Everything Sad Is Untrue: (a true story)
- Downloads：9199
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-02 04:21:35
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Daniel Nayeri
- ISBN：1646140001
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
At the front of a middle school classroom in Oklahoma， a boy named Khosrou （whom everyone calls "Daniel"） stands， trying to tell a story。 His story。 But no one believes a word he says。 To them he is a dark-skinned， hairy-armed boy with a big butt whose lunch smells funny; who makes things up and talks about poop too much。
But Khosrou's stories， stretching back years， and decades， and centuries， are beautiful， and terrifying， from the moment he， his mother， and sister fled Iran in the middle of the night， stretching all the way back to family tales set in the jasmine-scented city of Isfahan， the palaces of semi-ancient kings， and even the land of stories。
We bounce between a school bus of kids armed with paper clip missiles and spitballs， to the heroines and heroes of Kosrou's family's past， who ate pastries that made them weep， and touched carpets woven with precious gems。
Like Scheherazade in a hostile classroom， author Daniel Nayeri weaves a tale of Khosrou trying to save his own life: to stake his claim to the truth。 And it is （a true story）。
It is Daniel's。
But Khosrou's stories， stretching back years， and decades， and centuries， are beautiful， and terrifying， from the moment he， his mother， and sister fled Iran in the middle of the night， stretching all the way back to family tales set in the jasmine-scented city of Isfahan， the palaces of semi-ancient kings， and even the land of stories。
We bounce between a school bus of kids armed with paper clip missiles and spitballs， to the heroines and heroes of Kosrou's family's past， who ate pastries that made them weep， and touched carpets woven with precious gems。
Like Scheherazade in a hostile classroom， author Daniel Nayeri weaves a tale of Khosrou trying to save his own life: to stake his claim to the truth。 And it is （a true story）。
It is Daniel's。
Reviews
Chelsea
，
I learned a lot from this book。 I learned about the sadness and shame that comes from being a refugee。 I learned about the strength and bravery of refugees。 I learned to have more mercy and kindness towards others。 I highly recommend listening to the audio version that was recorded by the author himself。
Jilleebean
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Fascinating look at the life of refugee immigrant Daniel Nayeri。 I enjoyed the family stories and ancient Persian stories that were interwoven throughout the book。
Alisa
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This book！ It’s so hard to describe。 It’s beautiful。 It’s funny。 It’s true。 I loved it。
Abbey
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Very interesting read， makes you think。 I enjoyed it
Chris
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What an entertaining and heartwarming read。 It is YA but engaging for adults since we were all once kids and recognize those relationships between kids。 It is yet another example of “that which does not kill you makes you stronger” which often goes against today’s thinking regarding kids。
Darath Fisher
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This is a beautiful book。 The writing style takes a bit to get used to but once I did， I loved it。 I even started to write down quotes from the book that literally took my breath away。 I will remember this one for a long time。
Madeleine Bourgeois
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I cannot put into words how beautiful the stories are in this book。 I laughed and I cried and I felt things。 This was a very special story and I loved it so much。
Marci
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This was a tender， beautiful rendition of life as a refugee from the viewpoint of a child。 The story unfold in a subtle way as to why they are a refugee family。 It's really a tribute to the unstoppable and courageous actions of a mother。 That's the beautiful part。 People can be cruel and life can be very hard。 We should do all we can to help carry each other's load。 Protect， defend， be kind， and above all， don't add to their distress with judgements and meanness。 This was a tender， beautiful rendition of life as a refugee from the viewpoint of a child。 The story unfold in a subtle way as to why they are a refugee family。 It's really a tribute to the unstoppable and courageous actions of a mother。 That's the beautiful part。 People can be cruel and life can be very hard。 We should do all we can to help carry each other's load。 Protect， defend， be kind， and above all， don't add to their distress with judgements and meanness。 。。。more
Kristen Bassick
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Really good :）
Erin York
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Beautiful， entertaining storytelling！ I enjoyed the author narrating the audio book。
The_twister92
，
So good！ Some reviews knock it is "not being accessible to middle schoolers" but I don't see that as an issue， since the only thing middle-school about it is the age and setting of the narrator。 The themes are heavy， thought-provoking， and often funny， but not at all childish。 Its been a long time since I have read a book that left me feeling closer to the author， which is particularly great here considering my experiences are so different from Daniel's。 My only tiny critique is that he tries to So good！ Some reviews knock it is "not being accessible to middle schoolers" but I don't see that as an issue， since the only thing middle-school about it is the age and setting of the narrator。 The themes are heavy， thought-provoking， and often funny， but not at all childish。 Its been a long time since I have read a book that left me feeling closer to the author， which is particularly great here considering my experiences are so different from Daniel's。 My only tiny critique is that he tries to narrate as a twelve year old， but because of the depth of the content， it doesnt really come across as believable。 Once I just shifted Daniel's "narrator" age up a few years in my head after the first few chapters， I enjoyed it even more。 Would recommend to basically anyone。 。。。more
Caitlin
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A memoir written beautifully。 Daniel recounts stories from his childhood and family history。 As a refugee from Iran because his mother was wanted for converting to Christianity， this is a must read。
Samantha
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Breathtaking and a Must-Read I have no words to elaborate other than you must read this beautiful work。 It is an astonishing and moving recount of a boys challenging upbringing and learning to navigate worlds that were built to keep him down。 This is an absolute stunner and it will have a permanent home on my bookshelf。
Spencer
，
The book Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri was overall a good book about the life of a refugee kid and what it was like going to school and living in America but still having heritage and connection to where he used to live。 It's hard to get invested in because of the constant stories that can easily make the reader wonder what's happening but the ending is very good and makes up for the somewhat bad first half of the book。 So I would recommend this book to other readers。 In the beginnin The book Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri was overall a good book about the life of a refugee kid and what it was like going to school and living in America but still having heritage and connection to where he used to live。 It's hard to get invested in because of the constant stories that can easily make the reader wonder what's happening but the ending is very good and makes up for the somewhat bad first half of the book。 So I would recommend this book to other readers。 In the beginning the book talks about the father and what their relationship has become over the past years。 It then begins to talk about stories that he has heard as a child。 The stories range in topic from stories about a baker to rich kings that were betrayed by family and how their daughters were affected by this。 And every story he tells has a lesson that it teaches you that is valuable and what he has learned or supposed to learn from them。 He also tells us about his relationship with his sister who is not mentioned as much。 As Well as his relationship with his mother who he lives with and his stepfather who is abusive to his mother。 While talking about all of these stories there are short breaks where he talks and mentions how he is different then other kids and how he gets bullied sometimes for it。 Daniel had a hard childhood but throughout the book he is still able to keep a somewhat good nature and continue to be positive and learn to deal with the bullying without violence or aggression which many don't do usually become affected by this in a more negative way。 He then explains what a normal day is like for him and what he goes through everyday at school and at home。 I think the book would be good for people who can personally relate to his childhood whether they themselves were a refugee or got picked on in school but anyone can read this book and still get interested and find what it says meaningful。 。。。more
Thomas
，
I thought that Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri was okay。 I believe it is a decent read to get to know a little history and learn about the life of a young immigrant boy living through the struggle。 The book isn't very well organized。 I feel like when writing it was just what he could think of off the top of his head and put it into place。 It did have some structure when some of the stories aligned。 But overall it just jumped around too much and was kind of difficult to follow。 He reall I thought that Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri was okay。 I believe it is a decent read to get to know a little history and learn about the life of a young immigrant boy living through the struggle。 The book isn't very well organized。 I feel like when writing it was just what he could think of off the top of his head and put it into place。 It did have some structure when some of the stories aligned。 But overall it just jumped around too much and was kind of difficult to follow。 He really talks a lot about how the things around him and how they affected him。 Like the people， places， activities， and things he was a part of。 I thought that was kind of interesting on how that played a role on him。 I think it is worth reading although I personally didn't enjoy the book。 I think there are still good things hidden in there and it should be given a chance。 。。。more
Daisy Sowell
，
This book was great！ I loved the story telling style， the boy met in Italy who was Kurdish was my favorite person in this story。 He was fun to read about。 This book made me curious in a job as a translator， reading about people struggling so much to move because they can’t read the documents made me feel bad and wonder what it’d be like to be a translator。 This book was a wonderful collection of tales。
Liz Fambrough
，
This was the easiest 5 stars To give a book！！ This book has all the things， invokes all the feelings， and covers bullying， poverty， diversity， perseverance， poop & so much more。 I read a few pages to a group of kids who were in the library looking for a book and they are all begging me to give it to them！
Lara
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Not going to finish。 I didn’t realize this was about Christianity… will be returning。
jess
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i cannot physically process how good this book is
Jennifer
，
This is a beautiful and sad and funny story。 I typically enjoy more concrete timelines but this patchwork quilt fits together beautifully。 I do have so many more questions about Khosrou's mother。 The analytical part of my mind has so many question and wants accurate details。 But the whimsical part of my soul loved these stories。 This is a beautiful and sad and funny story。 I typically enjoy more concrete timelines but this patchwork quilt fits together beautifully。 I do have so many more questions about Khosrou's mother。 The analytical part of my mind has so many question and wants accurate details。 But the whimsical part of my soul loved these stories。 。。。more
Jaiden Knoch
，
Daniel Nayeri is a middle school student in Oklahoma。 He moved away from his fairly wealthy life in Iran to his now poor life in Oklahoma。 He often reminisces about his past memories from this life， many times about his father or his grandfather。 Daniel finds himself often telling and reliving stories of mythology and events stretching from the night he， his mom， and his sister fled Iran， to the tales of ancient kings and queens。 Daniel connects these stories through first his past life in Iran， Daniel Nayeri is a middle school student in Oklahoma。 He moved away from his fairly wealthy life in Iran to his now poor life in Oklahoma。 He often reminisces about his past memories from this life， many times about his father or his grandfather。 Daniel finds himself often telling and reliving stories of mythology and events stretching from the night he， his mom， and his sister fled Iran， to the tales of ancient kings and queens。 Daniel connects these stories through first his past life in Iran， with his wealthier lifestyle and his father and grandfather， and also connects them to his present day life finding similarities between all three。 Reading through Everything Sad is Untrue is the equivalent of drinking a terrible milkshake。 You put in so much effort but when it finally reaches the end of the straw it's nothing but regret。 I am astounded by hearing how others have enjoyed this book and its writing style because to me this book reads as more of a diary， constantly jumping from his old life to his new and making skewed references to Persian mythology that disinterests the reader and makes it impossible to understand an overall message of the story。 I could see someone enjoying this book if they knew some of the backstory to some of the mythology as it is referenced frequently but for someone uneducated in that area it just disconnects the book from me。 This book is tainting my high expectations for other books in the young adult/fiction genre， its randomness makes it seem as if the writer just started rambling on the page as he was writing， jumping randomly from flashback to flashback and story to story attempting to make a unique style of writing but instead it was a tragic failure。 I would never recommend this book to anyone as I wouldn't want them to have to suffer through it as I did。 I'm not sure what type of person this book would be a good fit for。 The only type of person I could see enjoying this book is someone who has a similar life story to Daniel， someone with a similar life， but in my case it was not a good fit。 。。。more
Amber Rencher
，
Interesting book。 I enjoyed hearing the experiences and stories of this refugee Iranian adjusting to life in America。 I've never read more about poop haha Interesting book。 I enjoyed hearing the experiences and stories of this refugee Iranian adjusting to life in America。 I've never read more about poop haha 。。。more
Susannah
，
I would read this aloud to my teens without hesitation。 I liked this far better than I normally like YA。 It was refreshingly different， probably because the story is not contrived for didactic purposes but an invitation into a genuine experience， a personal history， through the author's "patchwork" memories。 For a story with so many references to poop--typical 12yo topic--the narration wove the strands of the refugee experience into Persian culture， myth and legend in a sophisticated way。 Even s I would read this aloud to my teens without hesitation。 I liked this far better than I normally like YA。 It was refreshingly different， probably because the story is not contrived for didactic purposes but an invitation into a genuine experience， a personal history， through the author's "patchwork" memories。 For a story with so many references to poop--typical 12yo topic--the narration wove the strands of the refugee experience into Persian culture， myth and legend in a sophisticated way。 Even such juvenile topics have cultural and emotional implications。 I was moved， and saddened， and still hopeful at the end that the sad would come "untrue。" 。。。more
Reese Van
，
This book was super good。 I finished it with a message， and it was one of the first books that I read the authors note， and the acknowledgements for。 It was enjoyable to read， and I got used to it as I read to it。 In the beginning I was a little lost， but then as I started to adjust I felt like I was a part of the story。 for my first true story， it was really good。 I also thought it was pretty funny that it was called everything sad is untrue， and it was a true story。 Just the way I read it made This book was super good。 I finished it with a message， and it was one of the first books that I read the authors note， and the acknowledgements for。 It was enjoyable to read， and I got used to it as I read to it。 In the beginning I was a little lost， but then as I started to adjust I felt like I was a part of the story。 for my first true story， it was really good。 I also thought it was pretty funny that it was called everything sad is untrue， and it was a true story。 Just the way I read it made it funny。 I also liked how the title didn't give away the story。 You didn't know what it was going to be about， you just got the title。 It's like you didn't know what to expect， but what was expected was very good。 I liked this book a lot， and it's up there in my top three favorite books。 。。。more
Debi Walters
，
Such an interesting way to write a book。 He talks to the reader （me） frequently。 Very informative to me。
Grietleest
，
Omdat je niet altijd trouw wil blijven aan je TBR ✔️Omdat het een mooie cover is ✔️Omdat de titel me raakt ✔️Zo kwam dit waargebeurde boek op mijn pad。 Khosrou is zeven jaar wanneer hij moet vluchten uit Iran。 Zijn mama en zus zijn namelijk christen geworden en daar wordt in Iran om het wat eufemistisch uit te drukken niet om gejuicht。 Er staat plots een prijs op hun hoofd dus vluchten ze via wat omwegen naar een vluchtelingenkamp in Italië alvorens ze hun nieuwe thuis gaan opbouwen in Oklahoma。 Omdat je niet altijd trouw wil blijven aan je TBR ✔️Omdat het een mooie cover is ✔️Omdat de titel me raakt ✔️Zo kwam dit waargebeurde boek op mijn pad。 Khosrou is zeven jaar wanneer hij moet vluchten uit Iran。 Zijn mama en zus zijn namelijk christen geworden en daar wordt in Iran om het wat eufemistisch uit te drukken niet om gejuicht。 Er staat plots een prijs op hun hoofd dus vluchten ze via wat omwegen naar een vluchtelingenkamp in Italië alvorens ze hun nieuwe thuis gaan opbouwen in Oklahoma。Khosrou is op dat moment twaalf。 Dat het leven al eens lastig kan zijn op je twaalfde weten we allemaal uit eigen ervaring。 Maar voor Khosrou wordt alles extra ingewikkeld。 Hij heeft zijn papa samen met zijn favoriete knuffeldier （Meneer Schaap Schaap 🥲） in Iran moeten achterlaten。 Zijn klasgenoten vinden dat hij stinkt en vinden het gek dat hij van vreemd eten houdt。 Hij krijgt een nieuwe naam （Daniel） omdat mensen zijn oude naam volgens zijn mama niet willen/kunnen uitspreken。 En hij weet niet hoe hij op een westers toilet moet （staand op de bril， toch？）Dit alles zorgt voor hartverwarmende， ontroerende verhalen。 Net als Sjeherazade， de Perzische vertelster uit duizend-en-één-nacht maar verhalen uit haar mouw blijft schudden om de koning tevreden te houden， geeft Daniel ons stuk voor stuk ontroerende verhalen met als doel om ons de vreugde en het verdriet van andere mensen te laten voelen。En dat deed ie。Lees dit！ 。。。more
Stephanie Benton
，
I started out reading this book and could not get into it。 But then I got the audiobook， which is read by the author， and was completely captivated。 Loved how he weaves his story through the eyes of him as a child。
Terra Cockrell
，
I read this because it was a book club selection for a brand new book club started by my favorite podcasters this month， Sophie Hudson & Melanie Shankle。 And for that reason， and the $8 additional Patreon subscription I had purchased this month solely for the book club episode， I made it past the first half。 It was work。 But， about halfway through， the “patchwork quilt” of tales our young storyteller shares， started to weave together in the most beautiful and poignant of immigration stories。 I f I read this because it was a book club selection for a brand new book club started by my favorite podcasters this month， Sophie Hudson & Melanie Shankle。 And for that reason， and the $8 additional Patreon subscription I had purchased this month solely for the book club episode， I made it past the first half。 It was work。 But， about halfway through， the “patchwork quilt” of tales our young storyteller shares， started to weave together in the most beautiful and poignant of immigration stories。 I found a kindred spirit in the author’s mother。 I found understanding and compassion for a culture I admittedly have not done enough to learn about and embrace。 There were moments of sheer anger when I wanted to yell。 “STOP！” And when it ended， I was a little sad it was over， and very grateful for the author。 。。。more
Alex
，
This one story is really a tapestry of many stories， woven together to form something more beautiful。 I love that it is told from a child's perspective about difficult things and everyday things seen through a child's eyes that are at the same time so human and familiar that I could easily picture the scenes。 Great stuff。 This one story is really a tapestry of many stories， woven together to form something more beautiful。 I love that it is told from a child's perspective about difficult things and everyday things seen through a child's eyes that are at the same time so human and familiar that I could easily picture the scenes。 Great stuff。 。。。more
Mary Kruft
，