As a mixed girl who has eaten frosting right from the container as a result of an emotional spiral many times, I fell in love with Jasmine Zumideh. I flew through this book in one day. It was fast-paced, and driven by such a clear voice. Jasmine is the picture of every messy young girl trying to balance belonging and self-truth. I loved her genuine connection with her friends, and Mike is the best high school love interest one could imagine for themselves. Reading this book, I was overjoyed that there was, as she calls it, “half’n’half” representation. I had never read a YA book before this that allowed such exploration of the complicated contradictions that lie in mixed heritage. Though the story takes place in the 70s, the sentiments about identity rang true for me in 2022.

Deeply reminiscent of the enormity of everything at 18, Jasmine leads you through this story with an earnest mindset, and room to grow. She is complex, caring, and sometimes self-indulgent, and you root for her the entire time. She is the heroine a young Emma would’ve really loved and seen herself in. Reading this now at 21, this book inspired me to give myself and others a little bit more grace. Susan Azim Boyer’s writing was sincere and beautiful. I hope to read more from her in the future, and hope to meet more characters as bold and brave as Jasmine Zumideh.

This is an inspiring story that follows Jasmine Zumideh - an ambitious Iranian American student. It’s smart, funny, and charming, and perfectly describes high school and hoping for a better future.

This book takes place during the Iran Hostage Crisis and includes a lot of relevant themes. I’ve never read a YA book that was set during this period before and I was really impressed by this one. I enjoyed seeing Jasmine grow throughout and how she changed.

I also really enjoyed the details that went into making it feel like the 70’s. Jasmine dreams of becoming a rock journalist, which reminded me a lot of Almost Famous, and I loved her commentary throughout on music. Her ambition with this reminded me a lot of high school and that feeling that you can do anything in the future.

Jasmine may have made some bad decisions, but she’s definitely a character that we all can root for. It was a really inspiring story and I enjoyed seeing her start to love both of her cultures. Overall, I highly recommend this one.