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. In spite of a few flaws, readers will eagerly await the next installment.ĭarius Kellner suffers from depression, bullying by high school jocks, and a father who seems to always be disappointed in him. While suspense is often palpable, other times, plot elements don’t fully add up-the Heists are conducted with helicopters (that no one sees because they’ve been drugged), and Emma remains safe but unfaithful in Taem after Gray escapes-diminishing the impact for discerning readers. The story is told in Gray’s first-person narration, with occasional conveniently found documents to supplement back story that he can’t provide.

The story they are told is quickly contradicted by other information they discover, leading to the pressing need to identify possible helpers who might oppose the brutal followers of Frank or the rebels (including attractive Bree) who operate outside the city.

On the other side of the wall, they are both captured-or possibly befriended-by the Franconian Order, which runs the modern, water-starved city of Taem. Unexpectedly, his almost-a-girlfriend Emma follows him. Gray is frustrated by the community’s calm, resigned acceptance of the boys’ shocking fate, so after his brother Blaine’s Heist, he determines to go over the massive wall that contains the town to search for the explanation for their grim existence. Gray has reached the age of 17 in a primitive town that’s defined by what happens to boys on their 18th birthdays: They are Heisted away, never to return. Debut author Bowman takes readers on a suspenseful trek through a dystopian landscape.

Frozen erin bowman