Just Another Epic Love Poem

Name: Just Another Epic Love Poem
Brand: Penguin Random House
Availability: InStock
Author: Parisa Akhbari
ISBN: 9780593793763

Author: Parisa Akhbari

Narrator: Nikki Massoud, Elena Rey

Unabridged: 9 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Listening Library

Published: 03/12/2024

Categories: Young Adult Fiction, Social Themes, Poetry, Romance, Lgbtq+

Synopsis

In this queer literary romance, childhood friendship blossoms into heartfelt one-sided yearning which then evolves into something more.

“The heartache and longing of witnessing a beloved character pine hopelessly over her best friend has never brought me this much unadulterated joy.”—Sonora Reyes, author of the National Book Award finalist The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School

For the past five years, Mitra Esfahani has known two constants: her best friend Bea Ortega and The Book—a dog-eared notebook in which she and Bea have been exchanging poems since they were thirteen.

The rules of The Book are simple: No lies, no secrets, and no punctuation. This is a never-ending poem, as epic and everlasting as their friendship. Nothing is too messy or too complex for The Book—not Mitra’s convoluted feelings about her absent mother, or Bea’s heartache over her most recent breakup.

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

About The Author

Parisa Akhbari is a writer and mental health therapist from Seattle, Washington. When not writing or therapizing, she can be found trying to replicate her grandmother’s drool-worthy Persian recipes, hanging out with disability community, and marathoning sci-fi movies with her partner and dogs. Just Another Epic Love Poem is her debut novel.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) on April 13, 2024

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 addi......more

Goodreads review by Lee [Bibliophile Tings] on February 09, 2025

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 b......more

Goodreads review by Ekene on April 05, 2024

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

Goodreads review by Christine Reads on March 21, 2024

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 alon......more

Goodreads review by ‎‧₊˚n o e l l e˚₊‧ on April 23, 2024

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.......more

Quotes

A Best Book of the Year: Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, New York Public Library

“In Akhbari's powerful debut, poetry gives life to the text through the verses of Mitra and Bea, as well as the renowned poets they read . . . This is laugh-out-loud funny, poignant, realistic, and heartbreaking in the best way.”—Booklist, starred review

“An achingly poignant combination of coming-of-age and young queer love between two teens of color, this book easily deserves a spot on the shelf alongside Lo’s Last Night at the Telegraph Club.”—BCCB, starred review

“A dazzling best-friends-to-lovers sapphic love story . . . that feels both genuine and extraordinary. If this wonderfully moving novel is what Parisa Akhbari writes her first time out of the gate, I can’t wait to see what her sophomore release will hold!”—Autostraddle

“Akhbari skillfully enmeshes myriad poetic styles with organic depictions of Iranian culture and food, and channels the insecurities of adolescence and the overlapping pressures of growing up to worthy effect in this promising debut.”—Publishers Weekly

“[A] tenderly written novel . . . A love affair among poetry, Iranian culture, and teenage angst is happily fused in Akhbari’s debut.”—School Library Journal

“Just Another Epic Love Poem is both a beautiful queer love story and a poignant coming-of-age tale about healing and learning to forgive. With lyrical prose, stunning poetry, and unforgettable characters, Akhbari's debut is a must-read.”—Adiba Jaigirdar, award-winning author of The Henna Wars

“The heartache and longing of witnessing a beloved character pine hopelessly over her best friend has never brought me this much unadulterated joy. My love for this never-ending epic love poem will truly never end!”—National Book Award Finalist Sonora Reyes, author of The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School

“Be prepared to be utterly charmed and have your heart stolen by Mitra and Bea and their story.”—Sara Farizan, author of Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel