Publishers Weekly
07/24/2023
An Iranian American teenager discovers the power of the written word in Shahi’s emotionally vulnerable verse debut. In July 2001 Arizona, Omid awaits the arrival of Baba Joon and Maman Joon, his maternal grandparents who are emigrating from Iran to the U.S. and whom he’s never met. Upon their meeting, Baba Joon gives Omid a journal, hoping it may help Omid manage his tumultuous emotions. While finding the words for feelings surrounding his experiences navigating his identity, the Islamophobic bigotry he faces in the aftermath of 9/11, and his epic crush on a girl at his new prep school isn’t always easy, he discovers that writing in the journal helps him process. Inspired by a Shakespeare unit in his honors English class and the play he auditions for to get closer to his crush, Omid attempts to express himself using varying methods of writing that improve communication in everyday life. When his friend Sammy, who is Black, burns him a rap mix CD, the music unlocks a new medium through which Omid unearths his self-confidence. As Omid explores new facets of himself, his first-person narration develops into that of a self-assured protagonist whose voice leaps off the page; Shahi employs Shakespearean dialogue and original rap to kinetic effect. Ages 13–up. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
An Impossible Thing to Say is tender, honest, and unforgettable, filled with characters that delight, verses that shine, and moments that took my breath away. Few books have ever made me feel so seen.” — Adib Khorram, award-winning author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay
“A unique and thoughtful coming-of-age story that masterfully takes advantage of its unconventional narrative to reveal the truths that we all—no matter what our age—are often unable to say out loud.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Arya Shahi just blew the door down on how we are allowed to tell our stories. Words are clearly his jam.” — Firoozeh Dumas, New York Times bestselling author of Funny in Farsi and It Ain't So Awful, Falafel
“A beautiful love story brimming with painful historical truths. It is also the best introduction to the rhythms of rap music that I've ever read. This book is one of my favorite verse novels of 2023.” — Margarita Engle, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Surrender Tree and national Young People's Poet Laureate Emeritus
“A compelling coming-of-age story about finding your own voice and holding on to hope in the face of uncertainty and doubt.” — Horn Book (starred review)
“Sensitively felt, beautifully rendered, and expertly crafted. A story that is at once nostalgic and universal, viscerally specific and yet completely timeless, like a pocket universe where every first-generation American kid gets to feel seen. This is on my shortlist of books I feel grateful to have read during my lifetime.” — Alexene Farol Follmuth, author of Twelfth Knight
“Shahi gives readers embarking on a path toward agency an insightful, eloquent companion in Omid.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
"A heartfelt and nuanced depiction of what it’s like to straddle different cultures and the critical need to understand oneself. [And] a love letter to words and their ability to not only define us, but shape who we are." — Kirkus Reviews
“[The first-person narrator’s] voice leaps off the page; Shahi employs Shakespearean dialogue and original rap to kinetic effect.” — Publishers Weekly
School Library Journal
11/24/2023
Gr 8 Up—Persian-American playwright and rapper Shahi's novel-in-verse explores themes of coming of age, cultural assimilation, and personal acceptance. In the homogeneity of Tucson, AZ, during the period leading up to and just after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, a multigenerational family impacted by the Iranian Revolution is trying to hold on to the threads of tradition, while finding their place in the community. Born to Muslim and Bahá'í parents, an illegal marriage in their home country, brothers Omid and Amir have grown up in an Americanized household, where Farsi was left in the past, but some aspects—Persian rugs, traditional cuisine, and a love of poetry—pervade. Omid's father, a rug dealer, weaves language like the threads of precious rugs, and younger brother Amir has inherited the gift of gab, always able to charm. Omid struggles to find his voice, despite his love of language and his achievements in AP English. When he meets Emily, a new girl at school, Omid seizes the opportunity to connect with someone he sees as a fellow outsider, and they dazzle in the theater auditions, as Omid's life plays out like a Shakespearean tragedy. Through the beloved bard, Omid discovers the strength of words and transforms himself into a poet-rapper, able to voice his fears about the confusing, conflicted, and dissonant world that surrounds him and find his footing in the family and at school. VERDICT Recommended for all collections serving teens, especially for fans of Daniel Nayeri's Everything Sad Is Untrue, Adib Khorram's Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Tahereh Mafi's A Very Large Expanse of Sea, and Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X.—Rebecca Jung
Kirkus Reviews
2023-06-21
A tender coming-of-age story about an Iranian American boy getting to know his grandparents, learning more about Persian culture, facing prejudice, and growing in self-knowledge.
It’s July 2001, and Omid is a rising high school sophomore in Tucson, Arizona, when Baba Joon and Maman Joon, the maternal grandparents he’s never met before, move to the U.S. from Iran. Baba Joon gives Omid a journal in which he begins to document his daily life: his crush on the new girl at his private prep school and the Shakespeare play he auditions for so he can be close to her, his experiences navigating two cultures, and the bigotry he hears about and faces in the aftermath of 9/11. Omid, whose father’s family is Muslim and mother’s family is Baha’i, tries on Shakespearean dialogue for size and reaches for words in Farsi as ways to better comprehend and express himself and his heritage, but what finally resonates most is the rap music his best friend introduces him to. Through rap, his self-awareness and confidence grow. Although slow to start, this novel in verse quickly becomes more engaging, and the first-person narration becomes more refined as the story progresses. This is a heartfelt and nuanced depiction of what it’s like to straddle different cultures and the critical need to understand oneself.
A love letter to words and their ability to not only define us, but shape who we are. (Verse fiction. 13-18)
