Hardcover, 278 pages
Release Date: August 8, 2017Published by: Balzer + Bray
Read from: August 19, 2017Stand-aloneSource: LibraryFor fans of: Coming of Age Novels, Diverse Reads, Diverse Authors, Contemporary, Sparkly Covers, Realistic Fiction, Stand-alones,
The Authentics is a fresh, funny, and insightful novel about culture, love, and family—the kind we are born into and the ones we create.
Daria Esfandyar is Iranian-American and proud of her heritage, unlike some of the “Nose Jobs” in the clique led by her former best friend, Heidi Javadi. Daria and her friends call themselves the Authentics, because they pride themselves on always keeping it real.
But in the course of researching a school project, Daria learns something shocking about her past, which launches her on a journey of self-discovery. It seems everyone is keeping secrets. And it’s getting harder to know who she even is any longer.
With infighting among the Authentics, her mother planning an over-the-top sweet sixteen party, and a romance that should be totally off limits, Daria doesn’t have time for this identity crisis. As everything in her life is spinning out of control—can she figure out how to stay true to herself?
*MY THOUGHTS*
It’s very rare that I have enough time to finish a book in a day. It’s also very rare that I WANT to finish a book in a day. But with The Authentics, I got lucky and had both of these things on my side. The Authentics is funny and definitely what I needed at the time.
“Sometimes I felt like so much of my life was an obligation. There were so many things I had to do that it was hard to remember what I really wanted to do.“pg. 7
The Authentics consist of Daria and her group of friends. They pride themselves on always being real. But while doing research, she finds out something about herself that she never could have imagined. To learn more about herself she keeps digging until she can’t hold anymore secrets. How can she possibly say she’s still “authentic” when she really has no idea who she really is?
“Do you know that if you keep reapeating something, eventually you will believe it.“pg. 148
What I loved most about this was the way it reminded me of my own family. My family is all different shapes and shades just like Daria’s. Really the only difference is Daria’s family hid her family from her. That truly made me feel sorry for her. She never would have gotten that part of her culture had they continued to keep that from her. It’s sad to think she could have missed out on some really important things.
“Maybe [they] made a mistake in not telling you the truth, but you don’t spend enough time appreciating all the things [they] did do right.“pg. 218
Another thing I liked about this was the way this book took me through a complete emotional cycle. There were times I was laughing, and there was even a time when I teared up. When I get that emotional over a book, it shows how into I am. The more emotions it brings out of me the better.
“No story is a straight line. Stories have sides and angles and if you try hard enough, you’ll see that they actually fit together to create some time of beautiful shape.“pg. 219
This fast paced, diverse contemporary novel is definitely one that I can see others saying they read in one sitting too. With it’s emphasis on self-discovery and look into many different cultures, this book was definitely worth my entire day on the couch glued to its pages!
Overall, I give this
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