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A review by emi_coh
Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win by Susan Azim Boyer
5.0
eARC provided by NetGalley
After lying (or, "accelerating the truth") about being senior class president on her NYU application, Jasmine Zumideh is more than determined to win the election IRL. She thinks it will be a breeze... but then, the Iran Hostage Crisis throws a wrench in all her plans. Suddenly, Jasmine is seen as the "I-rain-ian" candidate, particularly when her younger brother starts speaking out against US foreign policy. Jasmine finds herself embroiled in a toxic race against Gerald, her hyper-patriotic, xenophobic classmate who uses Jasmine's "foreign"-ness to campaign against her at every turn.
Jasmine is a sharp-witted protagonist who makes some excruciatingly poor decisions over the course of this novel. Basically, she's a realistic and engaging teenage character. Her struggles, big and small, will resonate with teen readers everywhere, and I found her feelings of "embarrassment" to be particularly poignant and timely. Racialized kids in America have, time and time again, been held collectively responsible for "their" (note the aggressively passive-aggressive quotation marks) countries' actions, and it's a really difficult thing to navigate at any age. JASMINE ZUMIDEH NEEDS A WIN portrays that experience in an honest, heartbreaking, and often funny (yes, laugh-out-loud funny) way. I highly recommend picking up a copy.
After lying (or, "accelerating the truth") about being senior class president on her NYU application, Jasmine Zumideh is more than determined to win the election IRL. She thinks it will be a breeze... but then, the Iran Hostage Crisis throws a wrench in all her plans. Suddenly, Jasmine is seen as the "I-rain-ian" candidate, particularly when her younger brother starts speaking out against US foreign policy. Jasmine finds herself embroiled in a toxic race against Gerald, her hyper-patriotic, xenophobic classmate who uses Jasmine's "foreign"-ness to campaign against her at every turn.
Jasmine is a sharp-witted protagonist who makes some excruciatingly poor decisions over the course of this novel. Basically, she's a realistic and engaging teenage character. Her struggles, big and small, will resonate with teen readers everywhere, and I found her feelings of "embarrassment" to be particularly poignant and timely. Racialized kids in America have, time and time again, been held collectively responsible for "their" (note the aggressively passive-aggressive quotation marks) countries' actions, and it's a really difficult thing to navigate at any age. JASMINE ZUMIDEH NEEDS A WIN portrays that experience in an honest, heartbreaking, and often funny (yes, laugh-out-loud funny) way. I highly recommend picking up a copy.