Desert Echoes

by Abdi Nazemian

From a Stonewall Honor-winning author comes a propulsive, moving story about human resilience and connection. Perfect for fans of?Last Night at the Telegraph Club, The Great Godden and?If You Still Recognise Me.

Fifteen-year-old Kam is head over heels for Ash, the boy who swept him off his feet. But his family and best friend, Bodie, are worried. They struggle to understand Ash. He also has a habit of disappearing, at times for days. When Ash asks Kam to join him on a trip to Joshua Tree, the two of them walk off into the sunset … but only Kam returns.

Two years later, Kam is still left with a hole in his heart and too many unanswered questions. So it feels like fate when a school trip takes him back to Joshua Tree. On the trip, Kam wants to find closure about what happened to Ash, but instead finds himself in danger of facing a similar fate. In the desert, Kam must reckon with the truth of his past relationship – and the possibility of opening himself up to love once again.

Genres: Young Adult, LGBT, Queer, Contemporary, Audiobook, Fiction, Mental Health

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2024

About the author

Abdi Nazemian is the author of Only This Beautiful Moment - winner of the 2024 Stonewall Award and 2024 Lambda Literary Award - and Like a Love Story, a Stonewall Honor Book and one of Time Magazine’s Best YA Books Of All Time. He is also the author of the young adult novels Desert Echoes, The Chandler Legacies, and The Authentics. His novel The Walk-In Closet won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction. His screenwriting credits include the films The Artist’s Wife, The Quiet, and Menendez: Blood Brothers and the television series Ordinary Joe and The Village. He has been an executive producer and associate producer on numerous films, including Call Me by Your Name, Little Woods, and The House of Tomorrow. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, their two children, and their dog, Disco. Find him online at abdinazemian.com.

Reviews

[Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

History is All You Left Me meets Hideous Beauty

Sometimes, we have to look back in order to move forward.

Abdi Nazemian is a superb YA author. His previous books, Like a Love Story and Only This Beautiful Moment, were fantastic. And here’s another amazing one. Think of History is All You Left Me, but maybe most of all Hideous Beauty. Desert Echoes is a beautiful, sad boy story, a mystery imbued with hope, written in a dual timeline: the year Kam returned from Joshua Tree without Ash, and two years later when Kam goes back to Joshua Tree and has to face what happened back then.

There’s Covid in this book, talk of masks, social distancing, and vaccines, things I hate to see in stories—I even DNF’d books with mentions of Covid in it. But for the first time, I didn’t mind because the Covid references portrayed loneliness and the loss of human connections so beautifully, both significant themes in this story. Kam craves those connections so much, of course with Ash, but maybe even more with his parents and Bodie, his best friend.

In the now chapters, Kam’s grief is palpable on every page. In the videos he watches, in the music he listens to, in the conversations he has with Bodie. And slowly, I realized his pain wasn’t only because of Ash’s disappearance. The same applies to the then chapters. The love Kam and Ash had for each other felt so energetic, almost frantic. I smiled so many times, and still …

When I found out more about the truth, my heart ached for Ash. At the same time, I wanted to hug Bodie so badly because his love for Kam shone so brightly from page one, and Kam was so oblivious.

This story is about first love and moving on, about (co)dependency and cravings, and like I said above about loneliness and human connections. And just like Only This Beautiful Moment, this story is incredibly personal. Tears burned in my eyes while reading the last chapter and then I started to smile so much! This story, including the title and the cover is gorgeous!

Thanks so much again, HarperCollins International, for allowing me to read this beauty! I will gush about it wherever and whenever I can!

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[Mr.Rainbow.Pages]

Review coming soon!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written and heartbreaking. I’m definitely following this author’s work from now on.

[elise]

i think this was very special and would probably make a great movie <3

[Kyle Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bruh that ending made me mad.

[Eloise · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely beautiful read. My heart ached for Ash, for Kam, for Bodie... All of them deserve the world despite the shit that they're going through.
Marieke's review sums up everything so perfectly.
Abdi Nazemian is making his way towards my auto-buy list of favourite authors...

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[Giles]

another victim of my mood reading 🫣

i need to come back to this one when it isn't halloween time since all i want to read right now is spooky vampire halloween horror stuff.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very heartbreaking and kind. Coming of age with romance as a backdrop, all queer youth and complicated families. Love everything AN writes so much.

[Kristeen Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

round up to 4.5 stars.

[juliette · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the second day of January 2022 when the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Thing happened. It doesn’t matter what the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Thing was for me, we all have our own variation of the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Thing. A moment in time at which life rotates on the axis. We were someone else before this moment and now we are not, irrevocably and irreversibly changed in an instant.  

When the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Thing happened, I lived my life as a hamster running on a wheel - through a perpetual and never-ending cycle of terror, grief, loss, almost loss, devastation, shattering. Around and around in dizzying circles, I would run with my shoelaces untied and just when I would catch my breath on even ground, it would fall out from under me again and I’d be sprinting. It’s been two years now, closer to three, and I still live in an embarrassing terrorized half-life in a half-world where everything, even the atoms and molecules, is built upon my pain. It’s the center of everything. It’s a horrible, myopic way to live. It gnaws, it tears, it destroys. Rotting from the inside out – consumed with agony, anger, and narcissism. Worst of all is the way the rot feels infectious – seeping through and poisoning your loved ones. A burden that’s weight you’ve unloaded on those you love most.  

Until today, I had yet to find a work of art that fully captures what it feels like to live in my mind since it all happened. Great, stunning works have cobbled together all the pieces and parts individually, but, for me, this book is the most complete and comprehensive description of how it feels to be stuck between yearning for something unattainable as you grieve for a version of both yourself and the world that can no longer exist no matter how much you beg and plead and yearning to learn to exist in this new world with hope and strength to move forward. If someone wanted to truly know me, I’d put this book in their hand.  

Nazemian’s work has always been an unrelenting mirror for me. The characters he gives life to and the worlds he builds feel as if they create an unflinching portrait of me– reflecting back the most glamorous and generous traits along with the ugliest and cruelest traits I contain. Each time I find a new piece of myself, a new picture of human existence as it is and how it could be, I am equally provided solace and challenged. Along the way, I always find a new way to know myself just a little better. As the pages turn, life opens up to me in ways I hadn’t even begun to conceive of.  

As Desert Echoes hits its climax, Kam, our protagonist, ruminates on his loss and his grief and ultimately comes to this stunning conclusion: “I forgive myself for surviving.” A sentiment written so simply, so plainly, in only five words. It felt like my heart had stopped and jumped completely out of my chest. How was it just today I learned that it might be time for me to forgive myself? Since the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Thing happened, I’ve spent all my energy attempting to overcome erratic sways of emotion and trying to forgive the people, places, and things I’ve lost, but never myself. It struck me so deeply; the truth is I’m still a little shaken by it and its aching simplicity.  I feel so grateful to have been able to read it. I feel so grateful to be able to read those words whenever I need them. I feel so grateful that I’ll be able to read those words even when one day I might not need them so desperately anymore. I feel humbled by our ability to know and connect to one another through the written word and I am endlessly thankful for the people brave and vulnerable enough to put pen to paper.  


A BRIEF CODA:  
“I forgive myself for surviving.” Every day I’ll mull over those words – I'll say them back to myself and I’ll really believe it.  

[Bethany Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a puddle of tears. Full review to come.

**review**

15-year-old Kam is haunted by the disappearance of his boyfriend Ash, and two years later, he returns to Joshua Tree seeking closure. There, he confronts his past and faces new dangers, all while grappling with the possibility of opening his heart to love again.

I didn’t even need to know what this book was about to know it was a must read for me. I got this book in the mail yesterday and finished just before midnight, ending in a puddle of tears.

Abdi Nazemian knows how to tug at your heartstrings, make you root for his main character, help you understand the character’s journey, and yes he knows how to make you cry.

I absolutely loved the evolution of Kam. The past and present timeline was so effective, as was splitting the book into 3 parts. Really no spoilers here, but oh my GOSH how sweet is Bodie? Seriously, I melted. What a great guy. Also, really loved Kam’s viewpoint of his relationships, friendships, and what he values. His growth was *chef’s kiss.* and THAT ENDING?? Read it and find out why I was a mess. Another incredible read by @abdaddy 😭🥹🥰💙 - and do not miss the emotional author’s note.

[Shaq · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had such an interesting premise—very Shaun David Hutchinson, which I love—and I wish I had liked it much more than I did. I could not stand the dialogue, every time someone had to say something, it came off as very preachy—especially Bodie omg. I understand the importance of representation, I mean, that's why I read these books in the first place, but when discourse is being used for the sake of discourse instead of propelling the plot further? That's when you lose me. I can't shake the feeling of it being inauthentic or a little virtue-signalling, but that's me. For this reason, the story could have been much tighter, and all these important discussions on heritage, queerness, etc., could have been integrated much more seamlessly.

[Beatriz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abdi, once again, wrote a moving story with fleshed out characters, no one is perfect, all are just trying their best, some better than others, to be honest a couple aren’t trying much at all, but still all humans, making mistakes and loving and losing and finding each other.

[Mariyam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story Structure:
 -- chapters were not chronological and alternated between present and past. it was still well-organized and easy to differentiate between each timeline, which is good. There were lots of details and clues that were interwoven between each timeline. for example, the first few "present" timeline chapters had callbacks to the past timeline of their freshmen year. for example, when Kam mentions Bodie broke up over a guy not knowing Starry Night and then we later read the scene of Jack thinking Bodie painted Starry Night lol
  -- I found the first chapter really boring. we were just stuck in a loop of Kam's depressed thoughts. i understand it presented the main conflict of the book to draw readers in right away... but it got repetitive and boring. Maybe the choir scene where Ash and Kam first met would be a good intro. However! then it would have taken the emphasis off of Kam and Bodie's close friendship which is meant to be the actual heart and soul of the story. the choir meeting would have shone Bodie in a bad light at the start, instead in the close friendship and supportive role that the actual first chapter presented.

- Culture: I did relate to enjoy alot of the culture and family dynamics. the Americanization of their names lol Esp the name Farbod is so Persian. i kept accidentally reading it as Brodie and imagining some uber american southern guy lol But also the faily dynamics, parental conflict. the working immigrant struggles of Kamran's family, his dad's despairing complaints abt working for the money-hungry companies and gov entities that helped to destabilize/coup Iran's gov and conflict with Iran for it's oil. Even tho it was a really small subplot of this book, i think the conflict in pursuing the american dream while trapped in U.S. corporate power is so real. and having that isight helps to understand Kamran's dad descent in alcoholism more, whereas others who dont understand the immigrant work struggle would just see him as a useless asshole. which like also understandable, I also deeply related to Kamran's mom's struggle of working yourself to the bone to try to keep your loved ones together or have stability after losing alot.
So yeah in general, the cultural aspect appealed to me. seeing it was abt Irani-American teens and seeing the author's name captivated me more than if it was just two white dudes. Also shout-out Irani-Armenians. I will say though, i think there wasn't much of Persian culture besides the food and Rumi poems in the book. I feel like if this book was written by Gen Z, they'd add way more super-Persian cultural aspects, like Irani cinema and arts, even queer icons. Bc ironically, even tho Gen Z is often second/third gen immigrants, they had access to the internet to learn more about their cultures.

- Kamran and Ash romance dynamic: while i found the philosophical rambling dialogues boring, i appreciated that it showed the depth of their relationship. they could talk abt things they found important and deep to their life. i also find that those deep, existential conversations are central to a friendship or relationship but i personally don't enjoy the abstract and nonsense topics as Ash wld bring up sometimes lol i get that their conversations were indirect ways of talking abt their feelings and loneliness without actually revealing the problems they had (family issue, addiction) Instead they just  quotes a bunch of poems abt loneliness and talked abt deserts and stars, and i found it boring after a while.

- the ending was kind of messed up but realistic. its very common for hikers to get lost and die in the western deserts.- i like that the story was meant to give lessons abt valuing the people in your life that are there for u and help you thru hard times... Mainly Bodie, Kam's mom, the GSA group. and the connection drawn btwn ash and kams dad substance abuse as a result of feeling trapped by their life.surroundings.

- Similar Books: some aspects of thus book felt like a combo of Dante and Aristotle and Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. Also a sprinkle of They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. And ofc I have to mention Darius the Great just because Irani.

[Pine Reads Review · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I’m here in the present, haunted by the memory.”

Desert Echoes revolves around the grief of Kam, a junior in high school who is struggling to move past his boyfriend, Ash, who mysteriously disappeared in the middle of Joshua Tree National Park. Kam grapples with his traditional Iranian parents who do not understand his sexuality while also watching their marriage fall apart due to his father’s addiction. In between this, he has to deal with his classmates blaming him for Ash’s disappearance while his best friend pressures him to leave the past in the past. When the Gender and Sexualities Alliance at his high school decides to have their annual trip at Joshua Tree National Park, Kam must decide whether going back is the right thing for him, even if it's against the wishes of the people who care about him. Or, if returning there after two years will do more harm than good.

Abdi Nazemian’s novel is a devastating tale of heartbreak and perseverance. Kam seems to face one obstacle after another: coming out to his parents, navigating a relationship while trying to keep the peace with his best friend, and watching those he loves crumble under weights he doesn’t understand. The novel is told through two time periods. During “First Year,” Kam and Ash meet and a relationship begins to form. In “Junior Year,” Kam is failing to come to terms with the fact that Ash is most likely gone. I enjoyed the flashbacks, as they made it possible to understand the depth of Kam’s feelings towards Ash and the stances of Kam’s family and friends, including why they never quite trusted Ash. I found myself a little disappointed as moments that felt significant seemed to be brushed past, and scenes I anticipated went by too quickly. The majority of the novel was spent building up to the potential moment that Kam would go to the desert, and the ending came rather abruptly. I did find other aspects of the book enjoyable, as I thought the characters were well-rounded and carefully developed within the plot. Overall, I found Desert Echoes very interesting and structurally unique, but I found the compassion lacking as the novel came to a close.

Desert Echoes releases on September 10th, 2024.

Pine Reads Review would like to thank SparkPoint Studio, NetGalley, and HarperCollins Children’s Books for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook @pinereadsreview, and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, author interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!

[L Powers (Bookish_Mum) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Desert Echoes" by Abdi Nazemian is a total gem. If "Last Night at the Telegraph Club" was your thing, you'll probably eat this one up too. It's packed with love, mystery, and all that soul-searching stuff we can't get enough of in a good book.

Kam, this 15-year-old kid, is head over heels for Ash. But Ash? He's like a pro at disappearing acts. Then bam! On a Joshua Tree trip, Ash vanishes into thin air, leaving Kam solo.

Jump ahead two years, and Kam's still a mess. Then, out of the blue, he's back at Joshua Tree on a school trip. He's all about solving the Ash puzzle, but he might just end up in a pickle himself.

Nazemian's writing? It's off the charts. The story hops between two timelines - when Ash pulled his vanishing act and Kam's comeback tour two years later.

Gotta hand it to the book for tackling some heavy stuff. It dives into grief, survivor's guilt, addiction's ripple effects, and the whole "following your own path despite family pressure" thing. And it doesn't just skim the surface - it goes deep with a ton of heart.

Now, I get it - another COVID story? Eye roll, right? But trust me, it works here. It captures that isolated, cut-off vibe we all went through, the kind that still lingers for a lot of folks.

The friendship between Bodie and Kam though? Spot on. It nails the awesomeness of teen friendships, but also the tricky parts when you're growing up and life throws curveballs at you.

With that said, the way Kam's feelings come across is just *chef's kiss*. Whether he's glued to screens, blasting tunes, or hanging with Bodie, his pain just leaps off the pages. I was hooked.

This book's an emotional rollercoaster, for real. It's super personal and hits you right in the feels. I might've gotten a bit misty-eyed here and there, not gonna lie.

Bottom line: if you're after a book that'll pull you in and make you feel all sorts of things, Nazemian's got your back. It's a page-turner that'll have you all in on the story from start to finish.

[Jeffrey G · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a big step down from the author's previous book "Only This Beautiful Moment". Actually, it is by far the least interesting book I have read by this author (but I have not read all of his books). On the plus side, the shrill and juvenile left-wing politics are largely (but not entirely) removed. As that trend has become stale and uncool, the author has left it behind. When the subject of the Iranian revolution (inevitably) comes up, this time we do not get ahistorical fantasies but rather musings that might seem more realistic to someone who reads history or newspapers.

Now. In an afterword, the author tells us that this story is based on a real-life love of his and that makes me feel bad about saying anything negative about the story. Even so, one cannot help but to feel let down by the non-resolution of the central mystery of the novel and even more let down by the predictable and by-the-numbers denouement that follows. The novel jumps around in its timeline, but the dialogue and dramatic situations are so repetitive that it becomes impossible to tell where (or when) any particular scene is supposed to be playing out.

The worst I can say for this is that it is dull. The second worst is that the critically important character of the best friend is brutally underwritten. I should also mention that literally (inside joke for anyone who has read the book) every character in the book is a total asshole, from the mother and father to the boyfriend's entire family to the blink-and-you'll-miss-them gay couple who view a house shown by the mc's mother. Reading about total assholes is not actually very much fun.

Avoid. If you want to sample the author, I recommend the novel mentioned in the first paragraph above.

[Michael McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another stellar novel from Nazemian. It’s an emotional, compelling, tragic yet hopeful story about a young Iranian kid’s first love(s) and understanding of the truly harrowing nature of addiction.

I was convinced the story would involve some sci-fi elements due to the discussion and theory of time travel, but that’s forgotten about early on. It didn’t erase any enjoyment I had from the story, but would have been interesting to see it pursued a little more. Instead, we spent a lot of time learning about the two most important men in Kam’s life.

I absolutely fell in love with Ash and admired how patient he was when Bodie was being obnoxious, which was quite a bit in this book. I loved the dichotomy of how perfect he was on the outside, but broken on the inside despite seeming to really have a life that most gay men would dream of.

The dynamic between Bodie and Kam was one of the things I loved most about the book despite wanting Kam to eat dirt at certain points. I had to keep reminding myself that he’s young and immature and has no lived experience to fall back on. But the resentment that affects both Bodie and Kam are various points and tests their relationship is very relatable.

Nazemian just keeps it interesting at every page and I always walk away from his books feeling some kind of emotion which is all I can ask for.

[Bookstarreviews_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️

AD-PR PRODUCT

A beautifully written YA story that melts your heart. 🧡

I was really intrigued to read this book. Not only do I love the cover, but the premise really drew me in. I loved how this book elicits all the emotions, but ultimately leaves you smiling.

Kam (15) is head over heels for Ash but his family and best friend Bodie are worried, struggling to understand Ash. Ash has a habit of disappearing for days. When Ash invites Kam on a family trip to Joshua Tree, the two walk off into the sunset… but only Kam returns. (continued in comments)

This story of love, friendship, loss, hope and connection really had me in my feels and was incredibly moving and thought-provoking. I loved the slight underlying element of suspense to the book too which added that extra flavour.

I love a LGBTQ+ YA novel and this book really consolidated that. The whole feeling of falling in love at school and everything blurring around you always swells my heart. It’s important to have this representation.

With two of the leading protagonists being Iranian, I loved how this book also taught me things about religion and culture too. Kam was wonderful and I really liked him. Naive, vulnerable and still learning the ropes of the world, he made a lovely character. I really sympathised with him and felt awful about his struggles with his parents and being gay. Ash was intriguing and perfect for Kam and I loved seeing their relationship blossom after all the ingratiation. His character really emphasised the need to reach out.

Tackling young love, bullying, friendship, addiction, grief, forgiveness and LGBTQ+ themes, this book was jam-packed but never felt too heavy making it a really enjoyable read.

I never knew where the book was heading and I really enjoyed this. It took a while to get used to the change in timelines, but once I did, I flew through this book.

A huge thank you to @littletigerbooks for this copy of Desert Echoes which is out now!

I highly recommend you check this book out. 😍

I’ll be hosting a UK Giveaway for this book soon! 👀

💬: ‘But sometimes, we have to look back in order to move forward, right?’

⚠️ Please check out the trigger warnings! ⚠️

[Tanner Boeckmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the E-Arc of this book! I am so conflicted about this book and after much deliberation, decided on three stars. I loved Like a Love Story, so I was so excited to read this one. While still a truly brilliant novel, I still had some issues with it. For one, I thought the way the timelines were placed did not work as well for the mysteriousness that the book was trying to convey. The timeline pattern would go present, past, present, but I feel it would have worked better as past, present, past, present. Because we start in the present and end in the present, some things are spoiled prematurely. The timeline pattern I suggested would have added more suspense. Also, as much as I liked Bodie, he would be REALLY unlikeable at times, bordering problematic. In the end, I realize why his character acted like that, but it was still a little off putting. Ash was also off putting at times and it almost seemed like his character was not fully developed… maybe that was because of his mysterious, but I feel as if he could have been developed more.

Overall, I did enjoy this book…. But to me, it really does feel like it is unfinished.

[Hannah Hokanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the beginning of this book to be slow. After being introduced to the present plot of Ash going missing, I was not happy going back to the past. I also found the constant Lana del Ray lyrics to be cloying. I like that the boys both had her as a common interest but the sheer amount of Lana talk had me annoyed. I liked Kam and Bodie's dynamic and could feel the tension and pain as their friendship got rocky.
I wish this story focused more on Kam in Alateen, seeing him work through his issues in more detail.

Spoilers!

The second half of the book was better. It was gut wrenching to find out that Ash had his addiction from Kam, especially because of Kam's history with his father's alcohol abuse. With Kam and Bodie's fight coming to a boil in the desert I found myself feeling relief as Kam finally told Bodie how he had been making him feel. I cried when I found out what happened to Ash, but felt glad that Kam finally got his closer.

The Final relationship between Kam and Bodie was cute, though I could give or take it in the end.

[Moon Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW

Desert Echoes follows Kam, as he grapples with the disappearance of his boyfriend Ash in Joshua Tree National Park. As he struggles with his grief, Kam faces pressure from his Iranian parents, who don’t understand his sexuality, as well as the breakdown of their relationship due to his father’s addiction. Kam’s classmates suspect and blame him for Ash’s disappearance, while his best friend urges him to move on. When a school group plans a trip back to Joshua Tree, Kam has to decide if revisiting will create more pain than healing.

Abdi Nazemian’s novel is a powerful exploration of heartbreak and resilience, told through alternating timelines of Kam and Ash’s relationship and Kam’s struggle to accept Ash's absence. Like in Only This Beautiful Moment, Nazemiam explores generational trauma, queerness in culture and grief beautifully, following Kam’s inner turmoil and the complicated dynamics with his family and friends.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Tiger Group for the ARC

[Weslei Oliveira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got an eArc and since the book is not out yet I'm gonna try to say this with the least spoilers as possible but OMG I REALLY LOVE THIS BOOK!!! I was really in love with Abdi's previous book Only This Beautiful Moment and was so excited when I heard about this (also as a Brazilian, I love the little message at the end to the brazilian readers <3<3). I love the characthers, their relationships are not perfect, that's kinda one of the main themes the age gap of Kam and Ash, with Kam barely entering puberty and Ash already being a senior that is ready to become an adult was a such a red flag once it was pointed it out by Bodie, but it kinda matches the way that Kam ideolized his first love. Also I love Bodie. I got where his plot was going really early on and I love it because there where so many little interactions hinting at it and was really satisfied with how the story went, I love the pinning and drama between the two.

[Mitsy_Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t read YA often but when I love it I love from my heart. This book really is beautifully written. Like the author poured his own soul into it. And if you read Author’s Notes, you know why.

The book is heartfelt and sensitive, like Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe. It explores identity, longing and grief from a POV of a teenager dealing with losses in his life and navigating complexities of human relationships and his own emotions. But there is also a mystery surrounding a boy’s disapperance that makes me go “just one more chapter”. I don’t want to spoil the book for you, so I will not talk about the plot too much but It’s a beautiful comimg-of-age story that I would recommend to everyone.

“love is like two solitudes protecting, bordering, and saluting each other.” 🥹

[Tyler Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful story!

This is a novel that hooked me by the blurb, I was interested to know what happened to ASH and at Joshua Tree. Abdi does an amazing job of keeping you as a reader wanting to know more, from the first page I was unable to put this book down for even a second. This author touches on a range of tough topics but does it in a way that really gets you thinking, from addiction to survivors guilt I really enjoyed how these themes were portrayed and played out in this YA novel.

A unique and captivating plot unlike anything ive read before in a young adult book. You can tell Nazemian really took his time when writing this book and you can tell with amazing attention to detail as well as the way you can feel the main characters emotions through the pages of this book. Filled with hard times, heartbreak and determination this is definitely a book you need on your tbr!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, bitter, and heartfelt. I must admit that I thought this had paranormal elements going in. That description! But this is very much down to earth. I’m hesitant to spoil the issue at the heart of the matter. At the same time, my criticisms have to do with the pacing and suspense of disbelief needed there. Sudden info dumps, amnesia, turns of character … I get that the lead has quite a filter, but it was a bit too much. Here’s what’s excellent: rich and imperfect characters grappling with trauma and grief and the American way. Some of the conversations had me cringing … not because they were unrealistic, but the very opposite. This may be a challenging read for younger folks.

[Rosh | Reads and Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read if you like:

• Young Adult Contemporary
• LGBTQIA+ representation
• Stories centered on friendship and love
• Books that handle difficult topics like grief and addiction with care
• Books that make you cry
• Iranian-American representation

To literally no one’s shock, another book from this author that grabbed me from the first page and didn’t let go until the last. ♥️ This is such a special story that has so many layers and nuances that unfold throughout the book. The characters are all so complex and beautiful. Although it’s a small part, I enjoyed the mystery element intertwined in the overall story. Without giving anything away, the ending of the book is such perfection. 🥹

[Claire Cobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book. I honestly do not have the words. It is such an incredible read about grief, loss, friendship, and learning to love again. Finding family in others when your own has problems and having friends who never give up on you. I loved how the author described Kam and his grief, it just resonates so much if you've ever lost someone. Bodies and his banter were a great touch to an otherwise hard to read (in places) story. I had a feeling how the end was going to turn out, and I was right, I was so ready for it!

[Isabela Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desert Echoes is, very clearly, an incredibly personal book, and contains so much of Abdi’s own life and experience. For that reason, it is an important and beautiful project. That being said, the story being set during the pandemic adds a whole level of anxiety to the book that works well for the plot but definitely might not be for everyone.
Also Ash as whole, and the level of drama is unbearable in a very highschool way. Its perfect for the characters and the target audience, but I mostly only read the whole book for the sake of Bodie’s redemption.