Book Review: Everything Sad is Untrue

 

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Nayeri, D. (2023). Everything sad is untrue: (a true story). Levine Querido.

ISBN: 978-1646142729

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

At the front of a middle school classroom in Oklahoma, a boy named Khosrou (whom everyone calls 'Daniel') stands, trying to tell a story. His story. But no one believes a word he says. To them, he is a dark-skinned, hairy-armed boy with a big butt whose lunch smells funny, who makes things up and talks about poop too much. But Khosrou's stories, stretching back years, and decades, and centuries, are beautiful and terrifying, from the moment he, his mother, and sister fled Iran in the middle of the night, stretching back to family tales set in the jasmine-scented city of Isfahan, the palaces of semi-ancient kings, and even the land of stories

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book was an interesting read. I struggled to get through it because I had difficulty following along and found myself confused throughout the story. This novel is told from the point of view of a twelve-year-old boy. The story is not bad, but it was definitely not my favorite. It goes from the present to sharing memories of the past, making it hard for me to follow along. I also felt the story skipped around a lot.

As I think about the cultural connection, this story provides an insight into how the main character, Daniel, felt moving into a new country as a refugee. He did this by sharing some of the myths from his culture because he thought it was important to write them down. He also shared some of the differences in the culture and, of course, his list of foods he “discovered from America,” such as peanut butter and marshmallows. Daniel also shares a lot about his culture throughout his story, which was nice to read and helped me better understand Daniel. An example is when he shared his thoughts on Saddam Hussein while making goody bags in Ms. Miller’s class.

Overall, the story was not bad; it was just hard for me to follow.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

-    MICHAEL L. PRINTZ AWARD

 

-       -CHRISTOPHER AWARD

 

-       MIDDLE EAST BOOK AWARD

 

-       WALTER AWARD HONOR 

Starred review in Kirkus: “A modern epic.”

Starred review in Booklist: “Raises the literary bar in children’s lit.”

Starred review in School Library Journal: “At once beautiful and painful.”

Starred review in Publisher’s Weekly: “A rare treasure of a book.”

5. CONNECTIONS

Engage students in a discussion about the decision Daniel's father made to stay in Iran, and how it affected his family.  Ask the students to reflect on the decision. Was Daniel’s dad correct? Would they have made a different decision? Have them elaborate.

Have students find different examples of symbolism throughout the story. Have them cite specific examples from the story.

*Other books by Daniel Nayeri:

Nayeri, D., & Rockefeller, M. (2024). Drawn onward. HarperCollins. ISBN: 978-0063277168

 

Nayeri, D., & Miyares, D. (2023). The many assassinations of Samir, the seller of dreams. Levine Querido.

ISBN: 978-1646143030

This book review was written for an SHSU MLA course.