I was really hoping to enjoy this book more. I truly enjoyed talking (or listening to) Arvin, so I guess I expected way more. But in reality, I guess I thought it was just too contrived. First, there is a boy who has no idea what he wants to do. Cool, that is completely valid. But then his parents leave him, at 17?, as they go back to Iran while he does an internship. He chooses to not do the interneship and goes to Georgetown to meet the professor who has inspired him to have grit. Um, his parents leave him for a month, and he "runs away"?
On the way to DC he meets a wild college student who describes him as completely cool and actually seeks him out to hang with him. He probably is cool, for a 17 year old, but for a college student, there is a disconnect in my perception. And then he actually runs into one other person who is friendly, and this guy is, gasp, the wild child's best friend. Contrived, I tell you.
The concept is pretty good, how to apply grit. And knowing where Mr. Ahmadi went to high school, I understand the persona a bit better of Sakeet. There was just something missing for me to rate it a 4 star