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.