Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story) PPBK

Now in paperback!

WINNER: MICHAEL L. PRINTZ AWARD - CHRISTOPHER AWARD - MIDDLE EAST BOOK AWARD - WALTER DEAN MYERS AWARD HONOR

BEST OF THE YEAR: NPR - New York Times - Amazon - Booklist - BookPage - Publishers Weekly - Wall Street Journal - Today.com

From national bestselling author Daniel Nayeri comes 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, Daniel spins a tale to save his own life: to stake his claim to the truth.

A tale of heartbreak and resilience and urges readers to speak their truth and be heard.

P R A I S E

A modern masterpiece.--New York Times

Supple, sparkling and original.--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

★ A modern epic.--Kirkus (starred)
★ A rare treasure of a book. --Publishers Weekly (starred)
★ A story that soars.--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred)
★ At once beautiful and painful.--School Library Journal (starred)
★ Raises the literary bar in children's lit. --Booklist (starred)
★ Poignant and powerful. --Foreword Reviews (starred)
★ One of the most extraordinary books of the year. --BookPage (starred)

- Daniel is a major force and one of the youngest publishers in the industry.
- He's an #OwnVoices author, public speaker, and storyteller.
- A pulled-from-the headlines immigrant story.
- Thematically relevant as immigration stories take center stage in politics, news, and media in 2020.
- Daniel challenges how we tell stories by using traditional Persian folk tales
- A fantastic literary whirlwind  that questions western narrative structures.