Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award
Christopher Award Winner
Middle East Book Award Winner
National Indie Bestseller
NPR Best Book of the Year
New York Times Best of the Year
Amazon Best of the Year
Booklist Editors' Choice
BookPage Best of the Year
NECBA Windows & Mirrors Selection
Publishers Weekly Best of the Year
Wall Street Journal Best of the Year
Today.com Best of the Year
Walter Awards Honor Book
"A modern masterpiece."--The New York Times Book Review
"Supple, sparkling and original."--The Wall Street Journal
"Mesmerizing."--TODAY.com
"This book could change the world."--BookPage
"Like nothing else you've read or ever will read."--Linda Sue Park
"It hooks you right from the opening line."--NPR
SEVEN STARRED REVIEWS
* "A modern epic."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "A rare treasure of a book."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "A story that soars."--The Bulletin, starred review
* "At once beautiful and painful."--School Library Journal, starred
review
* "Raises the literary bar in children's lit."--Booklist, starred
review
* "Poignant and powerful."--Foreword Reviews, starred review
* "One of the most extraordinary books of the year."--BookPage, starred
review
A sprawling, evocative, and groundbreaking autobiographical novel told
in the unforgettable and hilarious voice of a young Iranian refugee. It
is a powerfully layered novel that poses the questions: Who owns the
truth? Who speaks it? Who believes it?
"A patchwork story is the shame of the refugee," Nayeri writes early in
the novel. In an Oklahoman middle school, Khosrou (whom everyone calls
Daniel) stands in front of a skeptical audience of classmates, telling
the tales of his family's history, stretching back years, decades, and
centuries. At the core is Daniel's story of how they became
refugees--starting with his mother's vocal embrace of Christianity in a
country that made such a thing a capital offense, and continuing through
their midnight flight from the secret police, bribing their way onto a
plane-to-anywhere. Anywhere becomes the sad, cement refugee camps of
Italy, and then finally asylum in the U.S. Implementing a distinct
literary style and challenging western narrative structures, Nayeri
deftly weaves through stories of the long and beautiful history of his
family in Iran, adding a richness of ancient tales and Persian folklore.
Like Scheherazade of One Thousand and One Nights in a hostile classroom,
Daniel spins a tale to save his own life: to stake his claim to the
truth. EVERYTHING SAD IS UNTRUE (a true story) is a tale of heartbreak
and resilience and urges readers to speak their truth and be heard.
