The Authentics is a fresh, funny, and insightful novel about culture, love, and family—the kind we are born into and the ones we create.
Daria Esfandyar is Iranian-American and proud of her heritage, unlike some of the “Nose Jobs” in the clique led by her former best friend, Heidi Javadi. Daria and her friends call themselves the Authentics, because they pride themselves on always keeping it real.
But in the course of researching a school project, Daria learns something shocking about her past, which launches her on a journey of self-discovery. It seems everyone is keeping secrets. And it’s getting harder to know who she even is any longer.
With infighting among the Authentics, her mother planning an over-the-top sweet sixteen party, and a romance that should be totally off limits, Daria doesn’t have time for this identity crisis. As everything in her life is spinning out of control—can she figure out how to stay true to herself?
- A Life-Changing DNA Test: Daria has always been a proud Iranian-American. But a school project reveals a truth that changes everything: she’s biologically half-Mexican.
- A Forbidden Crush: As she searches for answers, she meets a boy who should be completely off-limits. But the more she gets to know him, the harder it is to stay away.
- Found Family and Frenemies: She has her ride-or-die friends, The Authentics. But her former best friend, Heidi, and the catty “Nose Jobs” clique won’t make her identity crisis any easier.
- One Epic Sweet Sixteen: On top of it all, her mother is planning an over-the-top party that Daria doesn’t even want, forcing her two worlds—high school and Tehrangeles—to collide.
Abdi Nazemian is the author of Only This Beautiful Moment―winner of the Stonewall Award and the Lambda Literary Award―and Like a Love Story, a Stonewall Honor Book and one of Time’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time. He is also the author of the young adult novels Exquisite Things, Desert Echoes, The Chandler Legacies, and The Authentics, and the co-author of SwapLife. 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 numerous television series including It's Not Like That and Sweet Magnolias. His many credits as a film producer include Call Me by Your Name and Little Woods. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, their two children, and their dog, Disco.
