Everything Sad Is Untrue: (A True Story) book cover

Everything Sad Is Untrue Summary

(A True Story)

Daniel Nayeri
4.3(44721 Reviews)

Everything Sad Is Untrue Summary Overview

A refugee boy weaves his Persian past into American present, crafting a patchwork memoir that won the Printz Award. How does a 12-year-old's truth-telling become Levine Querido's historic first publication? Daniel Nayeri's masterpiece proves everything sad might indeed be untrue.

About the Author

About the Author of Everything Sad Is Untrue

Daniel Nayeri is the award-winning Iranian-American author of Everything Sad Is Untrue, an autobiographical middle-grade novel about his childhood as a refugee. Born in Iran, Nayeri fled with his mother and sister after a fatwa was issued against his mother for converting to Christianity.

After three years in refugee camps in Dubai and Rome, they settled in Oklahoma when Nayeri was eight. This personal journey deeply informs the book's exploration of displacement, resilience, cultural identity, and the healing power of storytelling.

Before pursuing full-time writing in 2020, Nayeri built an extensive career in publishing as an editor and publisher at HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Macmillan, where he led the children's imprint Odd Dot. His other notable works include The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams, which received a Newbery Honor.

Everything Sad Is Untrue has won the Michael L. Printz Award, Christopher Medal, and Middle East Book Award, establishing it as an essential voice in contemporary young adult literature.

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