Khorram’s debut novel is filled with insight into the lives of teens, weaving together the reality of living with mental illness while also dealing with identity and immigration politics. For the first time in a long time, Darius learns to love himself no matter what external forces attempt to squash his confidence. Sohrab teaches Darius what friendship is really about: loyalty, honesty, and someone who has your back in a football (soccer) match. But all that changes when Darius meets Sohrab, a Bahá’í boy, in Yazd. When he arrives in Iran, learning to play the Persian card game Rook, socializing, and celebrating Nowruz with a family he had never properly met before is all overwhelming and leaves Darius wondering if he’ll ever truly belong anywhere. He’s mocked for his name and nerdy interests at Chapel Hill High School in Portland, Oregon, and doesn’t speak enough Farsi to communicate with his Iranian relatives either. Iranian on his mother’s side and white American on his father’s side, Darius never quite fits in. When Darius’ grandfather becomes terminally ill, Darius, along with his parents and younger sister, travels to Iran for the first time in his life. With few physical descriptions or cultural markers, ethnicity is difficult to determine.ĭarius Kellner suffers from depression, bullying by high school jocks, and a father who seems to always be disappointed in him. Unfortunately, the secondary characters at times prove to be more interesting that the protagonist, whose characterization falls flat. Deuker ( Gutless, 2016, etc.) weaves an interesting plot dealing with socio-economic inequality and drug use into a cast of varied characters. Knowing he’ll get better training and more exposure to college scouts in Seattle, Laz must decide whether to leave his family and chase after his dream. Laz receives the opportunity of a lifetime: transfer to Laurelhurst High, which has the city’s top team, and live with the family of their star player. After the baseball program closes at North Central High, it’s announced that Jet City will be demolished by developers, and his mother decides to move out of the city.

His half brother, Antonio, is 18 months younger and also likes baseball-but lately, Antonio has been hanging out with Garrett, a small-time drug dealer, which worries Laz.

With a speech impediment and a learning disability, Laz believes that baseball might be the only path available to him after high school. Lazarus “Laz” Weathers-so named because he almost died while being born-is a pitcher living in Jet City, a trailer park in Seattle. A high school baseball player fights for his dream of pitching in the major leagues.

Golden arm by carl deuker