Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win

Boyer’s thought-provoking debut follows Irish and Iranian 17-year-old Jasmine Zumideh as she faces off against a bigoted peer in a student council election. In 1979, Southern California native Jasmine dreams of immersing herself in N.Y.C.’s music scene and becoming a music journalist. Though her guidance counselor warns she’ll “need something extra” on her college application to make her stand out, she’s sure that winning the Aspiring Young Journalist Award will do the trick. After that doesn’t pan out, she abruptly decides to run for senior class president. Assuming she’s a shoo-in for the presidency, especially since her only real competition is xenophobic classmate Gerald, she submits her early decision application to NYU stating she’s already won. But when Gerald uses an incident in Iran as fodder to turn the school against her, and Jasmine in turn tries to distance herself from her Iranian heritage, she’s caught between her dreams, her family, and her identity. Jasmine’s sardonic voice provides levity as difficult interactions build, including her guidance counselor’s refusal to pronounce her name properly, despite multiple corrections, and her increasingly strained relationship with her brother as he endeavors to educate their classmates on what’s happening overseas. Ages 12–up. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary. (Nov.)