How It Blew Up is an interesting book. The protagonist, Amir, flees to Italy after his classmate blackmails him with some private information. He fears what his conservative, Iranian family's response will be if they find out the truth about their son. His secret is that he's gay (this isn't a spoiler, it's revealed in the very first chapter). I had seen some mixed reviews about this title, but I actually really liked it. This may have been because I listened to it on audio and there were different voice actors for all of the main characters (something I am a big fan of) and the format was so unique. This title has received criticism for being promoted as a story of a gay, Muslim teenager even though religion is barely discussed in the story. Those criticisms are valid and I understand how other readers may have felt mislead by that kind of marketing. With that being said, I picked this book up on a whim and didn't know about the controversy until after I finished it. Overall, I thought it was a strong YA novel that had important representation amongst its characters.