How It All Blew Up

This was a great story. It was a cute and romantic read with a serious message and a heartwarming ending. I found Amir really endearing, and I loved the realistic relationship between him and his sister Soraya. It was nice to read a story about coming out without the pivotal scene of the novel being the coming out scene between the main character and their family. I liked how Ahmadi didn't even explicitly write the scenes where Amir was outed or spoke with his family about being gay, because those scenes often turn cheesy and unrealistic very quickly. There was one part of the novel I wasn't a huge fan of, and that was the hookup scene between Giovanni and Amir. It felt forced, and I'm not a fan of large age gaps, even if it technically is legal in this case (unlike another famous coming of age novel that takes place in Italy). Overall, I did enjoy this novel, and I plan to read more from Ahmadi.