the book itself was not great. The story seemed to be all over the place, all of the characters were underdeveloped and the writing in some parts wasn't good. One particular scene (involving a nipple) made me feel sick and slightly ruined the book even more from me. Aside from the issue of it being wrongly labelled as a Muslim YA book, the story itself needs a lot of improvement.
{full review}
I feel like I need to clarify and expand my review of this book. I was so excited to read it because I wanted to see good queer Muslim rep in YA because it is something that we never get to read about. However, I was incredibly disappointed when the religion played no part in the story. The main character is asked at one point if his family are religious and he says no. Therefore, I have a problem with calling this a Muslim YA book. Yes, they are Iranian and they look Muslim. But if the characters say themselves they don't identify as Muslim (and none of their practices and mannerisms show that they are Muslim), then I don't believe they are. I really wish the author had used this book to talk more in depth about Islam and sexuality because it would have made for a more interesting story. Yes, it is important to have more Muslim rep in YA but it needs to actually have Muslim rep. Having an Iranian family, who get detained at the airport, does not make the book Muslim. Being born into a Muslim culture is completely different to identifying as Muslim and I think that distinction needs to be made.
On top of that, I just felt as if the book itself was not great. The story seemed to be all over the place, all of the characters were underdeveloped and the writing in some parts wasn't good. One particular scene (involving a nipple) made me feel sick and slightly ruined the book even more from me. Aside from the issue of it being wrongly labelled as a Muslim YA book, the story itself needs a lot of improvement.
August 27, 2021
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DISCLAIMER: having just come across a 5-star review that says negative reviews should not remark on how this book doesn't really explore Amir's faith and/or heritage I felt the need to better articulate my thoughts about this book:
1) I'm not saying this book doesn't have great Muslim rep because I found it unbelievable that a Muslim mc wouldn't be thinking about his faith/heritage 24/7 or because the mc is a non-practicing Muslim
2) I do think that this book could have delved deeper into Amir's relationship to his faith/heritage. Throughout the course of this novel Amir states that being gay is incompatible with being Muslim...and that's it. He merely reiterates 'Muslims don't like gay people'...that strikes me (I am being entirely subjective) as somewhat simplistic.
3) the novel opens with his family being detained at an airport. The author states that he wanted to 'subvert' this type of situation but I am not sure he succeeded. Scenes from this 'interrogation' are interspersed throughout the novel, and it felt extremely gimmicky and insensitive (treating a serious situation in a very superficial and unconvincing way).
4) I'm not a Muslim so I recommend you read reviews from Muslim users.If you are thinking of reading this book I suggest you check out more positive reviews.
What I can comment on however is Ahmadi's depiction of Italy and Italians (yes, I'm Italian)...which truly irritated me.
Maybe non-Italian readers will be able to overlook the stereotypes in this novel...personally I'm tired of books that portray Italy as a quirky land of Vespas and pasta. Fun fact: Italians don't just eat pizza and pasta (I know, mind-blowing). Also, why do we always get this quaint image of Italian women hanging their laundry?
The Italian characters left much to be desired. There is this Italian couple (the only two Italian guys who actually make more than two or three appearances), possibly in their late twenties, and they are not monogamous. Cool for them, right? Except that they are actually deeply unhappy and they Then we have a cute Italian guy from Puglia who plays a rather irrelevant role (I guess he's there so we can have a kiss scene in the Sistine Chapel?).
Another Italian character is a guy who works at a bar/restaurant and speaks in a "It's-a Me, Mario" accent (his supposed all-caps texts to his daughter? Ridiculous).
The story is very rushed. Amir is blackmailed, skips his graduation day, and flies to Rome. Here he manages to get an apartment, even if he's never been to Rome before nor does he speak Italian. Lucky for him he comes across a group of 'friends': some are American, some Italian, most are gay. They invite him out, make him feel more comfortable with his sexuality. He manages to make some 'illegal' money by writing Wiki articles, he avoids his parents' phone calls, and he tries not think about returning to America. Although he's eighteen, he acts like a young teen, which made some of his encounters with his new 'friends' a bit problematic. More disappointing still is the fact that none of these gay couples are actually happy (as most of them seem to resent their partner and/or their friends). What kind of message are the readers supposed to get? Amir has 'fun' sort of. He drinks out and goes to parties. But then we 'realise' that they are either cruel, uncaring, unforgiving, and/or liars. While a certain positive review calls my review out on this, saying that characters should be allowed to be imperfect, I think they missed the point I was trying to make. I'm all for flawed characters but they have to be somewhat realistic. The characters here don't 'change' or 'learn' from their mistakes. They are and remain one-dimensional (we have the closeted jock, the smart younger sister, the 'motherly' mother, the distant father).
I had the impression that Ahmadi skipped a lot of scenes, so that we had these jumpy transitions in which 'time passed' and 'stuff happened'. The ending felt anticlimactic, angsty for the sake of being angsty (of course we have to have a big fight between our 'friends'). The interrogation scene predictably amounted to nothing.
The writing, the characterisation, the way Italy is portrayed, all leave a lot to be desired (once again: this is my personal opinion).
Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads
DISCLAIMER: having just come across a 5-star review that says negative reviews should not remark on how this book doesn't really explore Amir's faith and/or heritage I felt the need to better articulate my thoughts about this book:
1) I'm not saying this book doesn't have great Muslim rep because I found it unbelievable that a Muslim mc wouldn't be thinking about his faith/heritage 24/7 or because the mc is a non-practicing Muslim
2) I do think that this book could have delved deeper into Amir's relationship to his faith/heritage. Throughout the course of this novel Amir states that being gay is incompatible with being Muslim...and that's it. He merely reiterates 'Muslims don't like gay people'...that strikes me (I am being entirely subjective) as somewhat simplistic.
3) the novel opens with his family being detained at an airport. The author states that he wanted to 'subvert' this type of situation but I am not sure he succeeded. Scenes from this 'interrogation' are interspersed throughout the novel, and it felt extremely gimmicky and insensitive (treating a serious situation in a very superficial and unconvincing way).
4) I'm not a Muslim so I recommend you read reviews from Muslim users.If you are thinking of reading this book I suggest you check out more positive reviews.
What I can comment on however is Ahmadi's depiction of Italy and Italians (yes, I'm Italian)...which truly irritated me.
Maybe non-Italian readers will be able to overlook the stereotypes in this novel...personally I'm tired of books that portray Italy as a quirky land of Vespas and pasta. Fun fact: Italians don't just eat pizza and pasta (I know, mind-blowing). Also, why do we always get this quaint image of Italian women hanging their laundry?
The Italian characters left much to be desired. There is this Italian couple (the only two Italian guys who actually make more than two or three appearances), possibly in their late twenties, and they are not monogamous. Cool for them, right? Except that they are actually deeply unhappy and they Then we have a cute Italian guy from Puglia who plays a rather irrelevant role (I guess he's there so we can have a kiss scene in the Sistine Chapel?).
Another Italian character is a guy who works at a bar/restaurant and speaks in a "It's-a Me, Mario" accent (his supposed all-caps texts to his daughter? Ridiculous).
The story is very rushed. Amir is blackmailed, skips his graduation day, and flies to Rome. Here he manages to get an apartment, even if he's never been to Rome before nor does he speak Italian. Lucky for him he comes across a group of 'friends': some are American, some Italian, most are gay. They invite him out, make him feel more comfortable with his sexuality. He manages to make some 'illegal' money by writing Wiki articles, he avoids his parents' phone calls, and he tries not think about returning to America. Although he's eighteen, he acts like a young teen, which made some of his encounters with his new 'friends' a bit problematic. More disappointing still is the fact that none of these gay couples are actually happy (as most of them seem to resent their partner and/or their friends). What kind of message are the readers supposed to get? Amir has 'fun' sort of. He drinks out and goes to parties. But then we 'realise' that they are either cruel, uncaring, unforgiving, and/or liars. While a certain positive review calls my review out on this, saying that characters should be allowed to be imperfect, I think they missed the point I was trying to make. I'm all for flawed characters but they have to be somewhat realistic. The characters here don't 'change' or 'learn' from their mistakes. They are and remain one-dimensional (we have the closeted jock, the smart younger sister, the 'motherly' mother, the distant father).
I had the impression that Ahmadi skipped a lot of scenes, so that we had these jumpy transitions in which 'time passed' and 'stuff happened'. The ending felt anticlimactic, angsty for the sake of being angsty (of course we have to have a big fight between our 'friends'). The interrogation scene predictably amounted to nothing.
The writing, the characterisation, the way Italy is portrayed, all leave a lot to be desired (once again: this is my personal opinion).
Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads
August 5, 2020
I was keeping a scoreboard — it’s hard to explain, but the points were never in my favor. They just weren’t. Then I came to Rome, and the points started adding up, you know? They were finally in my favor, and I felt like I was winning.
On my blog.
Rep: Iranian American gay mc, Iranian American side characters, gay side characters, bi side character
CWs: racial profiling, homophobic language, threatened outing
Galley provided by publisher
How It All Blew Up is a book that reminded me very much of classic gay literature, although obviously modern and contemporary. Which was a nice callback, regardless of how intentional it is.
The story follows Amir, who runs away from home after being threatened with outing. He ends up in Italy where he meets a group of gay men and ends up being pulled into a world of parties and dates in the Sistine Chapel.
The narrative of the book is split so that this is a story being told by Amir and his family, while being questioned by US Customs Officers. It gives it a kind of “this is how we got here” vibe, which I don’t think I’ve read a whole lot of books like, really. If I’ve seen it anywhere, it tends to be in TV, but it worked well here.
Like I said before, this book reminded me a lot of gay classics, specifically that feel of finding a gay found family (you know, the sort that shows up in books like The Charioteer). And there’s something about that link, between then and now, that makes this book even better than it already was.
That’s not to say there weren’t times I was a little like …what about it. Not in a bad way, really, but just enough to make me stop and think. Most of that was down to the fact that there is a moment where the 18-year old main character has sex with a man 10 years older than he is (and it involves cheating). I had mixed feelings about it because on the one hand, it’s not something I was particularly comfortable with, with that age gap, but on the other, I actually liked how this book was a little messy in that sense. The main character wasn’t perfect, and the plot involved him screwing up a fair few times, but I liked that about it. I just didn’t like the particular age gap involved.
And then there were the pop culture references which, honestly, seemed to be all over the place with what the main character did and didn’t know, and doubly so with some of what the side characters recognised or not. But then again, I just really hate pop culture references of any sort in books.
Overall, though, I really enjoyed the book, and it’s definitely one I would recommend.
May 25, 2020
This was my most anticipated novel of the year and it certainly did not disappoint. Wow.
May 23, 2020
Wow, I devoured this in no time. This is such a heartfelt story about being gay and Iranian, and I also love the way both of Arvin Ahmadi’s books I’ve read have captured the way you might start hanging out with people all the time but really only know them in that particular context.
August 11, 2020
2.5☆ A Story about Acceptance.
How It All Blew Up gave me mixed feelings, it was an easy and quick read but for me it just lacked depth.
The blurb had so much promise and I was really looking forward to reading this book.
The story is about Amir a 18yr old who is being blackmailed for being gay.
He is petrified of being exposed to his Muslim family, that he feels has no other choice but to run away the day of his high school graduation.
He runs away to Italy where he meets a group of friends that are also Gay. They help make him feel welcome and give him the confidence to be free and open to be who he really is. Even if he is living a lie and they don't always have his best interest at heart.
The story goes back and forth between interview interrogations at the airport after an incident on the plane which led to Amir's family finding him and bringing him home.
I have to say there was a fair amount of build up to the plane incident which when it came to the reveal felt lack luster and a little disappointing.
However I did like the interview styles and how each snippet of interview moved the story along.
How It All Blew Up is a story about acceptance, openly coming out as being Gay, prejudice, family and learning to love.
The characters are complex and not all entirely likeable, or relatable. The only character I did warm to was Amir's younger Sister.
The plot had potential, but I just wanted more, there was so much missed opportunity to develop the story further.
Overall an ok read, if you enjoy LGBTQIA & YA books then you may want to give this one a try!
Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
How It All Blew Up gave me mixed feelings, it was an easy and quick read but for me it just lacked depth.
The blurb had so much promise and I was really looking forward to reading this book.
The story is about Amir a 18yr old who is being blackmailed for being gay.
He is petrified of being exposed to his Muslim family, that he feels has no other choice but to run away the day of his high school graduation.
He runs away to Italy where he meets a group of friends that are also Gay. They help make him feel welcome and give him the confidence to be free and open to be who he really is. Even if he is living a lie and they don't always have his best interest at heart.
The story goes back and forth between interview interrogations at the airport after an incident on the plane which led to Amir's family finding him and bringing him home.
I have to say there was a fair amount of build up to the plane incident which when it came to the reveal felt lack luster and a little disappointing.
However I did like the interview styles and how each snippet of interview moved the story along.
How It All Blew Up is a story about acceptance, openly coming out as being Gay, prejudice, family and learning to love.
The characters are complex and not all entirely likeable, or relatable. The only character I did warm to was Amir's younger Sister.
The plot had potential, but I just wanted more, there was so much missed opportunity to develop the story further.
Overall an ok read, if you enjoy LGBTQIA & YA books then you may want to give this one a try!
Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
September 7, 2020
Thank you to PenguinTeen and BookishFirst for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I went into this book thinking it was a book representing queer Muslim’s in YA. I did not get that, at all during this short, but fast paced book. I think this book could have been incredible and unique considering it is written as a kind of count down to this huge scene in the book, and we have present tense moments where the main characters family is being detained at an airport. It just felt very underdeveloped, I didn’t care much for the main character and I don’t really get how this can be labeled as a Muslim book, when that was not at all a main point, or even a side point in this book.
Honestly, it felt very rushed. Amir, our main character, has not come out to anyone that he is gay and has a secret relationship with a boy at his high school. Some bullies at his school find out and blackmail him, he gets so scared he skips his graduation and flies to Rome. This part seems a little unbelievable. Amir flies to a whole different country, somehow gets an apartment, and gets in with a group that makes him feel welcome with his sexuality. I mean, maybe that could happen, but in my eyes that just doesn’t. Another part of this, is that like I said before it is so rushed. I feel like we got no insight into his relationship with his first boyfriend besides about two pages. In Rome, we see a lot of characters, but half of them we only see for a chapter, so I was confused why they were even included. I honestly didn’t even feel for Amir, like I don’t even know what I thought of him. Not to mention, my biggest disappointment was that ending. We know from the beginning that there is a fight on a plane between Amir and his family and now they are being interrogated. So, I am thinking it is going to be this huge blowout, and it just wasn’t. I honestly feel like nothing was resolved, like I just don’t get the point of this book. I just wanted more, more of everything.
I went into this book thinking it was a book representing queer Muslim’s in YA. I did not get that, at all during this short, but fast paced book. I think this book could have been incredible and unique considering it is written as a kind of count down to this huge scene in the book, and we have present tense moments where the main characters family is being detained at an airport. It just felt very underdeveloped, I didn’t care much for the main character and I don’t really get how this can be labeled as a Muslim book, when that was not at all a main point, or even a side point in this book.
Honestly, it felt very rushed. Amir, our main character, has not come out to anyone that he is gay and has a secret relationship with a boy at his high school. Some bullies at his school find out and blackmail him, he gets so scared he skips his graduation and flies to Rome. This part seems a little unbelievable. Amir flies to a whole different country, somehow gets an apartment, and gets in with a group that makes him feel welcome with his sexuality. I mean, maybe that could happen, but in my eyes that just doesn’t. Another part of this, is that like I said before it is so rushed. I feel like we got no insight into his relationship with his first boyfriend besides about two pages. In Rome, we see a lot of characters, but half of them we only see for a chapter, so I was confused why they were even included. I honestly didn’t even feel for Amir, like I don’t even know what I thought of him. Not to mention, my biggest disappointment was that ending. We know from the beginning that there is a fight on a plane between Amir and his family and now they are being interrogated. So, I am thinking it is going to be this huge blowout, and it just wasn’t. I honestly feel like nothing was resolved, like I just don’t get the point of this book. I just wanted more, more of everything.
July 31, 2020
How It All Blew Up was a quick and entertaining read. I really enjoyed a little journey into Italy with Amir, sure it was full of cliche's and a little far fetched, but taking it with a pinch of salt it was a fun book that I couldn't put down. I'd give it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because it was on the higher side of the 3.5.
Amir was one of those strange characters, I feel that I still don't know much about him outside of his sexuality, yet he was immediately likeable. The unique little friendship group he finds himself in was something I've not really seen in a YA book before, and I think that's probably what really had me hooked. Surrounded by adults who are all much more settled in their own skin, Amir gradually discovers it's ok to be yourself and if your own family won't accept that, then there's a new kind of family out there waiting to be discovered.
The setting was what made the novel for me, taking me on probably the best holiday I can hope for this year. Little cafes and piazza's, the architecture of a city that is steeped in history. Cold wine, hot pizza and picnics in the park. Sign me up for it all. Ahmadi's writing was super easy to read, and definitely made me feel as though I was in Italy. 100% recommend reading this one on a hot, sunny day in a park, garden or at the beach!
I quite liked the way Amir's family had their own voices interjected into the story, via the passages at the airport. I felt for him of course, feeling as though he wouldn't be accepted, but I also sympathised with them, given that he never really gave them chance. I was pretty satisfied by the end of the book and was left with that glowy feeling that any good contemporary leaves you with.
All in all the only confusing moment was that nipple story. I still don't know if it was supposed to be tongue in cheek, but it was pretty odd! Otherwise, a lovely little summery read!
Amir was one of those strange characters, I feel that I still don't know much about him outside of his sexuality, yet he was immediately likeable. The unique little friendship group he finds himself in was something I've not really seen in a YA book before, and I think that's probably what really had me hooked. Surrounded by adults who are all much more settled in their own skin, Amir gradually discovers it's ok to be yourself and if your own family won't accept that, then there's a new kind of family out there waiting to be discovered.
The setting was what made the novel for me, taking me on probably the best holiday I can hope for this year. Little cafes and piazza's, the architecture of a city that is steeped in history. Cold wine, hot pizza and picnics in the park. Sign me up for it all. Ahmadi's writing was super easy to read, and definitely made me feel as though I was in Italy. 100% recommend reading this one on a hot, sunny day in a park, garden or at the beach!
I quite liked the way Amir's family had their own voices interjected into the story, via the passages at the airport. I felt for him of course, feeling as though he wouldn't be accepted, but I also sympathised with them, given that he never really gave them chance. I was pretty satisfied by the end of the book and was left with that glowy feeling that any good contemporary leaves you with.
All in all the only confusing moment was that nipple story. I still don't know if it was supposed to be tongue in cheek, but it was pretty odd! Otherwise, a lovely little summery read!
January 18, 2020
A story that comes from a place of bravery, honesty, vulnerability, and hope. I can't wait for everyone to meet Amir!
September 18, 2020
4 stars!
Amir Azadi knows a few things: he's gay; he's muslim; coming out to his family will be hard. When someone at his school blackmails him into either giving him money or outing him, Amir loses the opportunity to have his carefully planned out coming out conversation with his parents.
In the midst of trying to figure out what how to deal with this blackmail situation, Amir ends up in Rome, living the summer of his life.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I read How It All Blew Up all in one sitting yesterday and really enjoyed it. It is a fast paced, easy read with lots of heart warming and funny moments. I believe this is definitely a story about a new adult coming to terms with who he is and figuring out that he is worth it all on his own accord without needing to change anything.
The way this was written as an interrogation and having Amir and his family tell the story about how they ended up detained at an airport Customs office is so intriguing to me and I loved seeing everyone explain how things came to be and how they were feeling about it.
I definitely think this is an uplifting read that will put a smile on your face by the end of it.
Amir Azadi knows a few things: he's gay; he's muslim; coming out to his family will be hard. When someone at his school blackmails him into either giving him money or outing him, Amir loses the opportunity to have his carefully planned out coming out conversation with his parents.
In the midst of trying to figure out what how to deal with this blackmail situation, Amir ends up in Rome, living the summer of his life.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I read How It All Blew Up all in one sitting yesterday and really enjoyed it. It is a fast paced, easy read with lots of heart warming and funny moments. I believe this is definitely a story about a new adult coming to terms with who he is and figuring out that he is worth it all on his own accord without needing to change anything.
The way this was written as an interrogation and having Amir and his family tell the story about how they ended up detained at an airport Customs office is so intriguing to me and I loved seeing everyone explain how things came to be and how they were feeling about it.
I definitely think this is an uplifting read that will put a smile on your face by the end of it.
September 12, 2020
2.5 stars
This YA fiction read was disappointing for me. I had enjoyed a previous book by this author and when I read the synopsis for this one I thought it sounded interesting. While the potential for a good story was here, the execution was a misfire in my opinion. At 250+ pages there still managed to be a lack of proper development with the character and plot and it ended up feeling like I read a novella or even a short story. Just not a satisfying read.
Amir Azadi is a senior in high school and hasn't told his family he is gay. A fellow student threatens to out Amir unless he hands over a sizable amount of cash. Amir freaks out and decides not only to skip town, but the country as well, and books a flight to Italy. The book opens up with Amir having spent a month in Rome and now he is in an interrogation room after getting into a fight with his family on an airplane. The story alternates between the questioning of Amir and his family members by the authorities and everything that happened while Amir was in Italy.
It's obvious there were good intentions here but I feel like I was only allowed glimpses into what the author was hoping to accomplish with the story rather than the full scope. It would have helped a great deal if there was more plot and character development before Amir left for Italy. Amir should have been a character I felt emotionally invested in but he fell flat. Actually, he kinda irritated me in regards to how he treated another character. Very surprised the author chose not to wrap up what I considered a big loose end.
I did like hearing the perspectives of Amir's parents and sister during the interrogation scenes. But their scenes were pretty short and even though the book is over 250 pages it's a quick read even with the longer Italy chapters. By the time I finished I was left thinking there was so much untapped potential. The core of a good story was here, but it needed some fine tuning.
I received a free copy of this book from BookishFirst and the publisher but was not obligated to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
This YA fiction read was disappointing for me. I had enjoyed a previous book by this author and when I read the synopsis for this one I thought it sounded interesting. While the potential for a good story was here, the execution was a misfire in my opinion. At 250+ pages there still managed to be a lack of proper development with the character and plot and it ended up feeling like I read a novella or even a short story. Just not a satisfying read.
Amir Azadi is a senior in high school and hasn't told his family he is gay. A fellow student threatens to out Amir unless he hands over a sizable amount of cash. Amir freaks out and decides not only to skip town, but the country as well, and books a flight to Italy. The book opens up with Amir having spent a month in Rome and now he is in an interrogation room after getting into a fight with his family on an airplane. The story alternates between the questioning of Amir and his family members by the authorities and everything that happened while Amir was in Italy.
It's obvious there were good intentions here but I feel like I was only allowed glimpses into what the author was hoping to accomplish with the story rather than the full scope. It would have helped a great deal if there was more plot and character development before Amir left for Italy. Amir should have been a character I felt emotionally invested in but he fell flat. Actually, he kinda irritated me in regards to how he treated another character. Very surprised the author chose not to wrap up what I considered a big loose end.
I did like hearing the perspectives of Amir's parents and sister during the interrogation scenes. But their scenes were pretty short and even though the book is over 250 pages it's a quick read even with the longer Italy chapters. By the time I finished I was left thinking there was so much untapped potential. The core of a good story was here, but it needed some fine tuning.
I received a free copy of this book from BookishFirst and the publisher but was not obligated to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
October 13, 2020
This started out around 3-4 stars, but then quickly plummeted. The fast pace of the first quarter was appreciated, but the rest of the book dragged for me. The writing is mediocre at best, and the entire cast of characters is forgettable. It was so hard keeping track of who was who; they just blurred together. This book dehumanizes certain characters because they’re attractive, and I hate when that happens. Also, I have major problems with the presentation of a barely legal boy getting picked up by a group of 30 y/o men in a foreign country and it being glamified; it just made me uncomfortable most of the time. The story is structured around a family being interrogated in an airport, and you can tell Ahmadi really thought he’d hit the jackpot when he got that template idea; I’ll be honest, it’s a good idea! But the monologue format he chose to write those scenes in was such a mistake; it just resulted in extremely awkward dialogue and made the scenes so cringe worthy. All in all, I don’t think this book will blow up as big as it wants to. 2/5 stars.
September 21, 2020
This is my 100th read of 2020! And my first ever ARC (this book comes out 22.09.20 - tomorrow!)
Big thank you to HotKeyBooks for sending this my way, it was brilliant.
Right from the offset, this book is extremely funny and relatable. It’s full of fun pop culture references and witty play on word moments. I loved the writing style, it was really easy to connect with and made reading this book a breeze. The plot was unpredictable, engaging and kept me wanting more. Though it was fairly lighthearted, it still dealt with racism, homophobia and islamophobia really well and brought many important conversations to the forefront of YA lit.
This offered a really unique perspective on coming of age as a young Iranian Muslim man which I adored. This story was so open, honest and beautiful to read. There were some heartbreaking moments but it was equally filled with heart/warming/ moments. The family relationships here were amazing and explored well, considering it was such a short read.
My only criticism of the book is I feel it could have benefitted from being longer. The beginning and end feel slightly rushed in comparison to the main plotline in the middle, and I would've liked a slower build up to that. Other than that I have no complaints. It was brilliant and I had a really good time reading it.
Big thank you to HotKeyBooks for sending this my way, it was brilliant.
Right from the offset, this book is extremely funny and relatable. It’s full of fun pop culture references and witty play on word moments. I loved the writing style, it was really easy to connect with and made reading this book a breeze. The plot was unpredictable, engaging and kept me wanting more. Though it was fairly lighthearted, it still dealt with racism, homophobia and islamophobia really well and brought many important conversations to the forefront of YA lit.
This offered a really unique perspective on coming of age as a young Iranian Muslim man which I adored. This story was so open, honest and beautiful to read. There were some heartbreaking moments but it was equally filled with heart/warming/ moments. The family relationships here were amazing and explored well, considering it was such a short read.
My only criticism of the book is I feel it could have benefitted from being longer. The beginning and end feel slightly rushed in comparison to the main plotline in the middle, and I would've liked a slower build up to that. Other than that I have no complaints. It was brilliant and I had a really good time reading it.
July 31, 2020
I was intrigued to read this book after finding interest in the blurb - a story about a young 18-year old man who was not only Muslim, but gay.
I appreciate the idea of how this book has been set out, switching from past and present scenes of the main character, Amir. The scenes ranged from his adventures as he runs away to Rome and meets a group of older, gay men to an interrogation room.
Unfortunately for me, I felt as though that it was missing a significant plot (and theme) as I was not excited to learn about his adventures with his new friends. It should have spoken more about his Persian/Muslim culture which is a main point in this book as this is the reason for his parents not accepting him. I also found that the characters were not polished enough, making it hard for me to distinguish each character from one another as their personalities merged into one.
I appreciate the idea of how this book has been set out, switching from past and present scenes of the main character, Amir. The scenes ranged from his adventures as he runs away to Rome and meets a group of older, gay men to an interrogation room.
Unfortunately for me, I felt as though that it was missing a significant plot (and theme) as I was not excited to learn about his adventures with his new friends. It should have spoken more about his Persian/Muslim culture which is a main point in this book as this is the reason for his parents not accepting him. I also found that the characters were not polished enough, making it hard for me to distinguish each character from one another as their personalities merged into one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2020
I absolutely sped through this novel in a couple hours the night before (morning of? *sweats nervously*) release. I started it thinking, "just a few pages" and then I'm suddenly swept away in the story of Amir and his fears and experiences.
Amir's life is messy and his coming out story might be triggering for some people, so please check the content warnings! He's dealing with a lot, but he's also just a cool character. He edits Wikipedia pages in his free time! He really likes Mean Girls! He flies to Italy because he's scared of being outed to his parents on graduation night by a kid who's blackmailing him.
There are a lot of critiques out there that are criticizing how this is not a Muslim story because the character does not practice frequently nor is it a focus of the book. #OwnVoices reviewers are absolutely able to criticize based on their own experiences, but as someone who is not Muslim, Iranian, or a gay teenage boy, I don't really think it's my place to criticize Ahmadi's portrayal.
I think what's important to recognize is that Amir is not just Muslim. Or just Iranian. Or just gay. He is a human being and we will never be able to appropriately quantify his identity or full self through small discrete units like this. Maybe the marketing was misleading. But ultimately, How It All Blew Up is still a story revolving around a Muslim, Iranian, and gay teenage boy, regardless of how the amount the story focuses on each aspect.
Amir is not always rational, and this is part of what makes him human. He writes off his family as not being able to understand his identity right off the bat. Which is a big generalization (there are queer & out Muslims!) but is absolutely something any person considering coming out would be fearful of, regardless of how accepting or not your family is.
I don't think How It All Blew Up is a perfect story. But it is an honest and real one, with an extraordinary use of past/present point of view with very poignant themes. I enjoyed, and maybe you will too.
Content Warnings:
June 19, 2020
"It is such a privilege, you know? To get to be yourself, all of yourself, in this great big world."
Thank you NetGalley and Hot Key Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book is incredibly genuine all the way though and I loved every single page. It made me emotional and warm, happy and sad, and it made me laugh out loud many times.
One of the main themes that this book emphasises is how important it is to be yourself, but how difficult this may be and how some people will find it infinitely harder than others. Amir struggles with this throughout the book and it causes him to literally flee to another country where he still struggles with this. He goes on a long journey, trying to reconcile his identities as gay and Muslim, his families, and figure out how to be true to himself.
It also really highlighted the prejudices that people face simply for being brown and Muslim as the whole story is based around Amir and his family talking to US Customs after they had a small argument on a plane. Amir's mother, who desperately tried to deescalate the whole situation, and Amir's father, who had been in this situation before, in particular showed the fears that Muslims face.
I will never know the fears that they face in the airport or, as a white queer women, the particular fears that Amir faces coming out to his Muslim family, and I think it's important that we acknowledge this and use our privilege to amplify these voices. It's incredibly important and vital for teenagers in Amir's position to have access to hopeful stories like this to show them things can go better than they are expecting and that, even if they don't, you can always find a family who will accept you for you.
The family that Amir finds is flawed and brings it's own ups and downs, as all families are and do, but it is overall a great group that helps Amir along his journey and helps him to see he will always have people on his side. I particularly loved Neil and Valerio for their authenticity and encouragement. The group in general really reminded me of Les Amis de L'ABC from Les Mis which I loved.
Overall, this was a fantastic book and I can't wait for it to come out later this year so that more people can read it. It deals with a lot of important topics and themes, but Ahmadi handles them all with care and writes a deeply genuine, hopeful and hilarious book.
Thank you NetGalley and Hot Key Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book is incredibly genuine all the way though and I loved every single page. It made me emotional and warm, happy and sad, and it made me laugh out loud many times.
One of the main themes that this book emphasises is how important it is to be yourself, but how difficult this may be and how some people will find it infinitely harder than others. Amir struggles with this throughout the book and it causes him to literally flee to another country where he still struggles with this. He goes on a long journey, trying to reconcile his identities as gay and Muslim, his families, and figure out how to be true to himself.
It also really highlighted the prejudices that people face simply for being brown and Muslim as the whole story is based around Amir and his family talking to US Customs after they had a small argument on a plane. Amir's mother, who desperately tried to deescalate the whole situation, and Amir's father, who had been in this situation before, in particular showed the fears that Muslims face.
I will never know the fears that they face in the airport or, as a white queer women, the particular fears that Amir faces coming out to his Muslim family, and I think it's important that we acknowledge this and use our privilege to amplify these voices. It's incredibly important and vital for teenagers in Amir's position to have access to hopeful stories like this to show them things can go better than they are expecting and that, even if they don't, you can always find a family who will accept you for you.
The family that Amir finds is flawed and brings it's own ups and downs, as all families are and do, but it is overall a great group that helps Amir along his journey and helps him to see he will always have people on his side. I particularly loved Neil and Valerio for their authenticity and encouragement. The group in general really reminded me of Les Amis de L'ABC from Les Mis which I loved.
Overall, this was a fantastic book and I can't wait for it to come out later this year so that more people can read it. It deals with a lot of important topics and themes, but Ahmadi handles them all with care and writes a deeply genuine, hopeful and hilarious book.
November 16, 2021
I'm sorry but no. It was really cheesy.
This book didn't really get me into that Persian life style that Darius series had given me (and I gave the two books both five stars.) the plot was okay, I understand 100% how he was feeling having Iranian parents I know what's it like. They just love avoiding things, I don't know what's it about but they just want everything to be flowers and sunshine in their minds.
I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn't for me.
Another thing I want to discuss is about the Muslim part. Let me explain in Iran if we become religious they'll see us as something bad well our friends and family mostly. We do say we're Muslim but let's be real deep down we don't believe in those things we just say it. We're not like Arabs they are 100% with it but we're not like that. We still drink or eat pork it's just how it is sadly, especially with men. As for me I believe in my own ways I still do pray and don't drink or eat pork but I don't wear a hijab it just makes me sick. I 100% believe in god and I can 100% tell you that every Persian has that in common but other things no. So if you wanted a story about a gay Muslim boy you're in the wrong place because Iranians aren't gonna show it to you.
And I remember his family didn't understand and never talked about sex that is very true my own family never talked about it with me it's just how it is 🤷🏼♀️
This book didn't really get me into that Persian life style that Darius series had given me (and I gave the two books both five stars.) the plot was okay, I understand 100% how he was feeling having Iranian parents I know what's it like. They just love avoiding things, I don't know what's it about but they just want everything to be flowers and sunshine in their minds.
I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn't for me.
Another thing I want to discuss is about the Muslim part. Let me explain in Iran if we become religious they'll see us as something bad well our friends and family mostly. We do say we're Muslim but let's be real deep down we don't believe in those things we just say it. We're not like Arabs they are 100% with it but we're not like that. We still drink or eat pork it's just how it is sadly, especially with men. As for me I believe in my own ways I still do pray and don't drink or eat pork but I don't wear a hijab it just makes me sick. I 100% believe in god and I can 100% tell you that every Persian has that in common but other things no. So if you wanted a story about a gay Muslim boy you're in the wrong place because Iranians aren't gonna show it to you.
And I remember his family didn't understand and never talked about sex that is very true my own family never talked about it with me it's just how it is 🤷🏼♀️
October 3, 2020
October 02, 2020: I wish I enjoyed this more but the important themes—embracing one's cultural and sexual identity, being a child of immigrant parents, acceptance from a family, built up emotions, religious discrimination and fighting stereotypes—reflected in the story are worth appreciating. The Italian setting is beautiful and the absolute fun & self-reflection that this impromptu escape brings is a delight to read, but the lack of a strong enough plot and a different style of narration that unfortunately didn't work for me much—though, it can certainly impress many so that's an aspect you should experience yourself.
September 08, 2020: Finally starting this! I've heard it's a quick read so yeah, expect me to finish this fast. Oh, and buddy reading with the sweetest, Lili!
July 01, 2020: Even though I absolutely don't condone the author's idea of defending the story by quoting/sub-tweeting a reviewer on social media, I'm definitely looking forward to reading this. It's going to be my first book by Arvin Ahmadi so even more excited because I've heard good things about previous works! Digital review copy via Netgalley.
Representation: Iranian-American Muslim & gay MC.
Trigger warnings: airport detention, discriminatory questioning, blackmailed to be outed.
September 08, 2020: Finally starting this! I've heard it's a quick read so yeah, expect me to finish this fast. Oh, and buddy reading with the sweetest, Lili!
July 01, 2020: Even though I absolutely don't condone the author's idea of defending the story by quoting/sub-tweeting a reviewer on social media, I'm definitely looking forward to reading this. It's going to be my first book by Arvin Ahmadi so even more excited because I've heard good things about previous works! Digital review copy via Netgalley.
September 21, 2020
[ARC Provided by NetGalley and finished copy won in a giveaway from ReadersFirst, my review is unbiased]
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📗 I was really hoping that this book would heavily feature a fun romp around Italy after being disappointed with Love & Gelato, and I'm so happy to say I got just that. While dealing with heavier themes of coming out to a Muslim family and racial profiling, this book managed to also be a light read that I really enjoyed.
📕 I thought that Amir was a really relatable character, I am actually that one person that would suddenly flee a situation, I've taken trains to places hours away from home and moved across the country at one point. So I could fully understand Amir's choice to randomly flee to Italy! I liked that he had a background in Wikipedia editing, and was able to make his own money.
📘 On the other hand, Amir's new friends in Italy were interesting and diverse, but I often found them hard to picture and did occasionally get them mixed up. I loved that even though they took Amir in as family, they were still complex, flawed characters with their own issues they were dealing with, and the story showed how Amir affected their friendships.
📙 The before / after events switch can often be confusing, but I never had a problem here. I found the four POVs pretty easy to keep up with two, as they were all clearly labelled and had their own distinct voices. Each POV is speaking from the interrogation room after Amir and his father got into a fight on the plane back home, and the racial profiling really made me nervous throughout the book.
📒 This was such a good book that showed Amir's struggles with being a gay Muslim teen brilliantly, I feel. The story felt almost wrapped up enough the way it was, although thinking back on it, I would have liked a bit more closure between Amir and Jackson, and I would love a whole book from Amir's sister Soraya's point of view.
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📗 I was really hoping that this book would heavily feature a fun romp around Italy after being disappointed with Love & Gelato, and I'm so happy to say I got just that. While dealing with heavier themes of coming out to a Muslim family and racial profiling, this book managed to also be a light read that I really enjoyed.
📕 I thought that Amir was a really relatable character, I am actually that one person that would suddenly flee a situation, I've taken trains to places hours away from home and moved across the country at one point. So I could fully understand Amir's choice to randomly flee to Italy! I liked that he had a background in Wikipedia editing, and was able to make his own money.
📘 On the other hand, Amir's new friends in Italy were interesting and diverse, but I often found them hard to picture and did occasionally get them mixed up. I loved that even though they took Amir in as family, they were still complex, flawed characters with their own issues they were dealing with, and the story showed how Amir affected their friendships.
📙 The before / after events switch can often be confusing, but I never had a problem here. I found the four POVs pretty easy to keep up with two, as they were all clearly labelled and had their own distinct voices. Each POV is speaking from the interrogation room after Amir and his father got into a fight on the plane back home, and the racial profiling really made me nervous throughout the book.
📒 This was such a good book that showed Amir's struggles with being a gay Muslim teen brilliantly, I feel. The story felt almost wrapped up enough the way it was, although thinking back on it, I would have liked a bit more closure between Amir and Jackson, and I would love a whole book from Amir's sister Soraya's point of view.
September 21, 2020
(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
TW: Islamaphobia, homophobia, panic attacks, blackmail
What struck me from the very beginning about How It All Blew Up was how relatable Amir is. Don't we all know that feeling when our mistakes catch up to us? When little lies, small mistakes, end up snowballing and turning into an avalanche? How those things we say end up collecting dust, the feeling of dread and guilt collecting in our guts. Making it more difficult, with each passing moment, to tell the truth. Until it explodes forth in a rush of anger, guilt, betrayal, and resentment.
How It All Blew Up is one of those books which begins at the end, and works our way backwards. We witness the fall out. The aftermath. And reading becomes an experience detailing how it all blew it up. Like looking at a car crash in reverse. Seeing all those details we missed in the moments, the times we should have took an extra moment. Throughout the book, Ahmadi not only tells Amir's story from his perspective as it unfolds, and the airport interrogation room, but also through the voices of his parents and sister.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...
TW: Islamaphobia, homophobia, panic attacks, blackmail
What struck me from the very beginning about How It All Blew Up was how relatable Amir is. Don't we all know that feeling when our mistakes catch up to us? When little lies, small mistakes, end up snowballing and turning into an avalanche? How those things we say end up collecting dust, the feeling of dread and guilt collecting in our guts. Making it more difficult, with each passing moment, to tell the truth. Until it explodes forth in a rush of anger, guilt, betrayal, and resentment.
How It All Blew Up is one of those books which begins at the end, and works our way backwards. We witness the fall out. The aftermath. And reading becomes an experience detailing how it all blew it up. Like looking at a car crash in reverse. Seeing all those details we missed in the moments, the times we should have took an extra moment. Throughout the book, Ahmadi not only tells Amir's story from his perspective as it unfolds, and the airport interrogation room, but also through the voices of his parents and sister.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...
September 28, 2020
Vindo de uma família iraniana e muçulmana, Amir Azadi sempre soube que se assumir gay não seria fácil, mas ele achou que sairia do armário do seu jeito. Quando passa a ser chantageado por dois garotos da escola, a única saída que ele vê na sua cabeça é fugir. E é assim que ele sai dos Estados Unidos e chega à Roma, onde finalmente vai poder descobrir quem quer ser.
“How It All Blew Up” acerta naquilo que é mais essencial: na alma. Essa Roma para onde Amir foge é viva e povoada por personagens incrivelmente humanos, reais em seus acertos e também em suas falhas.
Mais do que acompanhar o desenvolvimento e o crescimento do personagem, essa é uma história que mostra Amir descobrindo quem é quando tem a liberdade de simplesmente existir – sem medo, sem vergonha e sem sentir que tem que se esconder.
“I wanted more of that. I was hungry for more of that. Life. Authentic, unapologetic life. I wanted to sink my teeth into that kind of living, the kind I’d never thought I would have.”
As idas e vindas entre as memórias de Amir em Roma e as cenas do presente, em que ele e sua família são interrogados pela imigração, dão um bom ritmo ao livro e permitem entender como eles voltam a se encontrar. Apesar de alguns pequenos problemas na estrutura (e que não tiram o brilho e a consistência do todo!), esses trechos do interrogatório nos deixam espiar e conhecer melhor cada membro da família e as visões que eles têm do Amir.
Muitas vezes ser queer é se despedir da família que te criou e reunir uma nova. E, é claro, que não poderia escrever esse texto sem dedicar um espaço para os amigos que Amir faz na Itália. Jahan, Neil, Francesco e os outros são fundamentais para Amir nesse processo de aceitação e o fazem se sentir em casa pela primeira vez em muito tempo.
Entre Mina, Lorde, Nina Simone, Taylor Swift, vinho e pizza, Arvin entrega um livro que é um abraço que você precisava e não sabia, uma fagulha de esperança que te fará acordar no dia seguinte com um sorriso no rosto ao se lembrar desses personagens e dessa história.
“How It All Blew Up” é sobre medo e fuga, mas também é sobre amor, esperança e tudo que está entre esses extremos. Obrigado pela viagem à Roma e pela excelente companhia, Amir.
“How It All Blew Up” acerta naquilo que é mais essencial: na alma. Essa Roma para onde Amir foge é viva e povoada por personagens incrivelmente humanos, reais em seus acertos e também em suas falhas.
Mais do que acompanhar o desenvolvimento e o crescimento do personagem, essa é uma história que mostra Amir descobrindo quem é quando tem a liberdade de simplesmente existir – sem medo, sem vergonha e sem sentir que tem que se esconder.
“I wanted more of that. I was hungry for more of that. Life. Authentic, unapologetic life. I wanted to sink my teeth into that kind of living, the kind I’d never thought I would have.”
As idas e vindas entre as memórias de Amir em Roma e as cenas do presente, em que ele e sua família são interrogados pela imigração, dão um bom ritmo ao livro e permitem entender como eles voltam a se encontrar. Apesar de alguns pequenos problemas na estrutura (e que não tiram o brilho e a consistência do todo!), esses trechos do interrogatório nos deixam espiar e conhecer melhor cada membro da família e as visões que eles têm do Amir.
Muitas vezes ser queer é se despedir da família que te criou e reunir uma nova. E, é claro, que não poderia escrever esse texto sem dedicar um espaço para os amigos que Amir faz na Itália. Jahan, Neil, Francesco e os outros são fundamentais para Amir nesse processo de aceitação e o fazem se sentir em casa pela primeira vez em muito tempo.
Entre Mina, Lorde, Nina Simone, Taylor Swift, vinho e pizza, Arvin entrega um livro que é um abraço que você precisava e não sabia, uma fagulha de esperança que te fará acordar no dia seguinte com um sorriso no rosto ao se lembrar desses personagens e dessa história.
“How It All Blew Up” é sobre medo e fuga, mas também é sobre amor, esperança e tudo que está entre esses extremos. Obrigado pela viagem à Roma e pela excelente companhia, Amir.
October 2, 2020
Well, let’s put it this way, this is what I felt after reading the story: How this story blew itself up.
Let me start with the positive things:
I really liked the premise; it was an easy read; I liked Soraya and Valerio; I even thought at the start, that it felt a bit like deposing Nathan -one of my most favorite YA books ever- but I couldn’t have been wrong more.
Unfortunately there was a lot I liked less.
I love Italy and have visited the country countless times. But Italy, Rome and their inhabitants were so stereotyped in this book. They have pizzas, pastas, Vespas and o yeah, the Vatican. That’s it. Let me tell you, Italy is way more, just read or watch Call me by your name for example.
Amir meets a group of gay man and befriends them. At first I liked it but soon I felt some discomfort. Those men were around thirty and some of them were hitting on Amir, a vulnerable eighteen-year old with little experience. Not once in the book it was questioned if this was alright. At this point my mom heart kicked in. Why not presenting those men between twenty and twenty-five? It’s not that I disapprove of a big age difference, one of my best friends is married tot someone who’s twenty-two years older. But it’s the way it’s showed in this book. And why didn’t Valerio have a bigger part in this story?
I didn’t like the interrogation parts much, sometimes I even thought they were annoying. But they had a function, at least that’s what I thought, building the story towards the end. I was so wrong and so disappointed. This is how it all blew up?
If you want to have an easy read, love YA stories, love to read about Italy even though it’s stereotyped and don’t mind older guys hitting on a vulnerable teen you can give this story a try. If you want more out of a story please read another one, there are so many lovely YA LGBTQ+ stories available.
Let me start with the positive things:
I really liked the premise; it was an easy read; I liked Soraya and Valerio; I even thought at the start, that it felt a bit like deposing Nathan -one of my most favorite YA books ever- but I couldn’t have been wrong more.
Unfortunately there was a lot I liked less.
I love Italy and have visited the country countless times. But Italy, Rome and their inhabitants were so stereotyped in this book. They have pizzas, pastas, Vespas and o yeah, the Vatican. That’s it. Let me tell you, Italy is way more, just read or watch Call me by your name for example.
Amir meets a group of gay man and befriends them. At first I liked it but soon I felt some discomfort. Those men were around thirty and some of them were hitting on Amir, a vulnerable eighteen-year old with little experience. Not once in the book it was questioned if this was alright. At this point my mom heart kicked in. Why not presenting those men between twenty and twenty-five? It’s not that I disapprove of a big age difference, one of my best friends is married tot someone who’s twenty-two years older. But it’s the way it’s showed in this book. And why didn’t Valerio have a bigger part in this story?
I didn’t like the interrogation parts much, sometimes I even thought they were annoying. But they had a function, at least that’s what I thought, building the story towards the end. I was so wrong and so disappointed. This is how it all blew up?
If you want to have an easy read, love YA stories, love to read about Italy even though it’s stereotyped and don’t mind older guys hitting on a vulnerable teen you can give this story a try. If you want more out of a story please read another one, there are so many lovely YA LGBTQ+ stories available.
July 20, 2020
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I unfortunately went into this book with an already negative viewpoint as the author had twisted the words of a reviewer I personally know and attacked them on social media. However, I decided to push on anyway and pick this one up, more out of curiosity than anything.
The story follows Amir, who is 18 years old and earns money by writing Wiki articles for payment. When he is blackmailed with a photo of him kissing another boy, he uses his money to escape to Italy, where he befriends a group of older, gay men. This in itself felt problematic and somewhat predator-ish, how he was very quickly taken under the wing of these men, even living with one of them for a while and being made to feel uncomfortable by another, which appears to not change how his friends feel about this man at all, and has no negative impact on him. Even any other side characters were one-dimensional and unimaginative.
I wish I could say I enjoyed it other than that, but I’m far from done yet. As pointed out by other reviewers, this book does not take the opportunity to fully represent and discuss Muslim culture. Although the main character is Muslim himself, and makes it very plain that his sexuality would be a problem for his family due to their religion, this is the point in which the discussion of religion stops. Rather than feeling like I learned more about Muslim culture, I was left questioning whether Amir or his family even followed any Muslim practices as they are not at all mentioned in the narrative.
Unfortunately, this is just the beginning of the problems for me. Although I adored the setting in Italy, Italian culture was very much stereotyped, full of pizza, pasta and Vespas. I’ve not visited Italy myself, but I’m damn sure there is more to it than that. I also want to bring up the subject of how panic attacks were represented, which, having suffered from panic attacks myself luckily only a couple of times in my life, felt completely unrealistic to me. Amir had a seemingly normal conversation with a guy in a bookshop, in which he seemed perhaps a little lovestruck. He then went back to his apartment and lay down, in which I thought ‘oh, he’s tired/going to have a nap’, and then proceeded to say how bad his panic attack had been. Now, I completely understand how different people experience panic attacks differently, but I was so disappointed by how this was represented. I had no idea Amir had had a panic attack, because he displayed no common symptoms. It felt like a missed chance to explain to the reader how a panic attack may feel, completely missing the mark for me.
That being said, I was intrigued by this book and absolutely sped through it, wanting to know what would happen next. Despite Italy being stereotypical, it made for a beautiful setting and I enjoyed the descriptions of the architecture and surroundings. Other than finding him vulnerable and frustrating, I liked Amir as a main character and sympathised with him. If this book didn’t have so many damn problems, I even might have enjoyed it. *sigh*
★★
2 out of 5 stars
-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽
I unfortunately went into this book with an already negative viewpoint as the author had twisted the words of a reviewer I personally know and attacked them on social media. However, I decided to push on anyway and pick this one up, more out of curiosity than anything.
The story follows Amir, who is 18 years old and earns money by writing Wiki articles for payment. When he is blackmailed with a photo of him kissing another boy, he uses his money to escape to Italy, where he befriends a group of older, gay men. This in itself felt problematic and somewhat predator-ish, how he was very quickly taken under the wing of these men, even living with one of them for a while and being made to feel uncomfortable by another, which appears to not change how his friends feel about this man at all, and has no negative impact on him. Even any other side characters were one-dimensional and unimaginative.
I wish I could say I enjoyed it other than that, but I’m far from done yet. As pointed out by other reviewers, this book does not take the opportunity to fully represent and discuss Muslim culture. Although the main character is Muslim himself, and makes it very plain that his sexuality would be a problem for his family due to their religion, this is the point in which the discussion of religion stops. Rather than feeling like I learned more about Muslim culture, I was left questioning whether Amir or his family even followed any Muslim practices as they are not at all mentioned in the narrative.
Unfortunately, this is just the beginning of the problems for me. Although I adored the setting in Italy, Italian culture was very much stereotyped, full of pizza, pasta and Vespas. I’ve not visited Italy myself, but I’m damn sure there is more to it than that. I also want to bring up the subject of how panic attacks were represented, which, having suffered from panic attacks myself luckily only a couple of times in my life, felt completely unrealistic to me. Amir had a seemingly normal conversation with a guy in a bookshop, in which he seemed perhaps a little lovestruck. He then went back to his apartment and lay down, in which I thought ‘oh, he’s tired/going to have a nap’, and then proceeded to say how bad his panic attack had been. Now, I completely understand how different people experience panic attacks differently, but I was so disappointed by how this was represented. I had no idea Amir had had a panic attack, because he displayed no common symptoms. It felt like a missed chance to explain to the reader how a panic attack may feel, completely missing the mark for me.
That being said, I was intrigued by this book and absolutely sped through it, wanting to know what would happen next. Despite Italy being stereotypical, it made for a beautiful setting and I enjoyed the descriptions of the architecture and surroundings. Other than finding him vulnerable and frustrating, I liked Amir as a main character and sympathised with him. If this book didn’t have so many damn problems, I even might have enjoyed it. *sigh*
★★
2 out of 5 stars
-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽
October 3, 2020
Thanks, Bookishfirst for the chance to read this awesome book.
I spent three years living in Italy so, suffice it to say, I felt a lot of what the character's in this book say and think. Italy is a nice place to visit, not to live, but I am sure others have a different opinion. That being said, Rome was my favorite city (I visited twice!) and I fell in love with the things that Amir fell in love with. His struggles were not my struggles. I'm in a military family so I did not go willingly. Amir struggled at first but was happy to find that most Italians do speak English, especially those in tourist towns, and his thoughts on the old arse plumbing and small space were spot on. I lived in an ancient concrete house that did not hold heat in the winter and would not cool down in summers. Hot water took forever to heat and I could not run two major appliances at the same time. Good times.
Anyway, back to the book. This is a fairly quick read and moves at breakneck speed. Amir is a Muslim queer who gets blackmailed by a student at his school to pay him money otherwise he'd out Amir. Amir, frantic, skips out on graduation and flies to New York. Panicking again, he buys a ticket for the first place he thinks of when he spots a gelato shop in the airport terminal. Rome. He books an Airbnb and eventually hooks up with the queer community and has the time of his life until his past creeps up. He realizes no matter how far you go, you cannot outrun your problems.
This was a great book. I loved the romp around Italy and how Amir integrated himself. His newfound friends were both good and bad for him, but overall I liked the as B characters. A particular scene where he eats at a local restaurant and amazes how many courses are in a typical Italian dinner made me laugh. It is so true. When I went out to eat, I usually chose the meat dish only and got so many sidelong glances. It's cool. How do they expect you to eat three-course meals??? Italians are amazing.
Amir's screw up eventually brings his family together and that was the best part. His parents loved no matter what and saw him not for his sexuality, but for the amazing person he's growing to be.
I spent three years living in Italy so, suffice it to say, I felt a lot of what the character's in this book say and think. Italy is a nice place to visit, not to live, but I am sure others have a different opinion. That being said, Rome was my favorite city (I visited twice!) and I fell in love with the things that Amir fell in love with. His struggles were not my struggles. I'm in a military family so I did not go willingly. Amir struggled at first but was happy to find that most Italians do speak English, especially those in tourist towns, and his thoughts on the old arse plumbing and small space were spot on. I lived in an ancient concrete house that did not hold heat in the winter and would not cool down in summers. Hot water took forever to heat and I could not run two major appliances at the same time. Good times.
Anyway, back to the book. This is a fairly quick read and moves at breakneck speed. Amir is a Muslim queer who gets blackmailed by a student at his school to pay him money otherwise he'd out Amir. Amir, frantic, skips out on graduation and flies to New York. Panicking again, he buys a ticket for the first place he thinks of when he spots a gelato shop in the airport terminal. Rome. He books an Airbnb and eventually hooks up with the queer community and has the time of his life until his past creeps up. He realizes no matter how far you go, you cannot outrun your problems.
This was a great book. I loved the romp around Italy and how Amir integrated himself. His newfound friends were both good and bad for him, but overall I liked the as B characters. A particular scene where he eats at a local restaurant and amazes how many courses are in a typical Italian dinner made me laugh. It is so true. When I went out to eat, I usually chose the meat dish only and got so many sidelong glances. It's cool. How do they expect you to eat three-course meals??? Italians are amazing.
Amir's screw up eventually brings his family together and that was the best part. His parents loved no matter what and saw him not for his sexuality, but for the amazing person he's growing to be.
July 27, 2020
How It All Blew Up is honestly a disappointing read for me. If it had more than 300 pages, I think I would have dnf it but since the pages are less than that, I relented and continued on with this story of a young Iranian man who identifies himself as muslim on a journey of self discovery in one of the most beautiful cities in the world in Rome, Italy.
First of all, the mc is muslim or at least that's what he claimed to be because there was absolutely no representation or anything that can identify him as one. Apart from coming from an Iranian family (which does not automatically makes you a muslim) and getting detained at the airport for causing a slight ruckus and looking different, that was just it. I would have liked to see more elaborated on what it actually means being a muslim and the Iranian culture.
The dialogues weren't the best and the characters feel underdeveloped. It feels like the author is too focused on getting the idea about sexuality and coming out that he ignored everything else. The premise of the book is there but I'm afraid the execution were amiss and before you know it, the book has ended and you'd think to yourself, "what exactly did I just read?"
I do like reading about Rome, learning a new language, making new friends and most importantly rediscovering who you are and who you want to be. It feels like the mc is too caught up with his own dilemma that he completely forgot about everything else, the things that truly matter.
I find this book problematic and I cannot recommend this book, unfortunately. Though, I have read great things about his other books so I suppose you could pass this one up and read his other books instead.
First of all, the mc is muslim or at least that's what he claimed to be because there was absolutely no representation or anything that can identify him as one. Apart from coming from an Iranian family (which does not automatically makes you a muslim) and getting detained at the airport for causing a slight ruckus and looking different, that was just it. I would have liked to see more elaborated on what it actually means being a muslim and the Iranian culture.
The dialogues weren't the best and the characters feel underdeveloped. It feels like the author is too focused on getting the idea about sexuality and coming out that he ignored everything else. The premise of the book is there but I'm afraid the execution were amiss and before you know it, the book has ended and you'd think to yourself, "what exactly did I just read?"
I do like reading about Rome, learning a new language, making new friends and most importantly rediscovering who you are and who you want to be. It feels like the mc is too caught up with his own dilemma that he completely forgot about everything else, the things that truly matter.
I find this book problematic and I cannot recommend this book, unfortunately. Though, I have read great things about his other books so I suppose you could pass this one up and read his other books instead.
June 10, 2021
I don't read books in a day, but I read How It All Blew Up in one sitting. This was a phenomenal story about grappling with identity, how perceptions and bias shape the way we view the world and others, and, ultimately, love in its most confusing yet genuine.
- Follows Amir, a gay Iranian-American teen who, after being blackmailed by his anti-queer classmates and fearful of his family's reactions, runs away to Italy. Though taken under the wings of queer men who help him understand himself, Amir has to confront his identity and what it means for his future.
- This book, y'all. There's so much depth in this story and I just loved sifting through all the small moments and exploring them. In particular, I loved how this story explores how our perceptions and people's perceptions of us, especially those misconceived, can have huge impacts on the way we navigate and interact with others - and I loved how Ahmadi does this with Amir's family, how it ties into anti-Muslim prejudices, and Amir himself.
- This book is messy - which is what I loved about it. No character here is wholly 'good'. I mean, no one is, and I loved how the story had the vulnerability and courage to show people at their worst.
- I loved how this book explores found family - and also subverts it. Sometimes our found family help us but aren't meant to stay with us. They aren't perfect people, inherently better than the family by blood, but are nonetheless meaningful and important in our lives, even if they are impermanent.
- There is a blackmail outing subplot and it's the focus of the first portion of the book. It becomes less relevant later on in the story.
- At its heart, it's about love, I think. It's many things, but it's also a gentle and quiet story about how despite the misunderstandings, the confusion, the learning, and the messiness, the love families have for us is clear, genuine, and pure.
- AHHHHH I just loved this book. a LOT. It made me laugh, it made me cringe, it made me cry, and it just made me feel so many feelings.
Trigger/content warnings: anti-queer rhetoric and microaggressions, blackmailing re: outing a closeted gay character, racism, family conflict, sex between two characters with an age-gap (not portrayed as positive), anti-Muslim rhetoric and sentiment, airport security detainment, alcohol consumption, infidelity
- Follows Amir, a gay Iranian-American teen who, after being blackmailed by his anti-queer classmates and fearful of his family's reactions, runs away to Italy. Though taken under the wings of queer men who help him understand himself, Amir has to confront his identity and what it means for his future.
- This book, y'all. There's so much depth in this story and I just loved sifting through all the small moments and exploring them. In particular, I loved how this story explores how our perceptions and people's perceptions of us, especially those misconceived, can have huge impacts on the way we navigate and interact with others - and I loved how Ahmadi does this with Amir's family, how it ties into anti-Muslim prejudices, and Amir himself.
- This book is messy - which is what I loved about it. No character here is wholly 'good'. I mean, no one is, and I loved how the story had the vulnerability and courage to show people at their worst.
- I loved how this book explores found family - and also subverts it. Sometimes our found family help us but aren't meant to stay with us. They aren't perfect people, inherently better than the family by blood, but are nonetheless meaningful and important in our lives, even if they are impermanent.
- There is a blackmail outing subplot and it's the focus of the first portion of the book. It becomes less relevant later on in the story.
- At its heart, it's about love, I think. It's many things, but it's also a gentle and quiet story about how despite the misunderstandings, the confusion, the learning, and the messiness, the love families have for us is clear, genuine, and pure.
- AHHHHH I just loved this book. a LOT. It made me laugh, it made me cringe, it made me cry, and it just made me feel so many feelings.
Trigger/content warnings: anti-queer rhetoric and microaggressions, blackmailing re: outing a closeted gay character, racism, family conflict, sex between two characters with an age-gap (not portrayed as positive), anti-Muslim rhetoric and sentiment, airport security detainment, alcohol consumption, infidelity
June 26, 2020
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exhange for my honest review.
This is the story of Amir and how he ended up running away to Rome and subsequently in US interrogation room. It follows his journey over the summer and trying to come to terms with the two sides of himself, the Persian side and the gay side.
I was really looking forward to this book but to be honest, it left me a bit disappointed. It was a quick read but felt a bit flat at points and I ended up wanting more from it. I think it was an interesting coming out story and there were a few interesting quotes. I relate to the need to run away from your problems rather than deal with them and I think it definitely showed in certain scenarios why that isn't always the best option.
I wasn't expecting it to be written from multiple points of view and I did enjoy that it was and that added to the characters as their personalities showed through, more so with Amir and his sister than with his parents, though they were more aware of the fact that they were clearly being interrogated in large part due to the colour of their skin so were guarded.
The whole thing lacked atmosphere and whilst the intrigue was there are the start, I feel it waned as the book progressed. I wanted more in terms of Amir's coming out story, I would have liked more at the end too. I feel like there needed to be more depth to what Amir was going through and also more depth to his family's reaction. As someone who's dad wasn't originally exactly happy about my coming out, I understand how hard it all is and I just wanted to see that emotion reflected a bit more on the page.
This is the story of Amir and how he ended up running away to Rome and subsequently in US interrogation room. It follows his journey over the summer and trying to come to terms with the two sides of himself, the Persian side and the gay side.
I was really looking forward to this book but to be honest, it left me a bit disappointed. It was a quick read but felt a bit flat at points and I ended up wanting more from it. I think it was an interesting coming out story and there were a few interesting quotes. I relate to the need to run away from your problems rather than deal with them and I think it definitely showed in certain scenarios why that isn't always the best option.
I wasn't expecting it to be written from multiple points of view and I did enjoy that it was and that added to the characters as their personalities showed through, more so with Amir and his sister than with his parents, though they were more aware of the fact that they were clearly being interrogated in large part due to the colour of their skin so were guarded.
The whole thing lacked atmosphere and whilst the intrigue was there are the start, I feel it waned as the book progressed. I wanted more in terms of Amir's coming out story, I would have liked more at the end too. I feel like there needed to be more depth to what Amir was going through and also more depth to his family's reaction. As someone who's dad wasn't originally exactly happy about my coming out, I understand how hard it all is and I just wanted to see that emotion reflected a bit more on the page.
December 8, 2020
Didn’t expect to end this tonight. But cute but important lil read, I rec! Full review to coooome 🙏🏻✨
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