"Mrs. Miller says I have 'lost the plot,' and am now just making lists of things that happened to fill space. But I replied that she is beholden to a Western mode of storytelling that I do not accept and that the 1,001 Nights are basically Scheherazade stalling for time, so I don't see the difference."She laughed when I said this."It was one of those genuine laughs you get and for a second you see the person they are when they're not a teacher. Like the same laugh she might have at a movie or so...

SECOND READ:This time I read the print version and I have to say: The audio version is so fantastic. It really is fitting to hear Khosrou/Daniel tell his story, especially since it is framed as an oral storytelling. The book, however, allowed me to see the poetry in the text and to linger over the profound moments. The first 1/3 could be disorienting, as he gathers threads of his own family history, switching frequently between characters in his own family, but the momentum builds. Please keep r...

I sometimes listen to audiobooks when I am exercising or running . So if you recently saw me with my hands covering my face as I was working out, it wasn't to wipe the sweat from my eyes. It's because I was weeping while listening to this book and needed to get it together before going back to my run. This is the best book I've read in a long time. It may be because I have never read a book that so accurately described my own life. It may also be because Nayeri is a phenomenal writer or because

I was fortunate enough to pick up four Levine Querido arcs at ALA in January. FOUR. Truth: I was only supposed to take one, but I kept chatting with the rep there, and we'd talk about this book and that one, and he could tell I was so sincerely excited that he'd say, "Okay, here, take this one too ..." and so I did. This is the second one I've read, and while it's an unrealistic commitment for a school librarian who's got to stay on top of every genre and every reading level to say that I'm goin...

This is—without a doubt—one of the best books I have ever read.

I have now finished attempting to read last year's Printz winner and honorees, and I have to say, not one of them strongly appealed to me, even though almost all of them seem to have been written for adults, with no attempt to interest teen audience. The most readable of this bunch, and the only one that has a chance of capturing teen audience, IMO, is Dragon Hoops. The rest were books that portrayed various marginalized experiences in diverse historical and cultural contexts, but ultimately wer...

sometimes I think about the Booklist review for this book, "Nayeri challenges outright what young readers can handle, in form and content, but who can deny him when it’s his own experience on display? He demands much of readers, but in return he gives them everything." and then I shed a tear !

This is the book I will be gifting to everyone I know in the coming months. This is not a typical memoir. The way Nayeri weaves his own story among his family's and Persian mythology is beautiful and poignant, and hearing it all come from his younger self is such a fascinating choice. Nayeri's musings on what makes a myth and, perhaps even more importantly, what makes a storyteller, are not to be skimmed over. This is a book to revisit and cherish.

Everything Sad is Untrue is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. A phenomenal middle grade/young adult novel that would easily appeal to adults as well. The book has an unusual, but lyrical, structure of counting memories as Daniel Nayeri shares stories in the manner of Scheherazade (1,001 Nights) in order that you, the reader, may understand and believe him when he talks about life. Full of stunningly spot on metaphors and parables, Daniel blends east and west in an #ownvoices autob...

This was my life, as I experienced it, and it is both fiction an dnonfiction at the same time. Your memories are too, if you'll admit it. But you're not a liar. You're just Persian in your own way, with a flaw.--Daniel Nayeri (Author's Note)This book is a gift. A gem. It may be shelved in your Juvenile or Young Adult section of the library, but it is for everyone. Khosrou Nayeri is a descendant of Iranian royalty. He is a boy named Daniel who now lives in Oklahoma. His family has gone from abund...

A powerful, compelling autobiographical novel.

I like that this is a memoir about Nayeri's journey to America from Iran following a life and death situation (we don't know the real reason until pretty far into the book, so I won't reveal it here). This book feels like it wants to do several things at one time and I'm not sure it gets to the meat of any of those things. It wants to give a rich history of the oral tradition of storytelling and poetry in Iran. But, there isn't enough time spent in exploring these writers and poets. It feels as

When I first heard of this book by Daniel Nayeri I knew it would be good. What I didn't know was how powerfully it would hit. I desperately needed the hope that Daniel's writing offers. Turns out, I also needed to remember that there's a cost for joy, and that it's always worth it. I couldn't wait to get to my local bookstore to buy the book (which I'm still going to do #shoplocal), so I borrowed the audiobook (which the author reads). It's worth a listen. I can't wait to read it with my eyeball...

I have a soft spot for immigrant stories, for tales of reinvention and survival. Every family has its mythical figures. In a series of well told stories, Daniel introduces us to his. But more than that, he makes a powerful case for reading stories like his, for listening with the intention of hearing.

I’ve never read anything quite like this book, and I mean that in the best possible way.

Storytelling at its best!Except it's not only storytelling, this is author Daniel Nayari sharing his memories of immigrating from Iran to Edmund, Oklahoma as a young boy! Add this one to your novels for high school World Literature. I know I am excited to share this one with my high school English teachers.

"But what you believe about the future will change how you live in the present"Such a world of learning in the book.