Iranian American Omid lives with his family in Tucson, Arizona, in 2001. At the private high school he attends, Omid is shy and lacks confidence. But he hits it off with new student Emily (white) and the two convince each other to try out for the school play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Emily is cast as Titania and Omid is cast as Bottom, a role he’s excited to play even though he also wishes he got the role of Emily’s lover. Omid is also getting to know his grandparents, Maman Joon and Baba Joon, who’ve just emigrated from Iran. He feels challenged, in a good way—to speak more Farsi, to understand their lives, including the oppression they faced in Iran for their Baha’i faith. (Omid’s father came from a Muslim family, although he is no longer devout.) With the events of 9/11 and its aftermath playing out in the background, intense feelings begin to overwhelm Omid, especially after Baba Joon, who has shown signs of increasing unhappiness, disappears; and his crush on Emily leads to him punching Geoff, the senior with whom she’s paired in the play and spending a lot of time. But his best friend Sammy (Black) has introduced him to rap, and after listening to Sammy’s playlists on repeat, Omid begins writing his own raps, processing his thoughts and feelings through his unique brand of English/Farsi spoken word poetry. This novel in verse about finding your voice has realistically messy, marvelously realized characters. (Age 12 and older)

The Poet X meets A Very Large Expanse of Sea in a bold novel-in-verse starring a Persian American teen navigating his first crush, his family’s post-9/11 dynamics, and the role of language in defining who we are.

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

Omid needs the right words to connect with his newly met grandfather and distant Iranian heritage, words to tell a special girl what she means to him and to show everyone that he truly belongs in Tucson, Arizona, the only home he’s ever known. Neither the school play’s Shakespearean English nor his parents’ Farsi seems up to the task, and it’s only when Omid delves into the rhymes and rhythms of rap music that he starts to find his voice. But even as he does so, an act of terrorism transforms familiar accents into new threats.

Then a family member disappears, and it seems everyone but Omid knows why. When words fail altogether and violence takes their place, what will Omid do next? 

Praise for An Impossible Thing to Say:

• “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
• “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