Review: Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win, Susan Azim Boyer

I’ll admit it: Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win wasn’t necessarily on my radar for this end of the year… Yet, I’m really, really happy it made it there. It was such a lovely discovery and I had a lot of fun reading this book, overall. Check out my review below to know more about it! 🙂

Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win by Susan Azim Boyer
Published by Wednesday Books on November 1, 2022
Genres: contemporary, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: Wednesday Books
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Most Anticipated YA by Buzzfeed, BookRiot, Epic Reads, and more!
A fresh spin on the cult-classic Election meets Darius the Great Is Not Okay in Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win when an international incident crashes into a high school election, and Jasmine is caught between doing the right thing and chasing her dream.
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.
Told with biting insight and fierce humor, Susan Azim Boyer's Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win is a fresh, unforgettable story of one Iranian-American young woman’s experience navigating her identity, friendship, family, her future, and a budding romance, all set against life-changing historical events with present-day relevance.

I received this book for free from Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:

xenophobia, cheating,

There are no spoilers in this review.

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I ENJOYED…

☂️

• This book is entirely carried by Jasmine Zumideh, the main character of this story. She’s Iranian-American, she’s planning on going to NYU after her senior year to study journalism. She’s ambitious and determined – so determined she lies on her NYU early application, aerm, yet also really messy, at times. Basically, she’s your typical teenager and I just loved that. She makes some bad choices that made me wince as I read on, but I loved seeing her grow so much.
• One of the highlights of this book definitely is the way it manages to balance perfectly between fun moments and important discussions about identity, racism and US foreign policies at the time the story is set (in 1979). I’ll admit that I didn’t know much about the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979 before reading this book. How these events affected Jasmine, her entire family, even the student election at her high school as her opponent reveals himself with very dangerous xenophobic comments… I found it remarkable how the author depicted these real-life events into these fictional characters’ lives and how it changed them. From Ali, Jasmine’s brother taking a stand against US foreign politics out loud, to Jasmine trying to navigate the way Iranians are suddenly perceived, while still wanting to win the student election…

• There’s such a good place for friendships in this story, I really appreciated it! Jasmine’s stuck between her two “best” friends, always wanting to put one before the other and quickly thrown against her will into keeping a terrible secret that’s not her own. I really enjoyed the little friends group in this story and particularily the bond between Bridget and Jasmine, torn apart at times and yet still so real.
• I also really appreciated the inclusion of family in this story. Jasmine’s parents are separated and she’s still trying to deal with the consequences of it all. Her Auntie is living with them as their father’s on a work trip, cooking all the delicious Persian food and stressing out about the hostage situation. Her brother, Ali, has started speaking out about US foreign policies at her high school. It might feel like too much, listed just like that, but it wasn’t. I just loved how each of these elements were included in the story, making it well-rounded, overall.

I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…

☂️

• I liked that this story included a little bit of romance, but I personally found it a bit underwhelming. I wished I felt a little more chemistry between the characters, I wished maybe for some deeper moments between the characters to really be on board, with it.
• Overall, I binged this book really quickly, but felt like I wanted a bit more depth with the relationships. I longed for more, deeper moments between Jasmine and her family, especially between Jasmine and her brother as things resolved themselves by the end of the story.

OVERALL

☂️

Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win was overall an entertaining, funny, smart read. I really loved how it balanced between tough, important topics and the every day, a little confusing at times, teenager life. Recommending it!

FINAL RATING : 3,5 stars!

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Did you read Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win, or do you want to? What’s the last book you read and enjoyed? Let me know in comments!

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