Scan barcode
notinjersey's review
5.0
Jasmine Zumideh will do whatever she can to get into NYU where she wants to major in journalism. To make her application stand out, she writes that she is the senior class president-elect – but the election hasn’t happened yet. So now she has to win. While her opponent is running on a platform of restoring order and bringing back the dress code, Jasmine’s campaign is derailed by the Iran Hostage Crisis – as an Iranian American, she has to decide whether to deny her heritage or display it. Plus she gets caught between her two best friends, she has to deal with her parents’ separation, her brother is expressing pro Iran sentiments, and her visiting aunt wants her to speak Farsi and cook Persian food. While the end of the book felt a little rushed (and refers to Passover as a 7 day holiday when it’s actually 8 days besides in Israel), I loved Jasmine and her journey the whole way through.
jugglingpup's review
1.0
I got an ARC of this book.
30% in and I am bored. I don't care about the election at all. Every time the plot starts to get interesting, it is back to the MC explaining her friends. Jasmine doesn't really seem to have a personality most of the time.
DNF and sad about it.
30% in and I am bored. I don't care about the election at all. Every time the plot starts to get interesting, it is back to the MC explaining her friends. Jasmine doesn't really seem to have a personality most of the time.
DNF and sad about it.
_alyssaslibrary_'s review against another edition
3.0
thank you to netgalley for giving me an e-arc of this book to review!
3.5*
this story follows jasmine who wants to get into NYU for journalism but she is lacking in her extracurricular activities, so she decides to run for senior class president. simultaneously, in Iran, the Iranian students are angry at the American's for interfering with Iranian politics so they hold the American Embassy hostage to get their freedom back. jasmine is half American, half Iranian and she is struggling with her Iranian heritage because of this hostage crisis that is all over the news. jasmine tries to learn how to navigate her culture in this world, but also focusing on winning the election.
i really liked how this story not only focused on jasmine and her campaign, but also discussed a lot of Iranian politics due to what was happening in Iran. this was very interesting to read about, and i really liked how this was a main focus for the story and for jasmine's character as well. additionally, ali (jasmine's brother) was definitely my favourite character. he had many very strong opinions and i really enjoyed reading about him standing up for himself and his country when everyone else at the school thinks the Americans should bomb Iran and how they are horrible people.
the main thing i did not enjoy about this story was how long it took to see jasmine's character development. until around the 90% mark in the book, jasmine was still acting the same around her friends and towards her family, not really learning anything from her mistakes along the way. i wish we got to see more of her embracing her culture with her brother at the end for longer, because i think this would have made this even more powerful.
overall, this was a fun debut and i cant wait to see what else to author writes next!
3.5*
this story follows jasmine who wants to get into NYU for journalism but she is lacking in her extracurricular activities, so she decides to run for senior class president. simultaneously, in Iran, the Iranian students are angry at the American's for interfering with Iranian politics so they hold the American Embassy hostage to get their freedom back. jasmine is half American, half Iranian and she is struggling with her Iranian heritage because of this hostage crisis that is all over the news. jasmine tries to learn how to navigate her culture in this world, but also focusing on winning the election.
i really liked how this story not only focused on jasmine and her campaign, but also discussed a lot of Iranian politics due to what was happening in Iran. this was very interesting to read about, and i really liked how this was a main focus for the story and for jasmine's character as well. additionally, ali (jasmine's brother) was definitely my favourite character. he had many very strong opinions and i really enjoyed reading about him standing up for himself and his country when everyone else at the school thinks the Americans should bomb Iran and how they are horrible people.
the main thing i did not enjoy about this story was how long it took to see jasmine's character development. until around the 90% mark in the book, jasmine was still acting the same around her friends and towards her family, not really learning anything from her mistakes along the way. i wish we got to see more of her embracing her culture with her brother at the end for longer, because i think this would have made this even more powerful.
overall, this was a fun debut and i cant wait to see what else to author writes next!
blandandi's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jessicasilfenroy's review
5.0
An excellent YA debut that surpassed all expectations!
Synopsis: This story follows Jasmine Zumiedh, an Iranian-American student who runs for senior class president to increase her chances of getting into NYU. Torn between doing what she thinks is right versus what will get her the most votes, Jasmine starts to make one wrong decision after the next.
Thoughts: While this story takes place in 1979, I feel like Jasmine is the messy/ emotional teenage girl that all of us can relate to. She struggles with her identity, has typical teenage feelings of embarrassment, didn’t always make the smartest choices but through it all was determined to succeed. She reminds me a lot like Devi in Never Have I Ever, which is one of my favorite YA shows. Writing wise, the book was hard to put down and perfectly paced. I found a lot dialogue to be laugh out loud funny with many pop culture references. I will say that there were some moments that were a bit cringy, but all together this was such a heartfelt story that I will be recommending to many!
Read if you like:
-YA fiction
-High school setting
-Iranian-American rep
-Conflicted heroines
-Stories about identity struggles
Synopsis: This story follows Jasmine Zumiedh, an Iranian-American student who runs for senior class president to increase her chances of getting into NYU. Torn between doing what she thinks is right versus what will get her the most votes, Jasmine starts to make one wrong decision after the next.
Thoughts: While this story takes place in 1979, I feel like Jasmine is the messy/ emotional teenage girl that all of us can relate to. She struggles with her identity, has typical teenage feelings of embarrassment, didn’t always make the smartest choices but through it all was determined to succeed. She reminds me a lot like Devi in Never Have I Ever, which is one of my favorite YA shows. Writing wise, the book was hard to put down and perfectly paced. I found a lot dialogue to be laugh out loud funny with many pop culture references. I will say that there were some moments that were a bit cringy, but all together this was such a heartfelt story that I will be recommending to many!
Read if you like:
-YA fiction
-High school setting
-Iranian-American rep
-Conflicted heroines
-Stories about identity struggles
meganfalzone's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lennareem's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
akacya's review against another edition
4.0
2023 reads: 346/350
jasmine zumideh, an iranian-american high school senior, is so desperate to get out of southern california and get into nyu that she lies on her application and says she’s the senior class president-elect, despite the election not having happened yet. suddenly, iran is everywhere on the news, and anti-iranian sentiment spreads quickly. now, jasmine is stuck between sticking to her principles or doing what she can to get into nyu.
jasmine zumideh, an iranian-american high school senior, is so desperate to get out of southern california and get into nyu that she lies on her application and says she’s the senior class president-elect, despite the election not having happened yet. suddenly, iran is everywhere on the news, and anti-iranian sentiment spreads quickly. now, jasmine is stuck between sticking to her principles or doing what she can to get into nyu.
something i loved about this book was jasmine’s character growth. she dug herself into a hole pretty early on, and just kept digging down. however, i would say she grew a lot and made up for everything. she also learned to be more comfortable being iranian, despite the hatred going around, which was great to see.
anniekslibrary's review
4.0
I don't know why I put off reading this for so long, it was great. I desperately want historical fiction to be more of a thing in YA, because I think it's really fun and also really broadens people's horizons. History is interesting!
The strength of this book lies in the main character, who has such a fun voice. She has a lot of ambition, in which she reminded me of Rory Gilmore: she wants to go to NYU and become a pop journalist. Throughout the book, she doesn't always make the right decisions because of her ambitions, as anti-Iranian sentiments rise among her fellow high schoolers. All she wants is to fit in and be accepted and reach her goals, but if she stands up for her heritage, this might be hard to achieve.
I loved reading about the journey Jasmine goes on, but I do think the ending could have been fleshed out a little more. I thought it was all wrapped up rather suddenly and neatly, and I would have liked more of an exploration.
The strength of this book lies in the main character, who has such a fun voice. She has a lot of ambition, in which she reminded me of Rory Gilmore: she wants to go to NYU and become a pop journalist. Throughout the book, she doesn't always make the right decisions because of her ambitions, as anti-Iranian sentiments rise among her fellow high schoolers. All she wants is to fit in and be accepted and reach her goals, but if she stands up for her heritage, this might be hard to achieve.
I loved reading about the journey Jasmine goes on, but I do think the ending could have been fleshed out a little more. I thought it was all wrapped up rather suddenly and neatly, and I would have liked more of an exploration.
allieslocum's review
4.0
Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win was such a fresh YA novel. A story about a young Iranian American trying to make her dreams come true while struggling with being true to herself and her culture and to the people she loves most. There are moments when I wanted to shake jasmine’s shoulders and yell “What are you doing?!” But that’s the teenage years in every generation. This book is truly near 5 stars for me but i unfortunately as a reader cringed a little too much with Jasmine’s choices towards the end of the book. The ending also had some rush pacing in my opinion. But again, I really did enjoy this book. I really adored the relationship between her and her aunt though and wish we got to see more of that.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.