Book Summary and Reviews of Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win by Susan Azim Boyer

Book Summary

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.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Do you think Jasmine's "little white lie" on her college application is justified? Have you ever told a lie you considered justified? What were the consequences?
2. Jasmine faces hostile behavior from her classmates, but she also experiences microaggressions from her friends. How does this dynamic affect her friendships and her feelings about her place in her school community?
3. Put yourself in Jasmine's shoes. Would you lie on your application? Pretend Ali wasn't your brother? Spread a rumor about Gerald? Keep the truth from Bridget? Would there be any point at which you would come clean and tell the truth? Or do you see lying as a necessary means to getting out of a place that stifles you?
4. Between the Watergate ...