Arvin Ahmadi

Fleeing to Rome in the wake of coming out to his Muslim family, a failed relationship, and blackmail, eighteen-year-old Amir Azadi embarks on a more authentic life with new friends and dates in the Sistine Chapel before an encounter with a U.S. Customs officer places his hard-won freedom at risk.

How It All Blew Up

Bria

This kinda felt like one of those TV movies you randomly find that leaves you wanting more then you don’t think about it again for 3 years. It was cute though.

akynn 

Midori Kobayashi

4/5stars

It is such a privilege, you know? To get to be yourself, all of yourself, in this great big world.


This is a story about a gay muslim teenager's journey of acceptance as who he is by his family. Basically him trying to convince his parents to accept him for who he is and all the while also trying to be himself while his time away from home. QUEER STRUGGLES 101 especially with regressive families. That portrayal was very real, hit very close to home. 


Now I did see a bunch of comments about how this book isn't "Muslim enough" because the MC doesn't practice the religion but I don't think that is how it works? The idea of "gay and muslim identities cannot coexist" is not his own, but something that has been planted in his head over all these years and thus he has grown up to think of that. Again, not my position to speak over muslims on this, if you want more details about this aspect, read some other reviews. 


But I do think this book is a good read for anyone who is closeted or trying to come out or trying to cope with a similar situation. It feels almost liberating to see the protagonist's journey and the way he has grown to be comfortable and bold about who he is. Tho the writing style is kinda sketchy with the whole interrogation theme but over it's still a solid 4 for me.




  Trigger warnings for the book- Racial profiling, homophobia, blackmail, threatened outing

Alice Myles

Thank you to Netgalley and Hot Key books for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of its release!

This book was a delight and so compulsively readable! It was so fun to escape to Rome with Amir but also to delve into some deeper topics as well. One of my friends lives in Italy and this is just exactly how I picture her life. Amir was such a fun narrator and even though he was a bit of an asshole sometimes you really were rooting for him! We can so often romanticise situations, people and places and this story showed that even the things that we romanticise and deem perfect are messy when we look a little closer.

izzy

'how it all blew up' by arvin ahmadi follows two timelines: amir azadi and his family's interviews in airport interrogation rooms, as well as amir's first person narrative in the month leading up to the interrogation. in the first person narrative, we see the story unfold from amir's eyes: a boy standing at the crossroads of being the perfect Muslim son and also being gay when he's forced to come out. the solution? to avoid the situation entirely by catching a plane to rome. 

while in rome, amir experiences a whirlwind summer of romance, friendship, and just being able to be himself. i loved seeing amir's experience in rome, and the beautiful storytelling that really brought the city to life. reading how it all blew up feels like you're there in rome, in the cafe or at the party. in addition, i also loved the character of jahan, amir's guide in rome, introducing him to new friends and connecting with him as a fellow gay Muslim. initially, amir describes jahan like a sun. but later we get to see much, much more that truly proves that even a supporting character is well fleshed out. 
meanwhile, in the interrogation segments, we get glimpses into what amir's family thinks of the whole situation as they regurgitate their experiences from memory. this gives insight into the thoughts of his mother, father, and younger sister soraya on his disappearance and his sexuality. i was really interested in soraya, who's sassy, clever, and a really interesting contrast to amir's first person narrative. 

'how it all blew up' is a powerful masterpiece that has just the right amount of serious beats and funny moments. i'd highly recommend this book to anyone who loves destination/travel fiction or is a fan of young adult contemporaries like love, simon or love à la mode. 

thank you to bookish first for providing me with an ARC

Geneviève Rouleau

"[Life's about] finding people who see you - because the minute they do, everything else goes away."

• So fun, so gay, so binge worthy
• Really enjoyed the different POVs at the airport 
• THE NIPPLE STORY AHAHAHA

Emily 

This book seems like it will be a hit the same way that Simon versus the homosapiens agenda was for young teenagers who are excited to see themselves represented by having the lead male character be a gay, Muslim who has to run away from the his home in America due to the threat of blackmails from other characters. 

I can’t wait to get my hands on this book as it is right up my street as it is a contemporary romance that deals with hard hitting issues that need to be addressed and included in books in this age. 

The cover is a beautiful and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of this so I can experience a read that I know will take me on a journey that will help teach more about the struggles that others go through.

Ocean

I enjoyed this book, for the most part. It's based around Amir and his family in US customs after an argument on a plane. Amir is in one room, telling the story of his time in Rome after running away to avoid coming out to his parents. Amir's father is in another room, and we see how his experience of being in this situation of being questioned by customs in the past affects him, which is important to see in a YA novel. Amir's mother and sister are together in a third room, and it was quite interesting to hear their side of the story, particularly from Amir's sister, Soraya. The story of Amir's time in Rome was great, there was found family, gay relationships, plenty of queer characters and it was fun to read about Amir exploring Rome. There was one part of this book, the "nipple story" that grossed me out massively to the point where I've knocked a whole star off of my rating because I really didn't want to read something so graphic in a YA book. There's a chance I'm just sensitive to gross stories though so other people may not have an issue with that part of the book. There's also a conversation between Amir and a bisexual woman that came across biphobic to me, where she was talking about how she's not out to her parents but she could end up with a man some day so "there's a chance [she] might not be a fucking weirdo in the eyes of [her] parents" which isn't really challenged on page. It made me feel iffy, so I've knocked another star off my rating for that. Overall, a pretty good book, I just can't quite get past those two issues. I'd recommend that other people read it and make their own minds up about it though as it is a pretty good story!

How It All Blew Up

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