❝I wish I could say I was better than that, that I ignored the stereotype. But when your safety hinges on a stereotype being true or not, you don’t get to be brave. I wasn’t going to bet my happiness on the fact that my mom watched a talk show hosted by a lesbian.⁣❞⁣
⁣⁣
~ how it all blew up by Arvin Ahmadi⁣⁣
⁣⁣
IT was a super quick and fun read! It is a coming of age story of Amir Azadi, who finds himself in the midst of quite extreme circumstances and eventually ends up fleeing to Rome. The story opens up with the Azadi family being detained on the airport, owning to a fight that broke out between the members in their flight and as they are questioned regarding the how's and what's of the events, the author takes us back to the time, thirty days prior to "HOW IT ALL BLEW UP"⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I ended up finishing the book in one sitting because honestly it was just unputdownable and I immensely enjoyed it! Wandering around the streets of Rome with Amir, the bonds that a group of strangers who were so very different yet similar and most importantly Amir getting to know his true worth made How it All Blew up worth reading for me!⁣⁣
⁣⁣
This book as Ahmadi, quotes in his note is a dramatic coming out story compiled with a Muslim family being interrogated in a detention room and it's all about breaking the stereotypes! 🙌⁣⁣

Overall this book was underwhelming for me. While I liked the sprinkle of humour in tandem with the important discussions on intersectionality in the queer community, I felt that there was still so much that was left unexplored. The writing was simple but effective in terms of its wit and pace, but didn’t provide a distinct voice or personality for Amir our main character. His reactions and emotions were glossed over at times and replaced by more dialogue and drama. This, though the narrative was in first person, distanced me from Amir’s character significantly.

I really enjoyed the interview segments scattered throughout the book; they were an effective contrast to Amir’s romp in Rome and at times offered insightful perspectives from his family, I just wish we got to hear more from them.

The plot went along steadily with no clear points of conflict or intrigue, and without a connection to Amir as a character, the story could be quite bland at times. The ending lacked impact for me as the stakes were low to begin with and I wasn’t invested in Amir’s character outcome. While I am loath to give a queer book 2 stars, this story really lacked impact for me and was quite forgettable.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the e-arc of this book.

How It All Blew Up is a book that promised more than it delivered, for me. Or, put another way, maybe my expectations were too high. It's very readable, but a bit lightweight. It's a coming of age story, but I don't think Amir really learned much from his experiences.

Huge thanks to @pridebooktours and @hotkeysbooks for sending me a copy!


This book was an interesting read but I felt like there was so much more it could have given us. For one, it’s labelled as a Muslim LGBTQ book however we don’t see much of how Amir’s sexuality affects his family’s religion or him coming out. I would have loved more focus on the religious side and how this impacted Amir and his family. Amir was a great main character and I loved watching how he grew into himself and became his own person. Ahmadi really fleshed our Amirs feelings and I loved the style of writing, with the flashbacks and interactions, however it felt like it needed to be expanded on. I wanted more from his school life and his interactions with his family. It felt like these parts of Amor’s life were touched on but needed to filled out. I wanted more of his sister as she was amazing! Despite this I did enjoy it and loved reading about Amir and his own personal journey.

How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi is a YA, LGBTQ, Own Voices story told from the perspectives of four members of a Muslim family, all being questioned by airport security after an incident on a plane flying them home to America from Italy.

Please note: This post contains affiliate links.

The main protagonist of How It All Blew Up is an 18-year-old high school senior named Amir who is from a conservative Iranian-American family living in Southern USA. He is also gay and very firmly in the closet. However, when another boy in his class begins blackmailing Amir with photographic evidence of his relationship with one of the school’s football players, Amir feels he has nowhere to turn. Scared of his family’s reaction, he packs a bag and jumps on the first flight he can find – eventually ending up in Rome rather than at his own graduation.

In Rome, Amir meets a group of other LGBTQ individuals including a number of other Americans who immediately take him under their wing, and within days, he has discovered a world of freedoms he couldn’t have begun to imagine just a week ago. Thanks to his new friends, Amir is given a crash course in gay culture, begins learning to speak Italian, and meets a new boyfriend. But all the while guilt gnaws at him. The blackmailer never went through with their threat, leaving Amir’s family clueless and desperately worried, and his younger sister is rapidly putting the pieces together to figure out both why Amir left and where he is now. When his old life and his new one suddenly converge, Amir must decide what shape he wants his future to take.

I genuinely enjoyed How It All Blew Up and read the whole thing in a single day. The characters are interesting and full of life, the pacing fast but thoughtful, the humor occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, and the descriptions of Italian food made me constantly hungry – just like A Thousand Questions did last month! Rome has never been exceptionally high on my bucket list of places to visit but this book made it leap up several places. The whole story gave me a modern-day Great Gatsby vibe as Amir’s new friend group laze around cafes, bars, and expensive homes day-drinking, attend open mic evenings, and stay out partying until dawn.

However, there were also a lot of problems. Firstly, Amir’s whole time in Italy is positively dripping in serendipity. Literally within hours of arriving in Rome, he is being invited to dinner parties, hanging out at rooftop bars (remember the legal drinking age in Italy is 18), and experiencing wild, hedonistic parties – all with the friends of the very first person he happens to speak to in the city. Add to that Amir’s secret career editing Wikipedia pages for money that allows him to fund this lifestyle – he has rented his own apartment by around his 10th day in the city – and it’s all just… wildly unbelievable. Of course, all fiction has an element of the unbelievable to a greater or lesser extent, but How It All Blew Up pushed the boundaries of suspension of disbelief too far for me.

Another criticism that How It All Blew Up is facing generally is that it is being marketed as a Muslim story when the central character freely admits that although he is culturally Muslim, his family is not religious. Indeed, Amir’s fears regarding his family’s reaction stem entirely from their conservative Iranian roots, not from religion. It’s still great to see a coming out story from a very different cultural perspective than the typical white American male version I have probably read a dozen times this year alone, but pushing this as specifically a Muslim story feels disingenuous.

My final issue with the book was The Nipple Incident. This story is alluded to early in the book and built up until much later on, but nothing can quite prepare you for it. Honestly, I still feel a little nauseous every time I’m reminded of it. Weirdly, this disturbing moment fulfills no greater purpose in the plot, so I cannot begin to fathom why it’s in there, especially as it is apparently biologically impossible anyway (I wouldn’t know, nor do I ever want to find out).

Despite all this, I would still recommend How It All Blew Up. The author paints a stunning portrait of Rome that will make you want to mimic Amir and hop on the very next flight you can find in order to explore – although it must be noted that this portrait is rather caricaturish, to say the least. I’d also recommend not reading on an empty stomach because even as someone who doesn’t like pasta all that much, I wanted to devour bowl after bowl while reading this!

As a fantastic coming-of-age adventure story with LGBTQ elements, How It All Blew Up is brilliant, but those hoping for more depth from its ties to Muslim culture might be left feeling disappointed.

GeekMom received a copy of this item for review purposes.

The world is in need of more Own Voices books in general but when a YA LGBTQ+ novel is described as ‘highly personal’ for the author, it’s an instant must-read for me. So I was delighted when I was approved for this one on NetGalley.

Amir Azadi is an 18-year-old Muslim boy, who is terrified about coming out to his family. So when he’s blackmailed with photos of him kissing his boyfriend, he does the only thing he can think to do -he runs. Runs far away. He never imagined that it would all end in an airport interrogation room with a team of suspicious police officers.

Amir loves logic and order and his attempts to try and navigate the complexities of his young adult life in accordance to that really show his naivete. I understand why he takes this approach to trying to figure everything out but he fails to take into account that his family should love him unconditionally. He just assumes that his being gay will definitely shun him from the family and I think it’s his overthinking that led him to take the drastic action that he took.

Amir’s sister Soraya is a wonderful character and I’d loved to have had more of her voice. In fact, I think I’d love a spin-off novel focusing on her and her theatre friends -(Ahmadi, take note!). She is an incredibly understanding, caring girl who is passionate about standing up for her brother in the face of their conservative parents. She seems to have fantastic intuition for when to contact Amir and when to leave him be and this makes for a really lovely sibling relationship between them. It is largely Soraya’s research and determination to get her brother home and safe that leads to the family reuniting.

The men that Amir meets in Rome are older and much more experienced but they’re very warm and welcoming. They introduce him to a plethora of gay pop culture and a lifestyle that is driven by freedom and friendship. Although Amir was having a great time with them, there was a part of me -perhaps as a woman- that was worried for him. I didn’t feel that I could fully trust these new friends and I couldn’t shake the feeling that there were some more sinister intentions at play. Thankfully, these suspicions never came to fruition and Amir’s time in Rome served simply as a window into the life that he could lead.

Amir’s romance with an Italian boy called Valerio is so pure and beautiful. Their date at the Sistine Chapel is one of the most smile-inducing parts of the book and is a glimpse into the confident, no-holds-barred Amir that Rome has created. I wanted him to choose this life so badly and at this point, I was seriously rooting for his crazy flight to pay off for him.

Of course, when Amir and his family are escorted into the interrogation room after arguing on the plane back home, the topic of race is at its most prominent. Like many non-white people, Amir’s skin colour has been a catalyst for conflict at several points in his life and we learn that this has been the case for his father too. Naturally, the whole family are very nervous while talking to the police officers and their fear really illustrates exactly what Muslims must go through when subliminally suspected and accused of the worst acts. These sections are very eye-opening and vital reading experiences for white people.

Although it teaches valuable lessons on race relations and attitudes to homosexuality, How It All Blew Up is about embracing who you are in spite of what your background looks like. It teaches us that sometimes you have to leave your home and comfort zone to find true happiness and discover yourself. I’m not sure how realistic it really is for an 18-year-old (or the average Wikipage writer) to be able to afford the lifestyle that Amir manages to live in Rome but I was much more interested in the lessons I was learning than technicalities of the plot. It has been compared to Becky Albertalli’s books but the only similarity that I can draw is the theme of being outed. This is a highly original, moving YA novel that has so much to teach us.

Thank you to Netgalley, to the publisher and to Pride Tours for allowing me to read a copy early!

So let me start this off by saying that if I had had the money and bravery to tootle off to Italy back when I was stressing about coming out I'd have done it in a jiffy! I didn't have the bank balance, the guts, or a real drive to do so though, unlike our protagonist, Amir.

This book handles the concept of blackmail and coming out really well for the most part. These are some heavy, sensitive topics, and I think it helps that it's such a unique take on the situation. Usually when we see storylines like this they involve the protagonist giving in to their blackmailer, but this time we got to see Amir actually leave the country and spend a month away from home and away from some of the things that scared him most which I think in the end was good for him.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, with interesting characters in a lovingly described setting. It is diverse and it handles culture and queerness carefully and honestly. It doesn't shy away from real world prejudice. It's not a book that focuses on romance, although there are aspects of that which run throughout. The focus of How it All Blew Up is on family, bravery, and honesty. It's about how running away from your problems won't solve them, and that you have to be brave and face them head on sometimes, but for me it also shows that sometimes leaving is the right thing to do. I don't know how everyone else feels, or if this is what the author intended, but for me Amir made the right choice to leave because that's what he felt safest doing. He was true to his own feelings and wants.

Amir thinks the way a lot of queer people do-- a points system forever building in our heads to try and tot up if the people we love will still love us when they know the true us. We are often surrounded by coming out horror stories, and so it's no wonder that when Amir felt trapped he chose to leave it behind, and in doing so he found himself in the freedom that gave him.

I do wish we'd have gotten to see slightly more retaliation against the people who tried to blackmail him in the first place, and i'd have liked to see more of what happened to the characters after the events of the book, but it was a well rounded novel which was written in quite a unique format with the way it interspersed scenes in Italy with scenes from the present. It really felt like a story was being told.

Overall I would recommend this to anyone who wants a story about self discovery. It is a coming out story but in a very unique format and though Amir doesn't always do things the right way, he's brave on his own terms and in his own way a lot of the time. There are situations he's forced into, by family and by friends, and by blackmailers too, but he looks after himself, and that takes a lot of bravery. By the end of the novel I was proud of him and how far he'd come.

I enjoyed this book, for the most part. It's based around Amir and his family in US customs after an argument on a plane. Amir is in one room, telling the story of his time in Rome after running away to avoid coming out to his parents. Amir's father is in another room, and we see how his experience of being in this situation of being questioned by customs in the past affects him, which is important to see in a YA novel. Amir's mother and sister are together in a third room, and it was quite interesting to hear their side of the story, particularly from Amir's sister, Soraya. The story of Amir's time in Rome was great, there was found family, gay relationships, plenty of queer characters and it was fun to read about Amir exploring Rome. There was one part of this book, the "nipple story" that grossed me out massively to the point where I've knocked a whole star off of my rating because I really didn't want to read something so graphic in a YA book. There's a chance I'm just sensitive to gross stories though so other people may not have an issue with that part of the book. There's also a conversation between Amir and a bisexual woman that came across biphobic to me, where she was talking about how she's not out to her parents but she could end up with a man some day so "there's a chance [she] might not be a fucking weirdo in the eyes of [her] parents" which isn't really challenged on page. It made me feel iffy, so I've knocked another star off my rating for that. Overall, a pretty good book, I just can't quite get past those two issues. I'd recommend that other people read it and make their own minds up about it though as it is a pretty good story!

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.

The narrative is split between two different stories. These both take place in the present – set inside a US Customs Office interrogation room and the other basically explaining how Amir and his family got into that situation. It is easy to follow and I love how the interrogation chapters include not only Amir but also his family, it is like they are reading you the story.
I did wish I could have had a bit more of a story once Amir had tried to sort everything out, maybe an extra chapter or two at the end resolving some of the issues. Including what happened with the blackmailer and the troubled relationship once things came to a climax. I would love to have seen the reaction to some of the things that he got up to in Rome when both the people in question had found out about what he had done, and why. But it does end in a cute way, I would have loved just that little bit more.
Overall it is a cute coming out story with a religious backdrop, seeing how a young boy of 18 can cope in a world he isn’t used to, on his own in a completely new city, running away from his problems, and possibly causing some more in the process.
If you enjoy reading books by authors like Simon James Green, then I would recommend.

I really wanted to like this because the premise had so much promise and it’s bad some great endorsements from some authors that I love and respect. But this just wasn’t it. It felt so flat. Some parts confused me big time. Others enraged me. I just couldn’t really get into it and considered dnf-ing it but I don’t like to leave a book unfinished. Such a shame.

How It All Blew Up follows Amir and his family after they are detained after a fight on an airplane and deals with the events leading up to the fight including Amir running away to Rome and his new life there.

The plot of the book was not what I expected, I also did not like the writing style and how the story is told through multiple perspectives which I felt was irrelevant. Everything moved very quickly, the pace of the book made it hard for me to connect to Amir because I hardly knew him and his life prior to running away (I would have liked to know more about his first relationship) and then in Rome, Amir is dealing with a lot of new things that there is little focus on him as a character and more on other characters/drama. The book starts of with the family being detained in separate rooms and the story involves all of their perspectives which I personally found boring and I guess all the commentary within these sections was pointless for me, the side comments were weird and awkward and to be honest this aspect of the book was pointless, there was no big resolve at the end.


When Amir is in Rome a lot happens and there are various characters introduced but because everything moves very fast it is quite confusing because Amir changes his mind about people and his situation very quickly so I do not know how to feel about these side characters. I did not expect so much focus on his life in Rome, honestly the plot was not what I thought it would be and I expected religion to play a bigger part in the book. Also, because this is a YA novel, when Amir ran away, I expected him to hang out with people his own age but most of his friends are way older than him.

The writing style was not for me, the book and Amir’s character felt flat and so even with everything going on I was bored and uninterested in the story, I skimmed read most of the book.

1/5

This book honestly felt like a breath of fresh air. The pacing and format was just so easy to read and really helped me get out of my reading slump (I read it in one evening!). It really reminded me of 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' with the oral story telling aspect and the suspense but a YA/LGBTQ+ version. It was interesting to hear how Amir struggled with the two parts of himself; his Iranian family/culture and him being gay. It also really made me want to go to Italy asap!

Thank you for the review copy!

This book was a massive let down and I’m incredibly disappointed. When I first read the premise of this book I was incredibly excited and I thought I was going to really love it, but the plot ended up letting me down massively. It was a very quick and easy read but it just lacked depth.

This story is about Amir, an 18 year old who runs away to Italy after being blackmailed for being gay. When he gets to Italy he meets a group of friends who take him under their wing and help him accept himself. At first I really liked the group of friends as they seemed like they really wanted to help Amir, but they really started to grate on me towards the end of the book and I ended up disliking them.

There were so many parts of this book that made me incredibly uncomfortable that it ended up just spoiling the entire book for me. It’s fair to say it just wasn’t an enjoyable read for me at all.

A clever take on a coming-out story, 'How It All Blew Up' follows eighteen-year-old Amir as he comes to terms with his sexuality, and wonders how to tell his Iranian-American Muslim family that he's gay. He's very careful to hide his high-school hook ups with his maybe-boyfriend, but when another student threatens to tell his parents, Amir feels defeated by the blackmail and bullying. Running away to Rome feels like the perfect escape. He's sure his family will reject him when they discover his secret, and in Rome he's free to explore his identity without threats and judgement.

The clever twist is the setting for the story. Amir is explaining himself to an immigration official, following an argument with his family on their flight back to the US. His family is also being questioned in neighbouring interrogation rooms, and the events leading up to their detention are narrated by Amir, his parents, and his sister.

Amir is a sympathetic and relatable character. His fears about his family are based on comments they have made, and Amir's decision not to tell them about his sexuality feels entirely justified. His experiences in Rome are life-affirming and beautifully described, with a cast of characters who take Amir into their social circle and teach him about life, love, and relationships. Rome becomes a character in the book, with descriptions of beautiful buildings, riverside cafes, rooftop parties, and a memorable visit to the Sistine Chapel. His new friends are older and more experienced, but with very different approaches to life and love. There are heart-breaking moments and heart-warming conversations, and in spite of the interrogation-room setting this is a feel-good book.

The story poses questions about family, tolerance, and identity without offering easy answers. Amir's experiences in Rome give him confidence, but after the final page he still has to negotiate his life at home. There are no magic solutions and no sudden changes of heart, so the story feels real and messy - but hopeful.

This is a gripping, interesting book with a cast of wonderful characters, an engaging story, and some utterly fabulous parties.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great LGBTQIA+ story of coming of age and reconciling who you are with who your family expected you to become. I flew through the book in one sitting as I just got lost in the story.

At first I did struggle a little with the pacing as it does move very fast, with only little detail being provided. However, I then came to see the book as more of a snapshot of a summer, it was less of an in-depth story and more a tale that was being recounted like a postcard sent from a summer abroad. Although I would love to have spent more time with the story as I did really enjoy it I do think it worked perfectly for the story.

If close your eyes just a little, you can see the sunset setting over the piazzale, you can taste the sweet notes of the wine, you smell the ocean breeze mixing with the delicious food and best of all you can feel Arvin’s heart beat every step of the way.

Arvin is Muslim and Iranian. Arvin is gay.
These are both facts.
When his life is turned upside down by a class mate who threatens to out him to his family Arvin is at a crossroads, let his life fall apart or run away. Arvin chooses to run away but in doing so he discovers something he never thought possible. He discovers the real him. In Rome he meets a group of people, who are all gay he finds through this group acceptance.

I really enjoyed the way of this narrative, we not only follow Arvin in a how we got here stance with flashbacks we follow his mum, dad and sister. How they find out where their son ran of to and why he ran. I like how we seen through all different perspectives and how messy the journey was. Not everything is easy and somethings are hard but sometimes you need to run through the quick sand in order to make it to the other side.

The reason this book wasn’t a 5 star read is because I find I wanted more of religious aspect it was pitched in a certain way and it does deliver I just wish it delivered more, Also the nipple story which I had been previously warned about was quite disturbing and all throughout the book I couldn’t get it out my head, I want to know if this story is fictitious!

A quick and engaging read - I sped through this in a single afternoon. I've noticed that this received some very poor reviews, but I enjoyed it immensely. It is not the deepest of YA novels, but I appreciated the occassionally lighthearted style. Amir provided a strong narrative voice which was easy to read, but I particularly liked the use of differing POVs, especially Soraya - who I adored from the minute she appeared. Some have found the ending unsatisfying, but I liked its open-endedness.

In an interrogation room at the airport, Amir tells the story of how his fear of being outed to his Muslim family led him to a month in Rome. Two boys from school were blackmailing him and he ran away on his graduation.

With a conversational tone to the narrative, your feel as if the characters are speaking to you or you are there with them, making this such a pleasure to read. Indicative of each character, you get a welcome insight of the whole family.

I love the innocence that Amir exudes, not because of his age, but also his first interactions with other people like him. That does not exclude his cynicism which he 'pours' gingerly on top of his story.The group in Rome are a delight and great role models for Amir, as far as being comfortable in your own skin goes. Amir is already a pretty decent guy on his own, and braver than he thinks.

I do wish the ending hadn't been so abrupt and kind of off topic. I needed to see more of the coming together part.

Dealing with the pitfalls of prejudice, key themes here are: desiring acceptance, learning to live openly and freely and being who you truly are.

This is a wonderful coming to terms with your truth and getting others to accept it story, honest and grounded and so inviting

‘How It All Blew Up’ was a book that I was genuinely looking forward to reading. The blurb sounded promising enough and I was excited to read an own voices book with a main character who will probably end up embracing both his Muslim/Persian side and his gay identity. The good news is, he does. The bad news is, the book probably would’ve needed some great polishing and is missing significant plot.

I flew through this one but I just thought this was lacked quite a lot and just felt something was missing! It was good for what it was but just middle of the road for me