Just Another Epic Love Poem

by Parisa Akhbari

Best friendship blossoms into something more in this gorgeously written queer literary romance."The heartache and longing of witnessing a beloved character pine hopelessly over her best friend has never brought me this much unadulterated joy." –National Book Award Finalist Sonora Reyes, author of The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School

Over the past five years, Mitra Esfahani has known two constants: her best friend Bea Ortega and The Book—a dogeared moleskin she and Bea have been filling with the stanzas of an epic, never-ending poem since they were 13.

For introverted Mitra, The Book is one of the few places she can open herself completely and where she gets to see all sides of brilliant and ebullient Bea. There, they can share everything—Mitra’s complicated feelings about her absent mother, Bea’s heartache over her most recent breakup—nothing too messy or complicated for The Book.

Nothing except the one thing with the power to change their entire the fact that Mitra is helplessly in love with Bea.

Told in lyrical, confessional prose and snippets of poetry Just Another Epic Love Poem takes readers on a journey that is equal parts joyful, heartbreaking, and funny as Mitra and Bea navigate the changing nature of I love you.

Genres: Romance, Poetry, Young Adult, LGBT, Lesbian, Queer, Contemporary

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 2024

Reviews

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y'all this book! Gorgeously written YA coming of age story & sapphic romance that made me cry. This follows Mitra- a quiet, bisexual Iranian girl attending a Catholic school with her best friend and secret crush Bea. The friend she has been writing ongoing poems with for years.

Mitra's mom is an addict who left their family years ago and she carries a lot of pain from that. Now her mom wants to come back into her life, but Mitra isn't ready for it. Meanwhile, Mitra and Bea start dating which is magical, but also fraught with conflict at times. And if that wasn't enough, they're making decisions about where to attend college in the fall.

This is an achingly beautiful book written in both poetry and prose. It's a love story, a coming of age story, and a story about trauma and healing. I absolutely loved and hope more people pick it up! Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy for review, all opinions are my own.

[Lee [Bibliophile Tings] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll be honest. I had no expectations for Just Another Epic Love Poem. I picked this book because of its beautiful cover. (Yes, I am one of those people who judge books by their cover.) Lucky me, the writing is just as amazing as the cover, if not better.

Just Another Epic Love Poem is heartache in book form. I was an emotional mess while reading this, and of course, I was in a public space.

⟢ Mitra longs for the life she had before her mother’s drug addiction changed everything.

Both Mitra and Bea have complicated relationships with their parents. I appreciate that the author did not shy away from sharing the ugly moments. Parents are people too, and sometimes they fail to follow through on the needs of their children. This is something I love about new YA novels, the unflinchingly honest portrayal of parent-child relationships.

⟢ Then there’s the situation that resonated with me the most: Mitra longs for an environment where she can be completely herself and receive unconditional love and support in return.

When the book begins, Mitra is a non-Catholic, bisexual student of color at a Catholic school. She’s constantly compromising herself to adhere to the rules of her school, but college is going to be her clean slate.

Reading about Mitra’s story felt so much like mine. There’s a kind of satisfaction is knowing that my experience as a student in Catholic school is similar to other people’s experiences. It’s that feeling that I’m not totally alone.

Everything works so well, in my opinion.

The alternating prose and poetry makes every emotion more vivid. Plus, the poetry style is gorgeous. Are all high schoolers this talented? I wish I could write like Mitra and Bea.

I may have complained about not liking poetry in previous reviews, but Just Another Epic Love Poem is slowly changing my mind. The poetry is the best part of this book.

Bottom line: Perfection. I cannot wait to see what Akhbari’s writes next.

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my blog!

[acorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relatable, inspiring, powerful

Mitra's life is woven into a poem of balance until it all starts to change. She gets feelings for her best friend, her mom asks to be in her life again, and college is on the horizon. The only thing that stays constant is her poetry which she relies on to guide her through the new experiences.

I adored this book!!! All of the characters are endearing and feel like real people. I loved the relationships because they were a mix of wholesome and raw. The elements of poetry in the story were really neat and added another layer of dimension. I am so happy to see queer Persian representation so I'm so excited that this book is a new favorite. I will definitely keep an eye out for Akhbari's future works because I loved the writing.

[Ekene · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's something about friends to lovers that will always always do it for me

[Ana Marbett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I… just…. Wow. This is YA at its finest. It has everything: the wretchedness of teenage emotion, lesbian pining, exquisite poetry, and a good dose of hope. I loved every second and fell in love with every single character. Highly recommend!!!!!

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

as a self proclaimed amateur poet this book inspires me in a way no book ever did

thank you parisa akhabari for your beautiful and poetic words

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I know (proceeds to write extensive review) is that I'm not sure there are any words that exist to describe the beauty of this book (though I suppose words like ineffable, unearthly, transcendent might do) .

This is one of few books that I didn't hesitate before rating, I didn't weigh any feelings - because there were no "negatives" in this book. Not in the structure, not in the characters, not in the technical or creative parts of the writing. I would love to read a full novel-in-verse from Parisa Akhbari. And to think - this was her debut .

Normally I dislike books that I would consider "over written" or too long for the genre, and at first glance, I was worried that was going to be an issue here. It's why I didn't read it til now. But this wasn't just a teen romance. In fact, it spurred on a conversation with my mom about genre.

About how "literary fiction" is defined and how I had realized there are basically no young adult novels that are labeled literary fiction, they're all contemporary or historical fiction, depending on the plot. I also pointed out that other adult books that I believe should have been labeled literary fiction, weren't and most commonly - they were written by women.

This is all a very long-winded way of saying, this book is that. This book should be considered literary fiction. Not just literary fiction, more like literary verse or literary prose - similar to how I consider Julia Armfield to be a literary horror writer.

Anyway, this was phenomenal.

[Christine Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Sapphic YA romance! Two senior girls who have been best friends for five years finally decide to tell each other how they feel! They get together early on so it’s just cute moments and some relationship strife of course. Mitra and Bea are here to write a never ending poem and we get to follow along!

The only thing that can be improved on is that title! The word “another” should be taken out because it implies there’s a previous book or poem and for a minute I thought this was a sequel to something but ITS NOT just a cute standalone!

Loved dealing with the mom who’s addiction has a bigger affect on the older child rather than the younger and seeing that dynamic between the sisters different ways of letting her back into their lives. I loved how we dealt with ghe mother as an almost main synonymous plot so it held more of our attention instead of bringing more strife than necessary on Bea and Mitras budding relationship.

I wish we got closure between bea and her parents! I feel there was still so much to dive into there! Can we get a second sequel book from her POV and they get engaged in the end?? Kthxbye!

[‎‧₊˚n o e l l e˚₊‧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book surprised me -- yes there was a YA friends-to-romance plot that anchored the whole thing, but it was far deeper with its exploration of family and decision-making at the start of adulthood.

[Zadie]

Huh.
I’m not sure what to rate that.

Also, is it too much to ask for a purely happy, fluffy romance book where no one has deep rooted trauma from their childhood at 17 freaking years old??

[seasalted.citrus (Topaz, Oliver) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly realistic look into messy queer love, sometimes aggravatingly so, that still manages to avoid falling into the trappings of toxic sapphic archetypes. I would include Mitra’s queer longing into that sentence of praise, too, but there’s very little of it because the book is structured around her actual romantic relationship with Bea, not pining. Like some of the other reviewers, I wasn’t expecting that, and it was probably a result of the marketing.

The poetry in this is some of the strongest I’ve read in a YA novel(I’ve read quite a few in-verse, too), but it really shines when Mitra gets to yearn. In the beginning, when she’s analyzing her friendship with Bea, and if it could ever be something other than platonic. In the middle, when she wants to have her mother back in her life, and is struggling to come to terms with that. Those moments were when the featured bits of verse were more than just well-written metaphors. They were believable bits of emotion and internal conflict. (but if you were wondering, yeah…I thought the several poems about Bea and Mitra talking about how layered their love was could get a little repetitive. The only one of those that stuck with me was when Bea was dealing with her Catholic parents and she both used their relationship as defiance, and clung onto it for hope. I’m sure that one will resonate with a lot of people.)

Speaking of the poetry, I loved the actual class journal segments! Mrs Acosta’s notes reminded me of a couple of my highschool language arts teachers. Most accurate teacher feedback I’ve read in a book(probably also comes from the author working with kids/teens), and she as a character was a highlight. I loved how generally sweet and supportive she was, but also that she was able to have so much personality because she existed outside of the other strict and pious personality types seen in Mitra’s school.

And this was already obvious, but Mitra’s family dynamic, especially her complicated relationship with her mother, was written with so much care and complexity. I loved the constant back-and-forth in how she addresses and thinks of her mom, too. There were so many layers, and it felt accurate for a teenager’s thoughts and trauma responses.

But some minor critiques I have: 1) There were two or three parts where I think the author’s therapist background really showed, but not in a fully positive way. It didn’t make the dialogue feel stiff, thank god(..ha), but it did make certain revelations or themes feel on-the-nose. I doubt some teens on the middle/slightly younger side(like..14-16?) will notice it as much, though? 2) I’d like to have seen more of the actual friendship/pining stage!! The longing was spectacular. I’m not even asking for a ton, just 15 pages or so. If not for the pining, I would’ve liked to see a bit of Mitra and Bea’s friendship before the “will they won’t they” or the actual romance.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, high school romances. I am so glad I’ve got almost two decades separating me from my high school years.

It was good, cute. Fast paced, somewhat emotional. I think it was written realistically; teenagers and charged emotions and the dramatics. The mom situation was tough to read and I’ve never had parents who struggled with addiction, nor a separated house. But I’ve had many friends who struggled, and it brings up a lot of memories.

Still not a fan of poetry. And for so much of it, it just arbitrarily line breaks, and then a comma will be after the first word of a new line when it clearly should’ve been part of the line before it. Idk. Doesn’t make sense and I like for things to make sense.
My friend and I, the one reading Green Creek with me, were just discussing poetry a week or two ago. She said she read a lot of it in high school and I told her it figures because it’s pretentious (implying like her, but that part in jest bc she isn’t; poetry is though).

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We're only adding the latest verses to something that our ancestors began. Just another epic love poem in the story that started long before we ever picked up our pens.”

1 Sentence Summary: Mitra and her best friend Bea have been writing poetry together for years in a journal they call The Book, and the rules of the never-ending poem are simple: no terminal punctuation, no rewriting, no criticizing, and always tell the truth (unless the truth is that you’re secretly in love with your best friend, as Mitra is with Bea).

My Thoughts: I LOVE poetry, so this was right up my alley, and it did not disappoint! It’s written in a mix of poetry and prose, and the writing was lovely.

I really loved all the diversity and representation in this book. There aren’t many books with Iranian protagonists, so I loved learning more about Iranian culture, and now I really want to eat Iranian food.

My favorite aspect of this was probably Mitra’s family relationships. The development of her relationship with her sister Azar was very well written, and the complex relationship with her mother (who is a drug addict) was similarly well explored. The emotions were definitely there (I may have teared up a little near the end).

The one part that I didn’t love as much was the romance between Mitra and Bea. It felt kind of overdramatic and unrealistic at times, and when they got together it seemed abrupt and not really a natural turn of events. It was overall cute, though, I just wished the romance had been more developed or that the book had focused more on the family dynamics and coming-of-age.

Recommend to: Fans of poetry, diversity, YA romance, coming-of-age stories, & complicated families.

(Warnings: swearing; implied sexual content; drug addiction)

***
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only was this a story that made my poetry loving heart sing, but it was a sapphic romance, friends-to-lovers, coming-of-age, family story that was beautifully done. There were important themes of addiction, what it is to be Muslim, immigration, and so many more. I love how Mitra and Bea started their friendship, and had to work through the tumultuous teenage feelings (were we really all that dramatic, and why is the answer yes?) as well as real issues that impacted their history and their futures. Also, I adore Mitra’s father and how he cares for his children.

And a moment for the way that this story uses form and multiple types of storytelling that still allowed it flow beautifully. There are text exchanges, prose, poetry, notes - it really made the interactions feel intimate. And the poems by famous poets like Naomi Shihab Nye that were chosen for this book *chef’s kiss*

The audio narration is wonderful, and the physical version really is a nod to poetic form and the way it fills a page. Either way, it’s an enjoyable book!

[laurel! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I did enjoy this book, but I don't think it was what I expected. From the summary, this was definitely billed as a romance book. Because of that, when the one-sided love was resolved only 30% of the book in, I was filled with a deep apprehension---that usually means at least two breakups. While Mitra and Bea definitely have fights throughout the book, the rest of the book is really just about Mitra. She's dealing with her mother's situation and her relationship with her sister, along with college committment, making the romance just one of her sideplots, so to say. She has a lot of trouble juggling all these things, but she does manage pretty well in the end, without any major issues, which is nice.

I'm glad the romance wasn't the entire book, because it was honestly my least favorite part. I liked Bea, but it seemed like as much as Mitra liked her, she mostly caused Mitra stress! Part of that's just because we only see the time period where their relationship is more up in the air, rather than the years and years of friendship, but part of it is just because Mitra is really anxious about the relationship in general. It was tough to see all Mitra's anxiety about Bea affecting her so negatively (at least half of the time) when she had so many other things to deal with.

One part of this book that I really liked, however, was the poetry aspect and Ms. Acosta! the poetry seminar seemed so wonderful, I wish I had something like that at my high school. I could really feel how excited Mitra was to go to Reed and continue doing all the things that she loves :)

[Daria Kieffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly beautiful book. Akhbari has a way of describing emotions that is just....so honest and refreshing and real. I felt like, after reading Mitra's story, I felt more connected to myself and those around me.
Mitra and Bea's love story is the kind that makes me believe in people, even when relationships are messy - especially when they're messy! As a new mom, the whole plot line about Mitra's conflicting feelings towards her own mom was especially poignant. I felt myself really drawn to those parts of the story, and to thinking about how even parents, who sometimes seem indestructible to us as kids, are just people trying to make their own way in the world.
Please keep writing more books like this.

[sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

was expecting much more angst but lowkey they get together fairly fast and then the rest is mostly fluff and mild relationship drama. still cute though. and I think the poetry adds a nice touch. very ya but it had me tearing up at the end bc i’m sentimental like that

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet, tender, and uplifting!

Just Another Epic Love Poem is an absorbing, tender tale that takes you into the life of best friends Mitra Esfahani and Bea Ortega as they navigate a senior year that includes a strict Catholic environment, strained friendships, familial drama, and the transition from being friends to a whole lot more.

The writing is smooth and fluid. The characters are well-drawn, genuine, and vulnerable. And the plot is the perfect blend of heart, hope, healing, drama, and emotion.

Overall, Just Another Epic Love Poem is, ultimately, a story about coming-of-age, life, friendship, family, self-discovery, culture, responsibilities, patience, independence, and the joys of falling in love. It’s an empowering, charming, heart-tugging novel by Akhbari that is a true delight to read.

Thank you to Angela Melamud and Dial Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Mae Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-f/f contemporary YA romance
-friends to lovers
-angst
-poetry

I can't say much about this book because it just has to be experienced. But just the sheer amount of talent and craft to be able to simultaneously write poetry for different characters, distinctly and well. I am not a poetry reader, but this book just grabbed me from the beginning. The angst of teenage years, of about to leave for college and the world is your oyster and wanting to leave but also completely knowing and understanding your life now. Of completely being in love wiht your best frined how overwhelming every ounce of that crush is and how scary it is when your friend feels more, how it can completely ruin everything. THis book is beautiful in every way and I cannot wait to read whatever Parisa writes next, just an absolute triumph in craft and just beauty.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has the promise of a lot of interesting things going for it (a YA love story between two girls from different backgrounds - Hispanic and Iranian American families, one of them has an “absent” family, one has a mom who struggles with drug addiction…) BUT unfortunately I felt it was all too predictable and mushy. The poems didn’t really do anything for me. At times it was hard to continue reading through. Maybe I’m just not the target audience for this book. Wavered between giving 2 and 3 stars

[Anniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetic and romantic, but also messy, thoughtful and complex, this story takes on learning to trust those you love through the perspective of Mitra, who has been through a lot because her mother struggles with addiction, and it's made it difficult for her to trust the people she loves, like her best friend Bee, who she's starting a relationship with. This book doesn't shy away from complex emotion, and it does so with so much love and care.

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg…have been having trouble with ya recently bc i’m getting older and i have had a harder time connecting with characters plus been finding dialogue cringe. It has kind of been tragic bc it’s my teen romcom fix as the genre has died out in movies and never been that kind to lesbians. Lucky this was amazing and I love ya again. The main character and everything that’s going on is very mature, the writing was gorgeous and emotional and engrossing, the relationship conflict totally made sense (which is really hard to do in romances, especially with teenagers) without making the characters unlikeable. Love love love i Am SOOO impressed by this. Also there are short chapters which I always appreciate especially when I’m reading on my phone and representation of feeling Insane about waiting for college decisions.

4.5 stars rounding up bc this is a debut!!! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, Sapphic coming of age love story about two friends who slowly find their way to each other’s hearts. This was beautifully written and I enjoyed it more than most YA books I try. It did not have staying power for me, though I enjoyed it while listening to the audiobook.

[Caitie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s that poetry does the feeling for me, so I don’t have to.

5/5 stars!

Such a beautiful book about family, friendship and love. I fell in love with the writing right away and felt that Mira had a unique voice.

[abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so beautiful

[MrsReganReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written and sweet story of love, forgiveness, and growing up. Realistic YA romance with queer rep in a Catholic school - love that.

[Tyler Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute 🤎

[Brooke! · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice little love story

[Sydney Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

SACRAMENTO MENTIONED RAHHHH
also thank you for bringing back chapter titles