PRAISE:

“This is a unique and thoughtful coming-of-age story that masterfully takes advantage of its unconventional narrative to reveal the truths that we all—no matter what our age—are often unable to say out loud.” - Booklist (Starred Review)

“A dazzling story with a whole lot of heart. Read it.” — Michael L. Printz Award winner Daniel Nayeri, author of Everything Sad Is Untrue

“A compelling coming-of-age story about finding your own voice and holding on to hope in the face of uncertainty and doubt.” - The Horn Book (Starred Review)

“A beautiful love story brimming with painful historical truths. It is also the best introduction to the rhythms of rap music that I've ever read. This book is one of my favorite verse novels of 2023.” — Margarita Engle, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Surrender Tree and national Young People's Poet Laureate Emeritus

“Vulnerability and honesty often feel especially risky within a culture that rejects you simply on sight, and Shahi gives readers embarking on a path toward agency an insightful, eloquent companion in Omid.” - BCCB (Starred Review)

“Funny on one page, poignant on the next, and often both at the same time, this beautiful tale of a tender, bewildered, and generous teen will find its way into readers’ hearts.” — #1 New York Times bestselling writer and Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park, author of A Long Walk to Water

“That’s Shahi’s gift to us: Omid’s sense that language itself is a wonder... I’m putting this book on my shelf right next to Shakespeare, and I’ll treasure them both.” — Barry Edelstein, Artistic Director, The Old Globe

“This is a heartfelt and nuanced depiction of what it’s like to straddle different cultures and the critical need to understand oneself. A love letter to words and their ability to not only define us, but shape who we are.” - Kirkus Reviews

“An Impossible Thing to Say is tender, honest, and unforgettable, filled with characters that delight, verses that shine, and moments that took my breath away. Few books have ever made me feel so seen.” — Adib Khorram, award-winning author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay

“Arya Shahi just blew the door down on how we are allowed to tell our stories. Words are clearly his jam.” — Firoozeh Dumas, New York Times bestselling author of Funny in Farsi and It Ain't So Awful, Falafel

“In Shahi’s emotionally vulnerable verse debut… first-person narration develops into that of a self-assured protagonist whose voice leaps off the page… employs Shakespearean dialogue and original rap to kinetic effect.” - Publishers Weekly

“Sensitively felt, beautifully rendered, and expertly crafted. A story that is at once nostalgic and universal, viscerally specific and yet completely timeless, like a pocket universe where every first-generation American kid gets to feel seen. This is on my shortlist of books I feel grateful to have read during my lifetime.” — Alexene Farol Follmuth, author of Twelfth Knight