After reading some very mixed reviews on ‘How It All Blew Up’, I went into it with very low expectations and in the end the book was simply okay. There were a few things I liked about this book and a few things I didn’t like about it.

I really loved the writing in this book and the way that the book flipped from present day in the interrogation room with Amir and his family and then back to the actual story about Amir’s life in Italy. I flew through this book really quickly, probably because it is a shorter book but also because the writing was easy to read and really fast-paced. I loved the character of Amir’s sister, Soraya, and you could really see their love between Amir and Soraya throughout the story.

There were some things about this book I did not like. For example, the ‘nipple story’. For some reason this story is mentioned throughout the book and when Amir tells you what the actual story is about, it is disgusting. The story also had absolutely no relevance in the book and should not have even been included. I also felt like all of the Italian characters were based on stereotypes and none of them really had any character development and throughout most of the book I kept getting all of the characters confused as all of them kind of blended together because they were so similar. The only character who did stand out was Jahan.

Overall, this book was okay. This is the kind of book where if it is put into the hands of the right person, then it could change their life and be their all-time favourite book, but for me it was simply okay. I didn’t hate it but I also was not madly in love with it. I simply think this book is an important book and we need more diverse books like this one, particularly in young adult fiction.

How It All Blew Up was a fun and enlightening read that is told it multiple perspectives but mainly from our main character Amir. We follow Amir’s journey of struggling with being open about his sexuality, being blackmailed and how his family would react to the news. I liked Amir as a character, he was incredibly sweet but also incredibly naïve and at times made very stupid decisions. However, this made him realistic and sometimes relatable.

I found it difficult to connect with any of the other characters in this book but I think that it was because there wasn’t enough time to do so. The only character I seemed to like other than Amir was his sister.

Whilst I liked this book, I couldn’t find it in myself to love it. I felt there were too many coincidences in this book, for example he lands in Rome and on the same day he manages to meet another American who is also gay and in turn introduces him to another character who lets him stay with him in his apartment. It all just slotted together too perfectly and I wanted to see Amir struggle for a little bit in a new country!

I also wanted to see more from Amir and his family after being held at customs. I wanted to know about how the dynamic had changed or did it not? This was the main plot point of the book and I feel like it was very much brushed under the rug in the pretence of the families thoughts and feelings coming out in the customs interviews.

Overall, this was a quick read with humour and drama intertwined which shows how difficult it can be for people to come out to their family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a delight and so compulsively readable! It was so fun to escape to Rome with Amir but also to delve into some deeper topics as well. One of my friends lives in Italy and this is just exactly how I picture her life. Amir was such a fun narrator and even though he was a bit of an asshole sometimes you really were rooting for him! We can so often romanticise situations, people and places and this story showed that even the things that we romanticise and deem perfect are messy when we look a little closer.

3.5 STARS.

How It All Blew Up follows eighteen-year-old Amir Azadi as he explains why he ran away to Rome to an officer in an airport interrogation room. We hear about his fears about coming out to his Muslim family, the friends he made whilst in Rome, and about the drama that led his family to the interrogation rooms.

I'm a massive fan of LGBTQ+ YA, so I was super excited to dive into this story. Add in the fact that this is the first book I've read with an Iranian-American protagonist, and that it’s set in Italy (one of my favourite countries), and it’s safe to say I was looking forward to getting lost in Amir’s story.
We follow an enjoyable cast of diverse characters, and a standout for me was Amir’s sister who is desperately searching for him. I felt the scenes from his family’s point of view really added depth to the story and helped us to understand their thoughts and reactions to Amir coming out. The friends he makes in Rome were fun, but I think lots of people (especially Italians) will draw issue with how stereotypical some of the characters were. I did have to suspend disbelief slightly when it came to how quickly they accepted him into their group, and all the fun things they got up to. There’s lots of rooftop parties, cool poetry readings, drinking champagne on fountains, and of course pizza and pasta (another stereotype I think people may have an issue with). Although these were fun to read about, they did feel slightly unrealistic. Furthermore, all of Amir’s new friends are much older than him (about 10 years older) and it felt slightly problematic to me, especially as this age difference was never really acknowledged. There are a couple of points where some of the guys make sexual advances towards Amir, and it made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

My other issue with the book was the lack of depth around his faith, and how that affected him as a gay teen. It’s mentioned that he and his family are Muslim, and yet this was never really explored which I felt was a real shame. This is an OwnVoices novel, so I felt like I expected more from it in regards to this aspect of Amir as a character. I think he mentions at one point that he doesn’t really practice his faith, but I would have liked more of a reflection on how his faith and sexuality intersect and impact his life. The Muslim aspect of Amir’s life is heavily promoted in the description of this book, however I feel like it was really lacking.

I felt like the author did a great job of bringing Rome to life, there were some lovely descriptions of the architecture and streets in which the story was set. I sat outside reading this on a warm evening and it was such a lovely experience, I felt like I was totally transported to Italy. It’s a short and fast-paced story that I got through very quickly. I did feel like there were times when the plot became very rushed, and it ended up that important scenes didn’t deliver the impact they should have. The ending was rushed and anti-climactic and I didn’t feel like it rounded off the story in a cohesive way, also there’s no resolution to the blackmail he experiences (and the guy he was seeing back in the US is never really mentioned again).
There was also a story about a nipple piercing that honestly made my toes curl. I felt like it had absolutely no place in the story, especially as it happens in the middle of a kiss. When I think of this book the first thing that comes to mind is the nipple story, and I'm guessing that that’s not the lasting impact the author wanted to make.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, I ended up wanting to know how Amir’s story would turn out, and I did generally like him as a character, even if he did make some stupid decisions. Parts of the book are a bit messy, but maybe this is a reflection on how life is rarely smooth-sailing. However, parts of the story were well-done, Amir’s fear of coming out to his parents was written well, and I think something many closeted teens will relate to. Overall, I was slightly disappointed because I felt like it was such a great premise that just didn’t quite deliver but I'm sure there will be people who really enjoy this book.

Plot: 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?

I honestly wanted to love this book– it has so much promise. But sadly it doesn’t deliver. The description of the book suggests that it will explore the intersection of being Muslim and coming out as a gay teenager, yet Amir’s family are noted as ‘not that religious’, and Amir doesn’t seem to practise his religion is his daily life. If it wasn’t for the book’s summary, when reading you could believe that Amir is a white character.

The book tackles coming out as a teen well (through some clichés such as a closeted ock), but the setting feels off. Yes, Amir decides to escape to Rome, but the characters he surrounds himself with also feel stereotypical ‘Italians’ and also a bit too idealistic. Making money from writing Wikipedia pages? Magically being able to get an apartment? Meeting someone 10 years older than you and being inducted into their friendship group of constant parties? Fiction is, obviously, fiction, but sometimes things felt a bit too convenient.
The structure was super interesting – I liked that it began with Amir’s family each being interviewed at the airport, after an argument on the plane. Beginning with this immediately drew you in to the racial tensions in America today, I only wish there was *more* going back and forth between each interview rather than Amir’s over-long musings on another party in Rome. The set up was great, but the ending didn’t pay off, it petered out.
Overall this is an easy read and of course has its merits, but sadly didn’t pay off for me, or explore the relationship between religion and sexuality as much as I thought it would, and also wanted it to.

‘How It All Blew Up’ comes out 22 September – thank you to @netgalley for the advanced copy!

I was given an advance review copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I’ve been reading, and enjoying the hell out of, a bunch of books aimed at young gay folk in recent months. From L C Rosen’s Camp and The Jack of Hearts (and other parts) to the quirky Boy Meets Hamster by Birdie Milano, I’ve really enjoyed reading these light, romantic, sometimes sexy, stories about people coming to terms with their identity, suffering and creating drama, and sometimes finding love.

This is the first one I’ve read with an Iranian protagonist, which adds an extra level of drama and pathos to the proceedings.

Amir is a closeted eighteen-year-old on the brink of graduating from high school when something threatens to out him to his parents, which he’s sure is going to be a disaster. In a panic and with two thousand dollars in his pocket, he flees to Rome to wait for everything to blow over.

Away from home and emboldened to do things he’d never do there, he meets a collection of delightfully queer characters who bring a great deal of life and light to the novel. Amir’s adorable and highly relatable, and his tribulations and drama feel plausible even if more sensible decisions could have headed them off at the pass.

“How It All Blew Up” was a hugely enjoyable read, and I recommend it for anyone who’d like to get a taste of sun-soaked Rome while stuck in lockdown. Come for the travelogue, but stay for the adorkable protagonist and charming supporting cast.

After fear of being outed by a classmate, Amir Azadi runs away and finds sanctuary in Italy. And when in Rome, right? Homeless and alone, Amir finds an unlikely community in Italy and learns to rediscover himself, all parts of him. But on his way home, after an incident on a plane, he’s forced to recount his days and tell his story in front of an interrogation room. All while his family are in another room telling theirs.

As a reader who is very neutral towards contemporary stories, How It All Blew Up was surprising and super refreshing. I liked it; it was something different. The story follows Amir as he recalls his entire journey to and from Italy to airport security. His family were flagged after the flight and separated so the staff could understand what was happening. Amir is an Iranian-American teenager who was moments away from graduation when a classmate threatens to out him to his Muslim family. For a while, Amir is able to buy his silence. Still, it all becomes too much on the day of graduation and, instead of heading to school, he makes his way to the airport and jumps on the first flight out of there. There he makes the decision to go to Italy and is quickly introduced to a community of people who help young Amir as he struggles to let go of his past.

I feel like the bare bones of this novel is extremely good. A story about a boy who doesn’t know what he wants just yet meets a crew of people who are willing to help and learns to understand himself in the process. I just feel like the execution of it was entirely rushed. I have to admit I was entirely hooked from the very beginning. Still, as Amir makes his roots in Italy, the story seems to lose all its interest. If you’re a reader who can suspend enough belief, this story can be magical and thrilling. But I just couldn’t engage with the story, and it began to feel very under-developed very quickly. Despite never having step foot in Italy before the novel, Amir can navigate Italian society quite quickly thanks to his new friends who help him become more comfortable with himself. The age gap between Amir and his friends was a little unsettling. At first, I didn’t think much of it, mainly because they are introduced as essential figures in Amir’s life who help him come to terms with his sexuality. I really found them all sweet in the beginning, giving Amir much-needed stability. Slowly, he realises he’s been looking through rose-tinted glasses, and his perfect friends aren’t as perfect as he’s built them up to be. I feel like the age gap between Amir, and his friends should’ve been acknowledged more, especially since two of them make a move on him when he’s only just turned eighteen.

What the synopsis doesn’t tell you is that the book is also told from other perspectives, mainly Amir’s sister. She is desperately trying to find her brother with quick scenes from his parent’s views. This gave them a lot more depth and understanding. I actually really liked the pacing between Amir’s chapters with the ones of him family as they all tell their part of the story, piecing together and leading to the moment where it all, essentially, blew up. That part was quite fun. I wasn’t too keen on the idea of the story being told in the middle of an interrogation mostly. I guess for the sake of the story, it added a dramatic flair, but I wonder if there was another way of doing it.

I wasn’t anticipating for this review to come out so negative. I quite enjoyed Amir’s story at the beginning. How It All Blew Up was uplifting and adventurous. I was rooting for a better life for Amir. It’s a shame this story was lacking a lot in terms of pacing and characterisation because the plot was so good that I was disappointed that the rest didn’t hold up.

I’m not crying, you’re crying!

This gut-wrenching, hilarious and raw novel was exactly what I needed today. Not only a story about prejudice, homophobia and racism but also a gorgeous tale about finding yourself..

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 was genuinely excited to read this book, however a tweet went viral with regard to a kissing scene and a nippl,e and a nerve ending and I just can't read this book. The scene itself made me feel sick and I don't understand it's relevance? Or if that can even happen? And how I'm supposed to find it romantic in the context of a kiss? This one just isn't for me.

This book has such a great opening - "First, let me get one thing straight: I'm not a terrorist. I'm gay" - it sets the largely light-hearted tone for the rest of the book. The book opens with Amir and his family being held for questioning after an 'incident' on the plane which alarmed the other passengers. But, as Amir says, he's no terrorist, and the reasons for the incident are unfolded as the book progresses.

Amir is gay, and his Muslim Iranian family are, he feels, unlikely to embrace this news. So when he's blackmailed with a photo of him kissing his boyfriend, Amir just leaves. For Italy. In Rome, he falls in with the gay community, makes good friends, goes on dates, makes some mistakes, and generally finds himself; but in the background he continues to fret about his family and their acceptance of who he is. His sister, Soraya, eventually works out where he is, and she and her parents arrive to bring him home - which leads up to the incident on the plane.

In the author's note, Arvin Ahmadi says this is his most personal book het - it clearly echoes much of his own experience of coming out. And the book does very much address this - but I felt that there was maybe not quite enough balance between this clearly sensitive topic and all the fun and games in Italy. Still, an enjoyable read and one which I'm sure many YA readers will enjoy.

Description

Eighteen-year-old Amir Azadi always knew that coming out to his Muslim family would be messy, but he wasn’t expecting it to end in an airport interrogation room. Now, he’s telling his side of the story to the stern-faced officer.

Amir has to explain why he ran away to Rome (boys, bullies, blackmail) and what he was doing there for a month (dates in the Sistine Chapel, friends who helped him accept who he is, and, of course, drama) . . . all while his mum, dad and little sister are being interrogated in the room next door.


A nuanced take on growing up brown, Muslim and gay in today’s America, HOW IT ALL BLEW UP is the story of one boy’s struggle to come out to his family, and how that painful process exists right alongside his silly, sexy romp through Italy.

My thoughts

I wasn’t sure what to expect when How It All Blew Up appeared on my NetGalley shelf. It looked colourful, fun and interesting based on the cover alone and – let me tell you – the story inside definitely delivered.

This book follows Amir Azadi, an eighteen year old coming to terms with his sexuality (and how his Muslim family will react to it). Except this isn’t just a story about family and sexuality, it’s a story about race, romance and it just so happens to take place in Rome – just one of the places I would go rushing back to if I had the opportunity (and if Coronavirus wasn’t a thing!).

Amir is young, immature but also funny and smart. Though he definitely did annoy me at times, I enjoyed reading his narrative and I loved seeing his journey unfold as the story went on.

Amir is supported by a series of weird and wonderful characters, who are sometimes stereotypical but equally as loveable and significant where Amir’s journey is concerned.

I have to say I loved how Ahmadi set the scene. Though I definitely didn’t take full advantage of Rome when I was there – what seems like hundreds of years ago – I loved how he transports you to that little cafe in a street corner, a beautiful natural scene or a exhilarating, fun party. It satisfied my need for a holiday – without me even leaving the house, packing a suitcase and getting sunburnt on the first day!

I also really liked the contrast in narratives, between the beautiful scenes in Rome and the less than beautiful interrogation room at an airport. It was interesting having the characters look back on how they thought and felt, and how their viewpoints changed as the narrative went on.

My only problem is, though I liked the ending, I didn’t feel that satisfied by it. I thought I knew how it was going to end, but the way it did end surprised me. It surprised me because it made me think Amir’s story wasn’t quite over and, after reading this book, I hope it isn’t.

How It All Blew Up is an interesting, thoughtful and heartwarming read.

How It All Blew Up will be published on 22nd September 2020.

There were aspects of this book I liked, and aspects that missed the mark for me. I loved the set up of the book, how it jumped between two narratives - past and present, and how obvious it was which narrative we were in. I really enjoyed the various characters in the book. Although Amir was mostly a frustrating character, some of the secondary characters seemed well rounded and were great additions to the story. However, the overall character development was underwhelming.

A lot of the storyline felt a little far fetched to me - somehow an 18-year-old made enough money editing Wikipedia pages to run away and live in Rome for a month? At one point he compares drag queens to clowns, hinting that he has no real idea what a drag queen is, but frequently uses drag-originated language; and displays many gay culture references, despite it being apparent he knows very little about gay culture due to his upbringing.

It was mostly well-written, and the jumps between characters were obvious. However, towards the end it gets messy. There are often instances where the narrative doesn't match who is supposed to be telling the story, and it feels very rushed. Also, I don't know if it was the version I had, but it sometimes (but not often enough to make you think it was deliberate!) jumped to a new paragraph in the middle of a sentence, which was pretty off-putting. I don't think the ending was up to scratch, a bit wishy-washy, and didn't feel like any of the real problems that the books raises were solved.

I'd also like to mention that "the nipple story", as it's referred to throughout the book, needs to be removed. It is totally unnecessary, unrealistic, and adds nothing to the story other than a moment of disgust (although not apparently for Amir).

Full review will be posted on my blog on September 12th at this address:
https://hilarylouiseblogs.wixsite.com/blog/post/ARC-review-how-it-all-blew-up-by-arvin-ahmadi

Set in America, the story begins in a school full of the typical stereotypes, jocks, bullies and outcasts. The protagonist, Amir cannot fathom coming out to his Muslim family and due to a terrible turn of events, decides to run away to Rome. Throughout Amir's turmoil his escape to Rome is a shining light in this dark time, a moment he finds himself with people who accept him and let him be.

Amir is believeable, desperate in his naivety and concerned about the reactions of his family. I felt transported to Rome, alongside Amir, with the heat on my back, taking in the sights, eating pizza and gelato!

This is a great summer read that sheds light on the acceptance of sexuality. It is refreshing, original and whilst it is suitable for all readers I imagine this will resonate for those searching for affirmation.

This is Arvin Ahmadi’s third novel for the young adult market and the one he says is the most personal. An Iranian family have an argument on a plane coming from Italy and are taken for interrogation when they land in their American homeland. This is the story, largely from the interrogation room of what they were doing in Italy and what the argument was all about.
Amir is a seemingly quite well off 18 year old who is reluctant to share his sexuality with his Muslim family. When a homophobic bully plans to out him Amir runs away and spends a summer in Rome where he learns a lot about himself and the importance of family.
The plot is simple yet very effective. Some of the text intended to support the young adult LGBTQ+ market feature characters who overpower the work. I did not feel this about Amir who seems very authentic and would appeal (rather than intimidate) those who are experiencing similar issues. He is, however, extremely fortunate in the choices he makes and the people he meets. This could have been a very different story from the life-enhancing tale that Ahmadi relates.
The oral tradition of story-telling is, we are told on a number of occasions in this book, very important in Iranian culture and it feels appropriate that Amir gets his chance to relate his experiences in this way even if it is to a largely silent interrogation officer. There are a lot of issues here from the Muslim’s family viewpoint towards homosexuality and self-esteem issues to the fine line that needs to be trodden to prevent motives being misjudged. These are all handled well written in a very likeable account of a memorable summer.
I’ve sometimes been a little wary of the YA titles I’ve recommended probably because the world has moved on so much since I was a young adult but I know that I would have loved this book in my teenage years and I think there is a large audience out here for this. It has a wider than young adult appeal and many firmly into adulthood would find it an involving and satisfying read.
How It All Blew Up will be published in the UK by Hot Key on 22nd September 2020. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

"How It All Blew Up" is a short, fast-paced story that centres around Amir, an eighteen-year-old gay Iranian boy struggling with reconciling his culture with his sexuality. I appreciated the heartfelt, personal manner in which the author tackled issues of homophobia and discrimination against people of colour - there are segments interspersed throughout where the Azadi family is being interrogated separately at an airport, and their awareness of the way security staff look at and question them is both stark and poignant.

I have to admit, however, that I felt quite distanced from the characters and the setting. Everything moves very quickly, so I don't feel like I got to know Amir, his family, or his newfound friends beyond a few surface attributes, and I would have liked more description of Rome so that I could feel truly immersed in the world.

Additionally, there's a scene (involving a nipple) about two-thirds of the way in that made me do a full-body cringe! Amir's recollection of the "nipple story" takes place in the midst of a kiss, and while I get that the author's intention could be to create awkwardness, it left me feeling so squeamish that I actually had trouble getting myself to pick up the book once more.

Had this book been perhaps a little more fleshed-out and a bit lighter on the nipple-horror front, I think I would have really enjoyed it - though while it might not be the book for me, this is obviously a novel very close to Ahmadi's heart. Young gay people from all backgrounds deserve a wealth of books to find themselves in, and I'm glad YA literature has a growing number of voices like Ahmadi's speaking their truths!

Unfortunately, this wasn't a book for me. I had hoped to have enjoyed it, however, there was too much going on that prevented such. The book covers an array of topics such as racism, bullying, blackmail, betrayal etc and has an extremely problematic story line - which left the book very heavy for many unnecessary reasons. I can not talk on how well written the representation was for Muslim's and the LGBTQ community, but it is clear to see for anybody, that the author could've highlighted this more, since this book has been promoted as a Muslim YA book. I think the only time Amir being a Muslim was described, was to exactly that, describe him as a Muslim.

That being said and despite the faults, I was still enthralled in the book and wanted to know how Amir's story would end. I enjoyed reading about his time in Rome and how Amir adapted to his possible new life, whilst awaiting or not even acknowledging his parent's thoughts on his sexuality. The group of friends he made were interesting indeed and opened Amir up to a whole new world of endless possibilities, although there were a few comments that made me feel rather uncomfortable, which came from Amir being eighteen-years-old and the others being closer to thirty.

I didn't hate or love this book - I'm somewhere in between, where there were many parts I enjoyed, yet there was also many parts I believe could have been avoided. As discussed with a friend, I also struggle to look at this book as being in the YA genre - the writing fits the YA theme, however the story does not and I think the confusion for many people is the choice of genre the author and publishers had decided to put this book in. I feel like that it could've been more enjoyable if it wasn't labelled under that, because it didn't represent YA much at all.

This book is a hard one to review because I have such mixed feelings about it. This book has Iranian, Muslim and gay representation and I personally cannot say if this is good representation or not as I am not part of these communities. However, I do think that there isn’t much included about being Muslim in this book other than a few mentions of our main character being Muslim.

This book covers hard topics like blackmail, racism and bullying even within the first 7% of the book. This story is told in flashbacks and the story works it’s way from the future back to the beginning if that makes sense. It also has multiple points of view throughout the book.

Our main character is 18 years old and runs away to Italy after being blackmailed. When he gets to Italy he finds a new group of friends and they are all much older than him which I personally found a little weird. One of the characters, Neil, makes a sexual joke with Amir and I wasn’t really fan. Especially with how young and immature Amir acts a lot of times throughout the book. There’s quite a few problematic parts to this book but I feel like that might have been the point because life is messy.

With the way this book was written in flashbacks, I felt like some stuff was missed that would have been important to the story and there was elements heavily written about that seemed unnecessary to me. The ending felt a bit rushed and the way that his family tracked down Amir in Italy seemed a bit far fetched for me.

I’m also unsure with this being labelled YA?

This one wasnt for me unfortunately. Good plot and good premise. I just really couldn't get into the story. I shall reread later in the year and see if my thoughts change

A great tale of how Amir travelled half around the world to avoid being at home when it looked like his family were about to find out that he was gay.

Amir is 18, American, gay and a Muslim. His family isn't ultra traditional but nothing about his life with them suggests to him that they will be okay with having a gay son. When it looks like he's about to be outed by others, he flees. He has no plan but he finds himself flying to Rome. The story follows him as he meets new friends and finds himself caught up in the sort of life he can have if he's free to be who he wants to be. And of course, all the time his family are worried about their missing son and his younger sister turns detective to find out where he is.

The story is told mainly through Amir's eyes but the author has cleverly interwoven the points of view of his parents and sister by having the tale told retrospectively from an airport interview room. Amir's narrative is interspersed with their actual views rather than his supposed ones and it is wonderfully done.

Rome is brought to life - wonderful descriptions of the buildings, the architecture, the food! - and is very much a character in itself, and is a great setting for this particular young man at this point in his life. A great city to find some freedom. Thankfully this book isn't the old cliche of once he's in Rome, he is able to 'find himself' but he is allowed to BE himself which is just what any teen needs. This is a charming book, full of likeable characters but addressing a real issue that many teenagers face when they're finding it difficult to be comfortable in their skin without love and support.