I’m moderating a panel with Jesmeen for the BookTalk convention. I’m really excited especially since this book was so good- it’s perfect for fans of Never Have I Ever!!

TJ Powar is quite a relatable character, although she is not as likable at first. Her second-guessing herself is realistic as she questions her resolve yet sticks to it steadfastly. Her journey to self-discovery. How it impacts her relationships – with her boyfriend, her closest friends, her cousin, and her mother. It is not as much about supporting her cousin’s choice but proving that she herself is much more than her appearance.

Set against a debating tournament, the debut novel is a light read with an important message. The rivals-to-lovers romance is a bit predictable but not cheesy. The book is well-paced. The banter is enjoyable and the debates make for an interesting read.

The book is much more than a rom-com. It is about beauty standards and social prejudices. About the pressure on teen girls to fit into the specific boxes. About bullying faced by those who don’t adhere to the “rules”. About self-worth that isn’t (and shouldn’t) be measured by outward appearance.

All in all, I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to all the teens out there struggling with body image. And to the grown-ups too.

Content - TJ Powar,a high school senior and popular debater and her cousin Simran become the subject of a meme where TJ is the 'exception' of dating an Indian girl and Simran being the subject of how a girl should not look like. TJ becomes infuriated at this and resolutes to stop using any shaving or waxing products, to become her hairy self again to prove that " TJ Powar can be her hairyself and still be worthy of respect." But her resolution becomes tough day by day as different circumstances arises everyday.
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Will she be able to keep her resolution? What problems will she face and how will she conquer those situations?
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Read the book to know the whole scenario.
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My Views - The book is the debut book of the author and she has done an amazing job while proving a very strong point. Body hair is such an underrated, under discussed issue that we seldom think about it. It is seen as a taboo to have body hair especially for girls. Everyone should have the right about their own body and how he/she wants to showcase it. The book is all about body positivity and to prove the phrase that " Every body is beautiful ". The author has given a very strong message through her book in a very delightful manner.
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The book also showcase debating as the base of the story and we get to know different aspects of this competitive sport. This book also dealt with other aspects like love, friendship, jealousy, hate, negativity etc.
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The narration and the storyline is very smooth and engaging. All the characters shown here are very well-built and important for the story to move ahead. The language is simple and easy to understand.
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So, if you are someone who love debating, you can surely check out this book and it is very much recommended for everyone to check out this book as it dealts with a very important topic.

The blurb alone sucked me in and this book did not disappoint at all.

This story is about TJ Power, the pretty popular Indian girl that known for being on the debate team. Everything was going fine in her life until a meme started floating around her high school about her and her cousin Sikh. It was a before and after picture of her cousin being the ugly Indian girl who doesn't shave off her body hair and TJ being the after portion of the picture of what Indian girls look like when they shave. This meme struck a nerve with TJ and she decided that it was time for a change.

This is one of the most powerful YA books I've read in a long while even with the book being in three person. This world can be a very cruel place and high school is even worse but TJ decided to take a stand and show the world that it's ok for woman to have body hair. TJ endured a lot during this book but it shows just how strong she was to prove that woman are just as beautiful with body hair.

When confronted with hurtful stereotypes about Indian girls, popular high school debater TJ Powar makes a statement—to herself and others—about beauty, strength and self-worth.

I think this may be one of the best books that I have read in a long time. The characters are so incredibly complex and well written in the message is absolutely wonderful. I also adored the different religions and ethnicities that were represented. There were Desi Punjabi Indian-Canadian and Jewish representation, just to name two. This was amazing!

5/5 stars

Wow, I really loved this book! I loved the journey TJ took throughout the book -- and I loved her relationships' evolutions, between her and her friends, her and her cousin, and her and her love interest. I thought this book was just really good.

The inside look at debating was really fascinating as well, and definitely proved a strong vehicle for the thing TJ has to prove. And this book was so swoony! I really bought into the romance!

All in all, just a big fan.

This is an amazing phenomenal novel and I can’t believe it’s a debut novel of Jesmeen Kaur Deo. I mean she really did a fantastic job here. From multiple characters to sarcasm this novel deals with many things.

The novel had a wide range of characters. It’s first time for me to read that kind of novel representing different ethnicity. Mostly they are represented as Indo Canadian such as an Indian Punjabi MC and also Jewish Canadian. The characters were incredible in their own sense. It’s refreshing to see direction of this YA read representing more people and color living in West and the issues they face there. I also got to read some typical Indian terms in the novel such as saunf water and chunni.

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This novel mainly focused on body positivity. Like it tries to give us the message that we should not see someone from their appearance but from their heart or something like that. As TJ decided to became a messy hairy girl she saw how a social gap grew between her and her friends. This just happened because of her looks. She realized how one had to fit in beauty standards shaped by social prejudices even with her idea.

The setting of this whole plot against debate is wonderful. Although I’ve no interest in debating but I got to feel TJ 😂 when she got adrenaline rush and her hands started trembling. Her idea and way of demonstrating things is really wonderful.

This is definitely a rival to lover romance. TJ develops relationship with her debating nemesis. Although in the start she had a love interest but it already seemed it wasn’t going to last forever.

Aside from debate contest, TJ also became close to her cousin Simran as they both were the target of the meme. They were very distant at first. Her relationship with her other classmates especially Chandani and Piper was amazing.

I really enjoyed this for the representation of different religious life’s, but the arc was hard to read because of typos, I wish I could’ve gotten more of simran instead.

"to assume who you are on the inside will be respected from the get-go is a privilege not everyone has." // TJ Powar Has Something To Prove, Jesmeen Kaur Deo ♡

sorry not sorry for popping up on your feed post-midnight but I just finished reading Jesmeen Kaur Deo's yet-to-be published debut novel and I wanna applaud her for presenting such a bold and fresh YA narrative featuring the anxieties around facial and body hair, that too with a sassy Sikh girl as the protagonist!

after becoming the subject of a meme along with her cousin Simran, our mc TJ Powar ditches her razors and waxing appointments, and lets her body hair grow to prove that she can still be beautiful and respected despite her hairiness. but obviously it's easier said than done 💀

TJ's anxieties and fuckups as a YA protagonist are written impeccably by Deo. The way she made TJ navigate this very bold – and sometimes quite hard to read – road satisfied me, took me by surprise and made me squint, yes. Body hair is really not a theme which often appears in YA, and that too with this detail and graphic. This was certainly a bold move on Deo's part but she handled it spectacularly, although yes, some points of the book are debatable.

having dealt with sly remarks about body hair myself, TJ's experiences were very personal to me and I wish I'd read this book ten years ago lol. As much as I'd like to recommend this book to so many of my friends and relatives, I won't do so with all of them, because the message this book tried to convey can be misunderstood very easily. but I'm so so glad someone had the guts (or should I say hair?) to write about it. 🥺

the mixed reactions TJ receives from her friends and parents were just perfectly balanced, and the main theme enmeshed very well with the romance subplot and TJ being the top debator at her school. the debate in the end was touchè 🤲

Accepted for Yourself, or Only Your Appearance?

TJ Powar, a champion debater, is a senior who has her life together. Or so she thinks. She’s beautiful and popular, not so her cousin Simran, who eschews shaving her body hair. TJ thinks that shaming Simran with a with a hurtful meme is wrong, and she plans to do something about it. She decides to stop shaving and waxing in solidarity with Simran. She believes that she can be beautiful even if hairy. However, she finds herself tested in ways she didn’t expect.

I loved the characters in this story. TJ is a determined character who faces challenges once she decides to be herself. She has to confront the idea people will still care about her for who she is rather than the carefully curated image she projected. The other characters in the book are equally interesting. Simran is a good foil to TJ. I enjoyed seeing the cousins rekindle the friendship they had as small children.

Using high school debating as the background for the story was an excellent choice. Not only did it provide TJ with a way to describe what she was attempting to prove, it also showcased an activity that can be exciting and challenging for high school students, as good as sports for the more intellectually inclined.

I recommend this book. The theme is a good one for young people. The characters are easy to relate to. Altogether it is a delightful experience.

I received this book from Random House for this review.

TJ Powar Has Something to Prove follows Tejindar Powar, a high school senior who has her life together—she’s pretty, popular, and, most importantly, a brilliant debater. When a picture of her and her debate partner, her cousin Simran, that was supposed to celebrate their win against the rival team gets turned into a hurtful meme, TJ decides to take a stand.

So she ditches her razors, blocks her beautician and sets a debate resolution for herself: “This House Believes that TJ Powar can be her hairy self and still be beautiful", in order to prove the people who made the meme wrong. TJ is tested in ways she didn’t know she could be, and along the way she realises the hardest person to convince is herself.

[…] “The world has these ludicrous expectations of how much hair a man or woman is supposed to have. Hardly anyone fits them naturally, but we feel the pressure to, don’t we? Some more than others.”

TJ was such an amazing MC to follow. Seeing her journey of self-discovery and the way her relationship with her body changed throughout the book honestly made me tear up a little bit. I related so much to her, to her thoughts about her body hair. It’s very sad how the standard for being attractive has always been Eurocentric, and I really appreciated how TJ challenged those standards realistically to be her true self.

Moreover, I also enjoyed seeing her passion for debate. I was instantly hooked on this book from the opening scene, where we are introduced to TJ’s love for debate, because it was so well written! It was so refreshing to see someone strive to do their best in a field that they were so fond of.

“People will try to make you feel good by saying everyone is beautiful, but what they really mean is written into all those empty beauty campaigns where they only ever show people who still fit the standard or are just a tiny bit deviant from it— just enough to still be acceptable. Maybe they’ve got body hair, but it’s only some peach fuzz and a bit of stubble under their arms. Maybe they’re plus-sized, but they still have the correct chest-to-waist-to-hips ratio. Maybe they’re going makeup-free, but their skin only has a few small imperfections to begin with. Then everybody pats themselves on the back because they’re so inclusive, wow, everyone is beautiful."

The various character dynamics seen throughout the book, whether they were familial, platonic, or romantic; felt so real and fresh.

The slow-burn rivals-to-lovers romance between TJ and her debate nemesis Charlie was SO well done. I kept yearning for more and more after each interaction between them. This book probably had the best execution of this trope.

After TJ quits shaving, she and her two best friends, Chandani and Piper, also have some challenges to work out. It was rather amusing to watch their friendship develop and alter. During this period, TJ makes a few new acquaintances as well, and I really enjoyed watching her mature and become a better person by the end of the book.

Another relationship that was engrossing for me to read was that between TJ and her cousin, Simran. Seeing them go from being distant to rekindling their childhood friendship and finding common ground outside of debate was very heart-warming.

“You can’t spend your life being afraid no one will love you if you are yourself. If you cannot be yourself with someone, that is not love. That is settling.”

The author’s writing felt raw and real. The way she wrote dialogue was perfect and in a way that represented the way teenagers conversed, without making it overly obnoxious or cringey.

This was honestly such a powerful read for me, especially because I am a hairy Indian girl and I have always hated the way my body looked. When I noticed how much hairier I was than my peers in sixth grade, I felt disgusted and not “pretty enough” and have been removing my body hair ever since. I wish I had had this book when I was younger and struggling with my body image, but I’m glad I had the chance to read it now, at a time when I’m still conscious of my appearance.

Although it’s going to take me some time to be confident in my skin, this book felt like a warm hug—one that made me feel like I wasn’t alone after all. It was probably the first book that made me feel like I could be loved, even when I was my true, hairy self.

Overall, this is a solid debut that is a deeply feminist deconstruction of beauty standards. I don’t think any review I try to write could do this book justice, not with all it has to unpack and all the themes it manages to excel at executing and all the unnameable ways it touched me. I hope my fellow desi girls read and resonate with this book as much as I did.

“Time isn’t the cure to timeless prejudices.”

Trigger Warnings: Body shaming (related to body hair), misogyny, sexism, cyberbullying, ableism, toxic relationship.

Representation: Punjabi-Canadian MC, Asian-Canadian trans male SC, Sikh SCs, Indian SCs

Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and Colored Pages Tours for sending me a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for a spot on the TJ Powar Has Something to Prove Tour! This did not impact my review in any way.

All the quotes used in this post are from an advance reader copy and may differ in the final publication.

tj power has something to prove is a must read for everyone! i loved the representation and the perspective and everything about it! i will be recommending this book to everyone and anyone!

TJ Powar Has Something to Prove is Jesmeen Kaur Deo's absolutely brilliant debut novel.

Why/what/who/where and how you ask? Let's start with the who. Deo's lead character is TJ, a popular senior at high school, first string on the soccer team, a leader of the debate team, a friend to all and is Liam's beautiful girlfriend.

But what does she have to prove? Well, when her cousin Samrin is the target of a hurtful meme, TJ takes a stand. She will let all of her body hair grow, unchecked. "This house believes that TJ Powar can be her hairy self and still be beautiful."

I liked TJ in the first few chapters and I adored her by the last few. She's such a dynamic personality - quick, smart, caring and principled. But she's vulnerable and unsure as well. Do you remember the pressure at high school to conform in so many ways, with physical appearance being right up there at the top? Now, can you see yourself bucking the trend and saying no to hair removal of all kinds. And sticking to it when your life starts to fall apart?

There's a great cast of supporting players as well. I thought the high school strata was well written and believable. And the same for family, friends and relationships. Matters of the heart are a large part of TJ Powar's story. There are some wonderfully funny bits and on the flip side, some very poignant, true life moments.

Deo has employed a unique and very apt platform for the plot. Debating. Arguing for and against topics in front of others and being judged. TJ's mental debates with herself are so well written and structured. (I had no idea it was so cutthroat either!)

There's so much food for thought in TJ Powar. I'll leave you with this from TJ's esthetician..."Hair has no gender darling. It's just hair. Do what you want with it, but it does not make you less of a woman. It does not make you less interesting, less worthy, or less deserving Understood?"

This was such a fantastic read and a very easy five stars. I will be eagerly awaiting Deo's next book!

So thrilled this book exists! This is one I suspect will disappear from classroom shelves pretty quickly. I look forward to discussing it with students.

This House Believes That Jasmeen Kaur Deo has written an amazing YA Rom-Com with Southeast Asian representation. I was drawn to this book because the main character has hirsutism. Society has led us to believe that a hairless body is the social norm for the female gender and this book challenges that notion. Plus, the peak into the Punjabi Sikh culture was refreshing.
At times, when reading, I was reminded of Alok, and what they have shared regarding their experience from others regarding their body hair. I look forward to more from this author. This debut was wonderful!

After being the subject of an unkind meme that went viral around her school, TJ Powar decides to stop shaving and challenge the beauty standards high school girls are being held to. She wants to prove that she is still loveable and worthy even with all of her natural hair. But in the process, she starts to lose her sense of self and feels that maybe no one will love her like this. Luckily her debate partner (who is usually her rival) is determined to show her otherwise.

This YA novel had such an important message about beauty as well as what society considers beautiful and how that can impact young women. This book was so empowering and had such strong feminist vibes - I loved TJ’s passion and her message that you shouldn’t have to change yourself to fit in. And I adored Charlie and how he stood by her and supported her choices. I can see this book being inspiring to many young women struggling with their body image and I hope it helps them feel more empowered and confident.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the advance copy.

I loved this book. I had to finish it in two sittings because I loved everything about it. I thought it was going to be super feminist and political tbh but what I found was that it was just so relatable. All the things TJ goes through is all things we women are taught the second we hit puberty. What follows is such a heartfelt beautiful story of self love.

Hi I would like everyone to know that I am officially obsessed with this book. Amazing. 10000/10

I appreciate how it was empowering for TJ to grow her hair and be her most natural self, and how it was also empowering for her mom to shave and to curate her body how she chose. It was never “shaving is bad”, it was only ever “shaving is bad for me”. That’s a very important distinction and it was very well done in this.

TJ Powar is a confident, popular debate team member at her high school. Her picture perfect world is shaken up though when she and her cousin Simran become the subject of a viral meme. Simran, in accordance with her Sikh beliefs, does not remove her body hair, and she is compared unfavorably to TJ. Enraged, TJ takes a stand, and starts her own personal debate. She stops removing her body hair, to show that she can be herself and still be beautiful. TJ faces more intense backlash and pressure than she expected though, and she starts to question more than she initially set out to.

This book made me think about body image in a whole new light. As an Indian-American woman, of course I’ve had to face the societal expectations presented in this book, but the way body image is explored here taps into the heart of the issue much more genuinely than most body positivity campaigns. The heavier aspects of the story are mixed with fun comedic moments, and there was explosive chemistry between the romantic leads.

The way TJ learns to love herself made me so happy, and I think the fact that her path was messy and imperfect made it more real. The truth is, it’s hard, and not every day will be a good one on that journey. This book captured that one step forward, two steps back feeling perfectly.

This book will make anyone who has struggled with body image feel seen, and because of that I highly recommend it for young adults. Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.