An Impossible Thing to Say by Arya Shahi

An Impossible Thing to Say is the kind of YA book I would have loved back in the day—and thoroughly enjoyed as an adult. Omid is an Iranian-American teenage boy crushing on a girl from school and learning how to find and embody his voice in two languages and cultures, all while straddling the before and after of 9/11.  

Full of angst and heart, tears and laughter, rhythm and discord, friends and family and conflict, and the power of words no matter the language, Omid shares his unique story of adolescence in a way that inspires not only how to discover and speak your truth. Then it goes deeper than that as Omid searches and finds his own rhythm and words and learns to appreciate the life he has rather than trying to be someone else or live someone else’s life. What a glorious time it would be if we were all encouraged to find our voice and place in the world the way Omid did. 

One of the great gifts of YA lit today is the range of voices and stories now being told. It both opens people up to a wider range of experiences and viewpoints and is also a reminder that no matter the complicating circumstances or particulars of culture, the rite of adolescence is a challenge in and of itself.

I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by author Arya Shahi, and highly recommend it. Shari pours as much heart into the narration as he did in the book. He also got me looking for local Persian restaurants and revisiting rap!

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