Arvin AhmadiRecensioni

Gr 9 Up—When Amir is blackmailed with being outed to his Iranian Muslim family, he hops on a plane to Rome and
falls in with a group of friends who help him discover what it means to be a gay man. With realistic characters, a
lovely setting, and an innovative narrative style (Amir and his family tell the story while being questioned at the
airport), this book exists at the intersections of sexuality and culture, as well as humor and pain.

Recommended: sure
for a story about escape and finding yourself, bravery and cowardice, how situations can escalate, for some questionable choices that happily turn out safe

Thoughts: 
I admit, I once DNFd this after the first chapter or so because it was starting to feel pretty far-fetched and I just wasn't into it. This attempt went much better, though I'd still say it felt a lot like... wow, that escalated quickly. We do get a point by point of how one small choice led to the next until he was at somewhere WAY off track from the start, but it was still requiring me to suspend disbelief a bit.

The format where there are one-sided interviews from the family members worked fine for the most part, although sometimes they were a little tiring when it was too in the weeds on miscellaneous details to set the scene. These were also used to give a moment to other issues like racism, profiling, etc. and I'm glad they weren't glossed over, considering the whole premise of the instigating issue on the plane. Sometimes there were really funny moments using that medium too, like when they ask why it's taking so long for them to be let out and then are told it's because their son is talking a lot. xD

Once Amir gets to Rome, he goes through a mix of the expected and not. He does explore the city and become enamored with it as most travelers do in a new place, but he also sees it in an uncommon way. Through poetry slams and city overlooks instead of the Colosseum or Trevi. This makes the "travel" experience part of the book a bit refreshing, as it was still fun to tour the city through his eyes but having been to Rome it was neat to see things I haven't literally seen, if that makes sense. It was a new perspective that isn't often shared.

I was nervous for Amir when he starts just going around with strangers who are ten years older than him, especially where there were some attraction elements being included, as it felt like it could quickly be predatory at worst and at best very uncomfortable though consensual. That was honestly a source of tension for me through basically the whole book which made it a bit harder to read, and I'm not sure if it was intended to feel that way or if it's because I'm adult and a woman that I was more sensitive to that, but I did want to shout at him to be safe sometimes.

Even beyond the looming threat of assault, this was not very lighthearted, which was a surprise. The topics aren't easy of course, but I figured it would be a "fun month in Rome before coming to love myself" sort of story, and while aspects of that are in here it's also a much more honest look at how that would truly go. It's messy, it's dangerous, there are a lot of mistakes made, and those mistakes have consequences. 

I appreciated most that Rome wasn't portrayed as some magical place where everything is great. Amir's new friends themselves tell him that Rome is a difficult or unpleasant place to live for a lot of reasons, and that they all have their own problems too. Just because Rome is an escape from his own problems doesn't mean those who live there are worry-free as well. That gets glossed over a lot in situations like this and with a more nuanced opinion of it all brought in, the traveler in me was happy. Of course everywhere has their issues, despite whatever other beauty and culture and joy it has as well. That's just the way things are.

Where the realism fell was with Amir's sudden change of heart with his Wikipedia editing. He is so against it at the start that he basically just flees the country to avoid the prospect, but then is going right back to it by his own choice. I understand there was a lot of pressure, and that's fine as an angle, but I don't think at any point he thinks about how he feels bad doing it, or wishes he didn't have to, let alone trying to find an alternative. In fact he starts offering it up for extra perks and I'm like, okay so I guess he doesn't actually have that deep moral stance on it that he seemed to at the start. If he changes that's okay, but it was weird that it went from being SUCH a heathen idea to him to apparently perfectly fine. 

So overall I did enjoy this, although at times it felt a little rambly and I was ready to move on. That's the nature of Amir's narrative voice, though, so it fit even if it was a little tiring sometimes. 😅 This is a shockingly long review and I actually could write more about the inclusion of his Persian heritage, his relationships with his family, and so on, but my goodness I think I've covered the overall feel of the book already. If you're interested, go for it! And donate to Wikipedia while you're at it. :D 

Meh.

It felt like this book was promising a VR adventure and what I got was a day in the life of a Youtuber.

I loved this book to a degree, but would offer it to students with the caveat of remembering that not all realistic fiction is "realistic", and that Amir makes many questionable and unsafe decisions, but there is still a lot to learn and gain from his story!

I found the plot to be too implausible to really enjoy.

Coming of age frightens and bewilders each of us without regard to our gender, sexuality, race, or family situation. Coming of age embedded in one family culture while surrounded by a profoundly different one multiplies the complexity of arriving at adulthood. Layering an alternate sexuality on top of all that exacerbates the entire transitional process.
How It All Blew Up dives deeply into that entire all-too-real circumstance, one faced daily bu many young people.
Amir's family lives the Iranian culture from which it immigrated. Its values and beliefs form his life and life perspective. He realizes, however, that he is special. He does not want what the family wants for him, particularly his family's expectations about his future as a husband and father. He is attracted to other men, instead. In his family culture, such an attraction is a shame-ridden, unacceptable attitude, one that must be suppressed and 'corrected.'
Understanding this about his situation makes Amir particularly vulnerable to fears about being discovered. When a bullying predator in Amir's high school catches Amir kissing another young man with a photograph of their kiss, Amir becomes the victim of the blackmailing, greedy, bully. To Amir, nothing could be a greater threat to him.
Fear incapacitates reasoned thought, replacing it with panic. Amir's panic tells him that escaping his situation is the only way he can deal with it. He runs away at the most unexpected time, during his expected high school graduation ceremony. Amir flees to an unexpected place, Paris.
Once in Paris, he finds that he understands little about his own sexuality and the culture surrounding it. Amir is lucky enough to fall into a compassionate group of men who understand his problem and help him deal with it. Along the way, both Amir and the reader are 'educated' about being gay. The cultural icons, the terminology, the expected behaviors, the acceptance of dating norms, the appropriate and inappropriate sexual behaviors, and a variety of other issues become a curriculum for the neophyte gay young man.
Along with that comes the normal human drama of life, love, conflict, and coping. Lovers fall out, friends abandon or disappoint other friends, transitions of various types are made. In Amir's case, all of this occurs while his family desperately attempts to locate and re-connect with its missing member.
The family, too, must make a journey that will make it face the realities of Amir's sexuality. The family learns that love and acceptance supersede expectations, culture, judgment, and condemnation. For both Amir and his family, it is a challenging curriculum, one that many families in the real world will never fully master.
In reading the novel, I was at first a little put off by the feeling that the book masquerades as fiction while actually being a sort of 'instruction manual on gayness.' When the plot thickened into dealing with the normal complications and conflicts of a gay lifestyle and gay relationships, the 'instruction manual' morphed into being an authentic novel, a beautiful story of awakening, and testament to the love people are capable of when they allow themselves to transcend their cultural and familial prejudices.

Amir is an 18 year old closeted gay Muslim in the US who is being blackmailed by some bullies so he decides to fly to Rome on the day of his graduation without telling anyone! He leaves behind worried parents and sister and boyfriend and we , the readers, learn through a custom interrogation tape that his family eventually discover where he is and follow him and then something happens that gets them all dragged off the plane and into Border Security. After landing in Rome, Amir befriends a guy in a bookshop and then a bar who happen to speak perfect English and be gay and put him up for the night!(Without expecting anything in return) Then Amir embarks on a month of parties around Rome with a group of older, richer gay men who all look after him and only one who wants to take advantage of him, while Amir makes money writing wikipedia pages for companies. Mmmm. A bit unbelievable .....I would have thought that he would have been preyed on and that this book is a bit dangerous as this paints a very glamourous world for young gay men in Europe (but what would I know as I am a 50plus female?)
Anyway, one of the troop tells Amir's family where he is and so that is why they end up in the interrogation rooms at the start of the book. Its an okay read.½

How it All Blew Up is about Amir, a closeted, eighteen-year-old. He always knew it would be hard to come out to his Muslim family, so he hasn't. When some bullies find out and blackmail him, Amir gets scared, skips graduation, and fleas to Rome. He gets taken in by a group of new friends and he spends his summer having late nights where he can feel like himself. Until his old life comes back knocking. Now, Amir is telling the whole story, with the entire truth, to a U.S. Customs officer as his family has just been detained. Can Amir get his hard-won freedom back?

I went into this book thinking it would be a storyline I don't really see: representation of a queer Muslim in YA... I didn't really get that. Islam plays no part in this story - Amir openly admits his family isn't that religious. When asked if his parents would disapprove of him being gay, he replied:

"Yes and no. Our culture is pretty conservative, even if you're not religious."

It also went into this huge countdown leading up to what happened on the airplane and why the family is detained and when we get there... it just felt like it fell short of what it could have been. I also just didn't care much for the main character, he never really clicked with me and I honestly don't know why but I found myself rolling my eyes at a lot of his choices and reasonings.

The whole story also felt very unrealistic to me. How on Earth does an eighteen-year-old make enough money editing Wikipedia pages to get to Rome, get his own apartment, and live there a whole month? There were so many side characters that would be mentioned in passing for only a page and then never heard from again? Amir's high school boyfriend we get built up to be this whole thing, for him to just toss him aside. We had all these supposed close relationships (Amir and his sister were supposedly super close??) but everything felt surface level and not flushed out. There's an entire scene in the novel, that I won't get into because of spoilers, but it just felt wrong and had no real build up to the entire scenario besides small side remarks.

The only character I really even cared for was Amir's sister, Soraya. She was only thirteen, but she was a firecracker just waiting to be messed with. She cared for her brother, regardless of anything.

I did enjoy the back and forth of the interrogation rooms and what happened as it made it a super fast read. Apart from that though, I think the story fell short of what it could have been.

*Thank you Bookish First and Penguin Teen for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kinda fun, a little vague in parts and not as firmly structured as I was hoping, but a good read for its intended age range!

teen fiction (perseverence, friendship, college student life & politics in DC with Iranian-American protagonist).
I wasn't that into the cruciverbalist bits--I enjoy crossword puzzles, and Fiora's Crossword Crusaders club friends were cool, but I think the puzzle construction parts might not hold interest for some readers. I *did* really like the characters in here: lost but luckier-than-he-knows Saaket, kindness-personified Trent, and impulsive and vulnerable Fiora--and they are really what make this story so great. The character of Jeanette would have seemed exaggerated and extreme ten years ago but unfortunately no longer seems so implausible--I maybe would have liked to have seen some sort of redeeming morsel revealed in her personality, rather than having her turn out to be even more horrible than suspected (I keep hoping that there's some way we can better understand each others' perspectives rather than widening the gap that divides us ever deeper and wider), but I liked how the problem she caused got resolved at the end. Still, I'm thinking that the readers that pick up this book with its Iranian-American author and an Iranian-American main character will naturally support the diverse characters and are not likely to take offense at the depiction of the Alt-Right.

Ahmadi mentions several current teen fiction authors in his acknowledgments, and I am glad that they are all providing support for one another in putting out more diverse reads than ever. Definitely more, please!

parental note: contains f-bombs, lots of drinking, smoking, sexual situations.

Fun journey

From the beginning of the story, this book got me intrigued. The way Arvin manages to tell a story that can be intriguing and funny at the same time just makes it a marvelous read. Personally I’ve never read a coming-out story that had so much outside and inside conflicts, and it feels like everything will blow up at any moment.
Besides dealing with coming-out, this book also deals with friends, love relationships, family and religion. All these different factors make the characters feel multidimensional and mostly relatable, altho some times you just ask yourself “why?! it was obviously not okay!”, but anyway, that’s part of the complicated journey out characters have to deal with.
Personally the events that took place in this book were not predictable at all, and this kept the story interesting and of course super emotional all the way to the end, even when there weren’t many twists in the story. Yes, the events were surprising, but I would consider them as plot twists, which is something I absolutely loved, it allowed me to enjoy much more the story.
Wrapping all up, the characters are absolutely amazing, and likable at first read. I’ve been a fan or Arvin’s writing style since Down and Across, which I absolutely loved. This book ends just in the right tone, which I deeply appreciate. How It All Blew Up is perfect for Becky Albertalli fans, so I recommend it to teens and YA fans.

Literary Merit: Great
Characterization: Great
Recommended: Yes
Level: High School

This was another book I received from NetGalley that sounded interesting, but that I knew very little about before I started reading. The novel starts with a very intriguing hook: an 18 year old Muslim boy being interrogated by airport police for an altercation he had with his family on a plane earlier in the day. What follows is a surprisingly heartwarming tale about staying true to yourself amidst chaos and uncertainty. Though my eBook ARC was a tad confusing to read at times (through no fault of the author), I really enjoyed this sweet, charming little story.

How It All Blew Up begins, intriguingly, with an interrogation. Amir Azadi has somehow found himself in custody at an airport after he and his parents got into a screaming match on a crowded airplane. Now trapped in separate interrogation rooms, Amir and his family account the events that led up to this moment, from a sinister blackmail plot to a summer spent in Italy. Cutting between Amir's interrogation and the flashbacks to his summer, Amir pieces together everything that has happened to lead him to this point. Full of humor, wit, and a surprising amount of heart, this book reminds readers just how important it is to remain true to ourselves, no matter the cost.

Without a doubt, my favorite message in this book is the one about found families, and how important it can be for someone to find a community that will love and accept them no matter what. When Amir runs away to Italy, he finds a group of older gay men who take him under their wing, encouraging him to open up and stop being afraid of who he is. Because of this found family, Amir goes from closeted and timid to someone who can easily give a heartfelt speech in a room full of people, and more importantly someone who isn't afraid to stand up to his traditional parents and be his unapologetic true self. One of the most important things about books with sensitive topics like this is the idea of found families, or the ones we choose when our biological families aren't as supportive as we wish they'd be. Amir meets a colorful cast of gay men in this book, from the bartender Jahan to the cute bookseller Neil. Each new character teaches him something new about himself, and each reminds him that while life can be messy, it is always worth living authentically.

Another aspect of this book I really enjoyed was the relationship between Amir and his sister Soraya, who is undauntingly supportive of him even while being sassy and sarcastic. While they're obviously very close, Soraya often gives Amir the push he needs to grow and change, and is consistently on Amir's side when his parents are being less than supportive. I also loved that she was a quirky character, someone outgoing and passionate about the theater, her chosen art form. In a way, she provides inspiration for Amir to be himself, and helps ground him while he's living his best life with his new Italian friends.

I also appreciated the parents in this book, who are initially shocked and less than supportive, but who quickly realize that a life without their son is far worse than having a son who is gay. Unlike many YA books, Amir's parents don't fall into a particular category. They don't immediately disown him and throw him out, but they aren't instantly and entirely supportive either. Their reaction to Amir's LGBT status is honestly a realistic one; they still love him, but aren't necessarily happy that his life is going to be harder because he's LGBT. Their reconciliation in the end, while brief, is proof to young LGBT readers that it is possible to find happiness and acceptance, even with traditionally conservative parents and family members. This, along with Amir's family, is proof that things can get better, even in what seem like terrible circumstances.

My two main gripes with the book are somewhat related. Firstly, the character of Jake REALLY irritated me. Even though I was supposed to hate him, there were moments where it seemed like the author was almost trying to make him seem sympathetic for blackmailing a young closeted Muslim. He claims he "needed the money for school" and that "he didn't want to hurt the other boy's family because of all the good they did for the community." The blackmail plot honestly reminded me a lot of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, only the blackmailer is NEVER punished or outed for being a horrible human being.

This leads to my second gripe with the book: there are a TON of loose ends that are never tied up at the end. We never see Amir and his family REALLY sit down and talk about their issues outside of the plane debacle. We never see him reconcile with Jackson, the cute football player he left and ignored upon fleeing to Italy. We don't find out what happens to his relationship with his new Italian friends, or whether he decides to go to college in Italy to be near them. Amir never even really gets a moment to talk to his sister, who has been worried sick about him for months with no idea where he's gone. Once we catch up to his narration, there really isn't much closure at all for the characters we've grown to love throughout the story, and I felt that was a real shame.

Lastly, I'd like to touch on the brief moments of commentary about xenophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric, as the entire framing device of the novel centers around this topic. Throughout their length interrogation, it becomes clear to Amir and his family that they have ONLY been pulled aside because they are thought to be terrorists, owing mostly to their Muslim faith. At one point, Amir's mom has to justify the fact that she wears the hijab to teach at a traditional Muslim school, and is asked to translate a peaceful prayer she posted on Facebook because it seems suspicious. Similarly, both the officers and other passengers on the plane assume that Amir's parents will be immediately and horrendously homophobic simply because of their religion, something that rarely happens when someone labels themselves Christian.

While it is brief and not the focus of the story, I appreciate that the author was trying to make a statement about what it's like to be a person of color who practices a different faith from the norm in the United States. Amir and his family are detained simply for "looking" suspicious, and the entire narrative is framed through their interrogation as the officers try to make sure they aren't actually terrorists. This is an excellent exercise in examining intersectionality, as Amir is part of not one but TWO marginalized groups in our society, making him more vulnerable to attacks from those who do not or choose not to understand his sexuality and culture. This is the kind of novel that provides a window to those outside of these groups, while also providing a mirror to those who might strongly relate to what Amir and his family are going through.

As a whole, I really enjoyed this book, and found myself laughing often at the many cute, funny cultural references throughout this book. While this might eventually date the book for future readers, I think it's a really fun, heartfelt piece of realistic fiction that helps to normalize LGBT Muslim characters. I'll be honest; I don't often see LGBT and Muslim fiction crossing over this way, even in YA, so I'm really happy that this book exists. It provides much needed cultural representation, and has truly likeable and sympathetic characters. My only real gripe is that it ended far too abruptly, and I would've liked to see more closure with some of the plot points. Other than that, I think this is a truly solid work of romantic and realistic fiction, and I would gladly recommend it to any teen looking for a cute, diverse read with a lot of important things to say.

This is a book about a young man reconciling two parts of his identity that he feels strongly about; 1. He's Muslim, and 2. He's gay.

"Look, I hadn’t gotten to steer my own destiny in a very long time. I had been closeted by circumstance. I had been driven to Rome by circumstance. But now that I was here, my circumstances belonged to me."

I like this premise a lot, and I really enjoyed Amir as the protagonist. Ahmadi has a great voice for characters like him, upbeat and confident, but not without his worries. I also thought that the choice in Rome as setting was clever (even though overall I found the depiction of Italy and Italians a bit stereotypical...). The saying "When in Rome.." applies to Amir's entire life. ~When in a Muslim family, do as a good Muslim son would do~ And he planned on continuing to put on the facade of being straight, but as a result of blackmail, was pushed into fleeing.

"It’s hard enough living one life; no one should have to go through the trouble of living two."

Pretty good stuff. I also liked the way it ended...not to be too spoilery, but things aren't tied into a perfectly neat bow.

I definitely wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. It seemed as though some critics felt like it was billed as a Muslim book, and then were upset that the religion wasn’t focused on more. I was interested to see what the truth was.

First of all, this was an entertaining (yet somewhat unrealistic) book. 18 year old Amir flies off for a summer in Rome by himself, basically running away from his family when the threat of being outed at graduation happens. He makes his own money, and his family has no idea where he is.

His situations and the people he meets all end up being benevolent, and the main conflict in the story is coming out to his Persian family. Now, religion isn’t focused on, nor talked about more than a few passing comments. However, I saw his family as more Culturally homophobic due to the stereotypes of the Persian culture. It does address the cultural differences and difficulties sufficiently.

I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read for an adult, and moved fast. Some of the situations were a little unrealistic, and I downgraded my score due to that.

Literary Merit: OK
Characterization: Good
Level: Grades 9-12
Recommended

Amir Azadi is trying to fly under the radar and finish his senior year at a new high school so that he can get out of the small town where his Iranian American family has relocated and go off to college in a big city. This plan gets derailed when Amir’s secret relationship with cute football player Jackson is discovered by two bullies who use the information to blackmail him. Unable to bring himself to come out to his family, Amir instead decides to run away rather than attend his high school graduation where the blackmailer has threatened to out him. On a whim, Amir decides to go to Rome, where he meets a group of older gay men who befriend him and educate him on culture and life.

The novel begins with Amir in an interrogation room answering questions about a disturbance that his family caused on a plane. The majority of the plot occurs in the thirty days prior to that during Amir’s time in Rome. The novel occasionally jumps to interrogation room scenes in which Amir, his parents, and his younger sister are being questioned. I found this framing device to be awkward at times because the officers never actually speak. The wording of the characters’ responses (monologues) suggests the questions that have been asked. For example, “Something from the vending machine? That very nice of you, ma’am -- I mean Officer. I was getting a little hungry. What are my options? I’ll definitely have ice cream, yes.” The levity of the scenes didn’t ring quite true. It is implied that the family argument led them to an interrogation room because of the assumption that being Muslim made them potential terrorists. And yet, neither Amir nor his sister seem to be afraid and are more than happy to share the intimate details of their lives.

Amir, like many teens, is at times very selfish and is not always likable. (I actually liked his clever younger sister much more than I liked him.) However, he does grow and change throughout the novel, though maybe not as quickly I would have liked, and ultimately, the reader will root for him. In many ways, Amir’s time in Rome is idyllic. He quickly finds a group of friends who accept him. He has no issues finding a place to stay, and he is able to support himself by writing Wikipedia articles. For the cynics out there (including me), the novel greatly strains believability. Then again, not every story has to be filled with angst and despair. This mostly fluffy coming-of-age story of a gay, Muslim, Iranian American teen is a worthy addition to teen collections and high school libraries.

I really enjoyed this book. This book covered what it was like to be gay in a religious, conservative family. Faced with the messiness of his life, he runs away to Rome, where he lives up his life and everything goes great, until US Customs comes knocking at his door. Arvin Ahmadi takes stereotypical tropes that can come off as repetitive and such and makes them feel unique. I loved the friends that Amir found in Italy, they were some of the most supportive characters I've seen in books, and they made me very happy. I also enjoyed the fact that Amir did not have a long term romantic interest in this book, and it was centered around himself and his family instead. As someone who was just coming out, it would not make sense that he would find a long term boyfriend so soon after that, especially not before figuring out himself first. I can't recommend this book enough!

Amir is an Iranian American teenager who is gay and in the closet. When another student blackmails him about his secret boyfriend, he absolutely panics and flees to Rome. He is terrified of his parents finding out he is gay. The story unfolds as Amir goes to Rome, but also at the end of the story, as Amir and his family are interrogated in the airport after an incident on the plane. The dual storyline ramps up the suspense.
He finds a community of gay men in Rome who accept and educate him. He finally feels that he can be himself. Amir is a sympathetic but flawed character. He makes some errors in judgment in terms of honesty and he also has a hookup with an older gay man, which results in some negative fallout.
Themes of prejudice run throughout - there is homophobia, of course, but also addressed is the systemic bigotry against Muslim people.
I really liked the characters. Amir's sister is amazing and tenacious in her search for Amir. It is heartening to see Amir's parents put their love for him above their prejudices.

This book was an extremely cute read. It is, in part, a coming of age store of a young queer teen named Amir who, afraid of being outed to his parents, flees to Italy and part love letter to the country of Italy. I liked Amir a great deal, I thought he was funny and at heart kind.His decision making on the other hand not so great, but that is what can happen when you are under stress and feel as if your hand is being forced.
Overall I loved that we got to see him find himself, stumble and yet triumph. I loved seeing him develop a new family of friends and how much they cared for him and I loved seeing his family try and reach out and come around.
The reason though that I cannot give it five stars all comes down to one scene and that is that freaking tendon scene! Even though I objectively know that, that cannot happen, that it isn't physically possible, I could not help but gag when I read that. And the worst part of it is that it really had nothing to do with the story or Amir. It was just a side story. And while I assume that Mr. Ahmadi was probably attempting for that to be humorous it wasn't funny at all. Just disturbing.
Overall though it is a cute read. Cut out that one scene and it would have been pretty much perfect.
Ps. I do agree with most other reviewers though that it would have been nice to see more of his religion, heritage and culture in the actual story.

Authentic teen voice

From the very first line of the book, the sarcastic and humorous voice of the main character caught my attention: "First, let me get one thing straight: I'm not a terrorist. I'm gay." The juxtaposition of choosing the words straight and gay here is clever. Amir is struggling with his own identity, his parents' feelings about homosexuality, as well as bullying from peers. His story, told in a fun and innovative format, is emotional, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes full of humor.

The writing is some of the best I've found in young adult fiction and I will be seeking out more books by this author. The author knows how to show the anxiety facing not only gay men, but also those facing racism for their culture, even if, like Amir, individuals were born and raised in the United States.

I also loved getting to travel to Italy and get a taste of the culture, landmarks, and food. This book made me crave pasta and gelato. I will be recommending this book.

While Scott/Saaket Ferdowsi's parents are visiting his grandfather in Iran, he runs away to consult a professor of psychology at Georgetown University in Washington DC who is branching out into inspirational self-help articles and videos.

While it's a quick, smooth read I didn't really feel much interest in any of the characters and their antics. Given the title and the patterning of the cover and the chapter headings, there should have been a lot more about crosswords.

Ahmadi uses the teenage experience to build an adventure that is very close to a crossword puzzle. The story is charming because it's incredibly unpredictable. You think Fiona and Scott might fall in love. You think Trent might do something other than what he's doing. You think that at some level Scott might get caught before his adventure is over. This narrative is for the teenagers and adults who need to be remind that it's fine if you're a crazy person that doesn't follow predictable influences on the way to your success. I need a book like this one to remind me that my uniqueness as person is indefinitely incomplete. And it was comforting to know that intersections matter even if we cannot predict where the road goes.

"Fairness is a rubber band, and the longer you stretch it--the more you rely on its elasticity--the more it stings when it snaps."

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I really dislike it when books end without actually ending. Girl Gone Viral would have received a higher rating from me, if something had been resolved at its conclusion. We spend the entire book with Opal, a girl that has struggled with the disappearance of her father, as she tries to fight for answers. However, once she learns the truth, the story just stops. I wanted to know what she did with that information, and how it impacted what the world thought to be true.

Opal set a lot of things in motion, and she was a catalyst for world's current political upheaval. She inadvertently made people acknowledge a truth they were afraid to admit to themselves. It has the world hurdling down a dangerous path, but the story stops before we see the consequences of her actions. Again.

I really liked the scientific aspect of the story, and it was never too hard to follow. Although, there were some jokes and references that went over my head. I understood that they were being funny, and that's all that really mattered. It was also interesting to see how the world could potentially function with advanced technology. What would a world look like if robots were our doctors, drivers, and police force? What if we took bias and emotion out of the equation? I'm sure that it would be beneficial in some scenarios, but it's also a little scary in others. Empathy is a large part of what makes us human, and it's not really possible for a robot to perceive the world in the same way.

I enjoyed Arvin Ahmadi's writing, and really liked reading this book, but I feel like he set me up for disappointment. I was really invested in the mystery surrounding Opal's father and his disappearance, and thought there would have been more resolution at the end. When she finally gets answers, the information doesn't fall perfectly into place. There were still jagged holes that never get addressed.

Also, I felt like the author made a really big deal about her college admissions essay, but then it stopped being important. She was having a lot of trouble with the prompt, and even missed getting her application in for early consideration. A few months later, Moyo brings up her application (because even he knows that she hasn't been able to finish it), and she tells him that it's already been completed and submitted. When did that happen? It felt like a really big deal, and then it wasn't.

Another issue I had was the author's use of real late night talk show hosts. I'm very familiar with most of them, and his versions didn't really match up with the personalities I've experienced for myself. It's also supposed to be set in the future, and it felt weird to have Jimmy Fallon and James Cordon mentioned throughout the book. Seth Meyers played an even larger role, and it just felt wrong somehow. I wish the author had created his own late night talk show hosts, and feel like it would have made the story more believable.

Opal is a very self-absorbed and unapologetically selfish character, but I still enjoyed reading the book from her perspective. She's intelligent and driven, but easy to manipulate and quick to throw her friends under the bus. I dislike people that are willing to use their friends to further their personal goals, and would have liked a more considerate and thoughtful Opal. Moyo is their moral compass, but no one listens to him, and he easily succumbs to peer pressure. Shane is the wild card of their group, and it's clear that he's struggling with more than we're shown. I have no idea why they were friends, when it was clear Opal was self-serving, Moyo wanted to live without sacrificing his beliefs, and Shane had more issues than he was willing to share with everyone else.

Girl Gone Viral was a quick read that left me feeling mostly disappointed. There is very little resolution at the end, and the characters were unlikable and only show what's on the surface. I would have liked for the author to expand more on the characters, and the mystery surrounding Opal's father. Also, Opal has a nonexistent relationship with her mother that wasn't fully explained, especially since her mother wanted to be a part of her daughter's life. Opal's causal cruelty was unwarranted, and I wish she had been a more relatable character.

Other things worth mentioning: There's an unnecessary romance and something that resembles a love triangle. Opal should have stood up for herself and her friends. There were very few adults in this book (even though it takes place on a school campus), and the few that were mentioned were creepy as hell.

This review can also be found at Do You Dog-ear? on May 24, 2019.

I saw this on the bookstore shelf in South Carolina during our spring road trip. It reached out and tweaked my nose. All these months later, I was glad to have it come off my hold list. I truly enjoyed this story about a 16-yr-old Iranian American boy "running away" to Washington DC from home in PA while his parents are in Iran for a family visit.

This was a really great YA novel about what it means to have grit! The book was funny, and sweet, and all about coming into one's identity.

Scott is a teenager who just doesn't know what he wants to do and feels the pressure to live up to everyone's expectations. Unfortunately, this pressure causes him to give up quite easily - until he decides to become a "grittier" individual. I really connected a lot with Scott's character - I know what it's like to be lost and not know what you want to do with life. This confusion and struggle was depicted in a wonderfully humorous context that kept me interested the entire way. I wanted to know Scott would rise up to the occasion and how his encounter with Fiora would change him.

While I loved Scott's character, Fiora was a bit too eccentric for me. I definitely understand why the author made her the way he did, and I have no problems with her being crazy and zany.... but there were times when her behaviour really confused me and just wasn't necessary. I did love her addiction to crossword puzzles; that was a really unique feature of the story and I enjoyed reading about Fiora and Scott bonding through them. I also thought it was awesome that the author made a crossword at the end of the book for the reader to solve!

Overall, this was a really nice coming-of-age story about identity, motivation, and grit! I'm giving it a solid 4/5 stars!

Thank you to Penguin Random House and the First to Read program for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

For more reviews, check out: www.veereading.wordpress.com

If seventeen-year-old Scott does not figure out his future, his father will. So, while his parents are in Iran for a month, Scott quits his unwanted summer internship performing research with rats and takes a bus from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. hoping to meet a renowned professor who is researching predictors of personal success. The professor’s research results indicate that 'grit' rather than intelligence or ability is a key factor in a person’s success. Scott hopes she can give him the secret to acquiring grit. However, all does not go according to plan. While on the bus, he meets the beautiful, unpredictable Fiora, who has issues of her own. She typically does the unexpected, putting Scott in awkward situations, such as daring him to pick up a random girl at the zoo. As their friendship grows, she stretches Scott's world way beyond the confines of his routine suburban life.

Down and Across, Arvin Ahmadi's debut novel, is part coming of age, part romance, part comedy. The book’s title derives from Fiora’s obsession with creating and completing crossword puzzles. Scott meets contemporaries with real issues and comes to realize that overbearing parents may not be the worst kind. He learns life is full of successes and failures and grit is the ability to keep moving forward. However, the situations are unrealistic and only mildly humorous. The ending is moderately satisfying. Fiora is the more interesting character and the author would have been better served writing about her life and coping skills.