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A review by krunkjess
Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win by Susan Azim Boyer
2.0
*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: November 1, 2022
Student government elections never bring out the best in people. Iranian-American Jasmine has her eyes set on attending NYU for journalism school so she can write for a music magazine. She stretches the truth on her application setting off a desperate circus of events to ensure she’s elected class president. Set in the late 70’s, real world events (Iranian hostage crisis) weave into this mature YA high school drama.
This was a different type of book but it left me confused at times. Sometimes the characters are mature and discussing real world events, but the other half has this group making questionable decisions that are frustratingly immature. I know this is set in the 70s so it read a bit like a cult classic movie from the 80s and I’m not sure if this will speak to a YA audience today. It reads as if a millennial tried to write about kids these days without being in touch with them—the storyline about her hiding her heritage and the dated clique-naming and stereotyping seems the opposite of what most kids would do these days. I would not recommend this to anyone under the age of 16 because of language and themes throughout.
Jasmine is an unlikeable character, who comes to her senses too late in the book (aside from changing who she is to fit in and having pretentious music opinions, she also gives up on her dreams at the drop of a hat).
Student government elections never bring out the best in people. Iranian-American Jasmine has her eyes set on attending NYU for journalism school so she can write for a music magazine. She stretches the truth on her application setting off a desperate circus of events to ensure she’s elected class president. Set in the late 70’s, real world events (Iranian hostage crisis) weave into this mature YA high school drama.
This was a different type of book but it left me confused at times. Sometimes the characters are mature and discussing real world events, but the other half has this group making questionable decisions that are frustratingly immature. I know this is set in the 70s so it read a bit like a cult classic movie from the 80s and I’m not sure if this will speak to a YA audience today. It reads as if a millennial tried to write about kids these days without being in touch with them—the storyline about her hiding her heritage and the dated clique-naming and stereotyping seems the opposite of what most kids would do these days. I would not recommend this to anyone under the age of 16 because of language and themes throughout.
Jasmine is an unlikeable character, who comes to her senses too late in the book (aside from changing who she is to fit in and having pretentious music opinions, she also gives up on her dreams at the drop of a hat).