Synopsis:

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.

Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win by Susan Azim Boyer may be about a high school teen campaigning for senior class president in 1979, but I found this witty debut wonderfully relevant and honest. Jasmine caught my attention from the start. Likable and passionate, she’s determined to make her dream of attending NYU and becoming a music journalist a reality. When a little white lie snowballs, she finds herself at the center of a high school and an American controversy. Her desperation to win the election forces her to make some difficult choices, leaving her torn between her Iranian and American identities. 

I wish I could make her understand what it’s like to be a half ‘n’ half right now, when our countries hate each other, when it feels like my two halves add up to a misshapen whole.

Susan Azim Boyer, Jasmine Zumideh Nees a Win

I found Jasmine compelling. She’s portrayed realistically, as a struggling teen, whose world has become hyper-focused. Her parents are a mess, currently separated. Her father is away on business and her mother has retreated to Kansas to be with Jasmine’s grandmother. Jasmine’s Iranian aunt has come to stay with them, intent on keeping their Iranian heritage at the forefront of Jasmine and her brother’s life. 

Boyer has created a cast of characters that are captivating, making even the unlikeable characters human. From Jasmine’s best friends, to her close-minded running mate, to her radical brother, I wanted to know more about each one.