This was a fine but essentially forgettable book - I think I am slowly aging out of reading YA as I found Jasmine to be a bit too much. Nothing wrong with this book at all and if you're into music and music reporting you'll love it.

It's 1979 and high school senior Jasmine Zumideh is ready to leave her life behind and move to New York to attend NYU. All she has to do is win the student election she entered into in a moment of panic and keep her friends and family from ruining her chances. But the Iran hostage incident starts just as her campaign starts and the Iranian-American teenager isn't sure about how she feels about real politics invading her high school elections. She'll have to decide what she's willing to sacrifice and do in order to get what she wants and maybe even if she truly knows what it is she wants.

It's really 3.5 stars becuase it's a good story and I loved the time and message attached to it, but Jasmine is a bit much. She's so wired and stressed that I got wired and stressed from reading along to her story. I read to relax, so is not at all what I look for in a good read.
That said, if someone can read without getting dragged into Jasmine's high-anxiety personality, it's an excellent story of figuring out what you want and really stand for. I loved the real-world political and societal issues that play such an important role and how the author respects that these may be kids, but they can certainly be informed and active in expressing it. It's creepily similar to what's going on lately, but that's just random luck.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the read!

I thought that this was going to be a book set in present day but it is set in the 70s. I do think that this is an important story and I believe that many more should read it I just did not personally enjoy how obsessed Jasmine was about becoming a music reporter. I think that for someone who is interested in music and journalism will get a lot out of this book. I did enjoy the parts of this book that showed Jasmine's family culture on her father's side. I do also like that the way that divorce was handle in this book where one of the parents tends to overshare with their kids because it happens a lot more than we would like to admit.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Jasmine Zumideh is caught in the middle of so many aspects of her life—between two friends, two parents, and two cultures. Throughout the book, we watch Jasmine explore what's important to her and find herself in the process, making mistakes and fixing them along the way. A little bit coming of age, a little bit romance, and a lotta bit social justice, this book comes together to be one thought-provoking read!

This book is excellent for my students. I really enjoyed Jasmine! It was a slow start for me, but I loved the exploration of Jasmine trying to find her place. You really root for her even if all of her choices aren’t the best. I didn’t find the secondary characters lacking and wish I had more from them.

This was an enjoyable YA historical novel, but it's definitely not a light fluffy read. Despite the historical setting there is a lot that mirrors today's society and that teens will find relevant.

This was a fun book with some food and culture in it. I found the character/writing to be a little all over the place with the internal monologue and not quite as easy to keep up. Music lovers will enjoy the 70/ 80s music band references. I’m not sure how much an actual YA reader would enjoy… maybe a kid that is familiar with the pop
Culture of the 80s?

this is one of the best books i've read. given the current climate we're in, it hits way too close to home. as a person who isn't iranian, but bengali, with a cultural disconnect, i felt everything jasmine did.

there are times i've been pissed. there are times i vibed more with ali. but the big thing that gets me is how NOTHING has changed from 1979 to 2024. and that, susan azim boyer has proved to be an american shame.

absolutely brilliant

(not posting a full review as this is a wednesday book. free palestine)

I truly need to read the book summary more because I thought that this book was going to be cute cute ya read. But it's really more about discovering who you are in the past and present. It definitely deals with heavy topics that I didn't expect at all. If you like reading about heavy topics with political subplots, then give this book a try. Personally, this book was too heavy for my taste.

As a librarian, I'm always on the hunt for YA historical novels that aren't just about white people. So I was really excited for this one about an Iranian-American girl trying to win her school election, while juggling family and identity.

This was a fun read that I think would even appeal to those who aren't normally into historical fiction! It has a touch of romance and also deals with friendship and more. One thing I want to note is that I've seen it comp'ed to Darius the Great is Not Okay--thematically, I think these are super different books and I think this comparison is mostly just because both protagonists are Iranian. I wouldn't necessarily pitch this to Darius fans.

Overall, a fun and quick read with a messy protagonist who readers will root for!

Susan Azim Boyer has woven a side-splitting coming-of-age tale that'll have you giggling from start to finish. Meet Jasmine Zumideh, a high school senior in the late 70s who's juggling a boatload of dilemmas, including her parents' split, rocky friendships, and her mixed heritage. But her biggest goal is to nail the senior class presidency and secure her ticket to NYU. As she barrels through one questionable decision after another, you can't help but root for her and her darling love interest, Mike, whose moral compass is as straight as an arrow.

Boyer's witty writing style and Jasmine's unique voice are a match made in heaven, making this a page-turner you won't be able to put down. And while the story may be set in the past, the themes and conflicts are as relevant as ever. So buckle up and join Jasmine on her hilarious and zany journey to win the ultimate prize!

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.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for a copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

I am a few days out from having finished this book, and I am still struggling to find the words to write this review, especially due to the global climate right now. I don't know how I feel about it, and it has been hard to find the words to articulate why. Is it a good book? Sure. Is it something different from many other books on the market? Also, yes. Is it a book I was the target audience for? Kinda. Did I like it? Jury’s still out on that one. This book follows Iranian American Jasmine Zumideh as she runs for senior class president so she can put that as an extracurricular activity on her application for NYU's Journalism program. Important things to note: this book takes place in Fall of 1979, right when the Iranian hostage crisis happened. Jasmine's counterpart running for senior class president starts to run campaign promises to bring the hostage’s home. They are in Southern CA, with no reasonable way for them to be able to impact American international politics, but since he comes from a military family this becomes a key part of his campaign, especially after Jasmine’s brother starts taking a political stand in favor of the Iranian students. Now this book does a great job balancing being a YA coming of age-type, slice of life book and bringing up all the politics of the time, but it was still weird for me to read a contemporary novel that was also a historical novel? I’m not sure how to explain it. It could also be that I must read more books that are like this and that I am annoyed at things that are standard in this type of book. Towards the end of the book, I realized the main character is my parents’ age- meaning they would have also been in similar grades when this happened, which also means the main character is a Baby Boomer. Once that clicked some of the behaviors made more sense, but it was still a strange read for me. I did enjoy the sorority one of the characters was a legacy for is my sorority, that was fun (Love DKZ). And it was also weird to have them reference Regan running for president. Now I cannot confirm if the historical facts are accurate but I’m going to assume they were. Overall, it was a fine book. Struggled through it since the main character bugged me - still trying to figure out why - but I’m glad I read it and I’m glad it exists.3.5/5

I enjoyed this book, I think it was a good read. I fairly enjoyed reading it and it helped me ease out of my reading slump. I read a lot of dark romance, so this was a nice change.

A great book with great rep that I'm excited to sell to people. It did lag at times but overall Wass a very mature YA novel with a nice new perspective.

Jasmine Zumideh Needs A Win is a new young adult novel which is set in 1979. It's Jasmin Zumideh's senior year and she is ready to get out of her home town in California. Her dream is to move to New York and become a music journalist. It looks like everything is going to happen until she realizes that there is a new hitch in her plans: on her resume to her chosen school she said that she was the senior class president elect. the problem? The election hasn't actually taken place yet.

Jasmine is running against fellow class mate Gerald Thomas and honestly she really does think she has this election in the bag. Gerald's platform is all about the rules including reinstating a dress code. With the help of her friends, she focuses her campaign on fun things that would also improve the school. It looks like alot of her classmates are going to vote for her. That is until the real-life news about Iran suddenly changes everything.

As a whole Jasmine is a conflicted character. She is proud of her Iranian heritage but she is not very vocal about it. She has mixed feelings about this whole election process and what it means for her dreams about NYU. She is also caught between her divorcing parents and her arguing best friends. There is alot on her plate! What I liked about Jasmine is that she is really is a determined character. She makes multiple mistakes throughout this story which impact her integrity as a person. As a reader I understood why she was doing what was she doing. She is flawed but that is what makes her human.

Jasmine Zumideh Needs A Win is the debut novel of author Susan Azim Boyer. I really enjoyed her writing style. It was witty yet beautifully poignant at the same time. She kept me rooting for Jasmine while also wanting her to grow as a person. The use of real life events of 1979 helped the pacing of the story and also added to the complications which Jasmine was experiencing. It also allowed for Iranian-America representation which is something very much needed in todays world. There was also a touch of romance as well which seemed fitting for a girl trying to finish her senior year and avoid complete destruction. All of these little pieces helped form a unique and exciting debut novel. I look forward to seeing what this author brings us next.

This was such a fun and cute read! I loved every minute of it and I can’t wait to read more from Boyer.

This is an ARC review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for graciously providing my complimentary copy of Jasmine Zumideh Needs A Win by Susan Azim Boyer. I’m leaving this review on my own with my own opinions and thoughts.

This was an interesting read, however I didn’t find myself connecting with the characters. It just wasn’t the right fit for me, although it wasn’t a bad book. I just couldn’t get over the MC’s negativity and behavior, or some of the other characters’ behaviors either.

I liked that it shed light on the Iranian Hostage Crisis, and I don’t want to deter anyone from picking it up because there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with the book, I just didn’t find myself connecting with it.

Thank you again, Wednesday Books!