Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win
Books | Young Adult Fiction / Coming of Age
3.8
Susan Azim Boyer
"A coming-of-age novel that is smart, funny, and completely satisfying. Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win perfectly captures the tension and anxieties of trying to fit-in.” —Matt Mendez It’s 1979, and Jasmine Zumideh is ready to get the heck out of her stale, Southern California suburb and into her dream school, NYU, where she’ll major in journalism and cover New York City’s exploding music scene. There’s just one teeny problem: Due to a deadline snafu, she maaaaaaybe said she was Senior Class President-Elect on her application?before the election takes place. But honestly, she’s running against Gerald Thomas, a rigid rule-follower whose platform includes reinstating a dress code?there’s no way she can lose. And she better not, or she’ll never get into NYU. But then, a real-life international incident turns the election upside down. Iran suddenly dominates the nightly news, and her opponent seizes the opportunity to stir up anti-Iranian hysteria at school and turn the electorate against her. Her brother, Ali, is no help. He’s become an outspoken advocate for Iran just as she’s trying to downplay her heritage. Now, as the white lie she told snowballs into an avalanche, Jasmine is stuck between claiming her heritage or hiding it, standing by her outspoken brother or turning her back on him, winning the election or abandoning her dreams for good.
Historical Fiction
Coming Of Age
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More Details:
Author
Susan Azim Boyer
Pages
336
Publisher
St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published Date
2022-11-01
ISBN
1250833698 9781250833693
Community ReviewsSee all
"This is Jasmine’ story about becoming senior class president to avoid lying on her NYU resume all this while Iranian students are taking American hostages which becomes a big part of her school campaign.<br/><br/>To be honest, I wasn’t sure about the main character at first. She was obsessed with NYU and did not have any other personality traits. Plus, she was thinking more about herself than anything and let her friends down.<br/><br/>The purpose of the story was very interesting though. Torn between her dream school and her heritage, Jasmine tries to come to term with both, which turns out to be very difficult. I think that with a more relatable main character, the book could have been much better. Not that it wasn’t good, it just was not perfect.<br/><br/>It may be basic, but I loved the ending. I always love when there are happy moments after a hard time.<br/><br/>I would recommend it as it’s not everyday that a YA book set in the 70’s attacks hard subjects such as xenophobia and political difficulties."
M B
Mathilde Banville-Chénier
