Most Anticipated YA by Buzzfeed 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. A Macmillan Audio production from Wednesday Books. Susan Azim Boyer writes young adult fiction featuring Iranian American heroines she *never* encountered growing up, who make messy, complicated choices that rapidly snowball into avalanches. JASMINE ZUMIDEH NEEDS A WIN is her young adult fiction debut. She hails from Nebraska but grew up in Los Angeles before spending several years in San Francisco and the next twenty in Sonoma County. She now lives in the Coachella Valley with her husband, Wayne, and her Pug mix, Teddy. Their son, Alec, lives in New York. "A clever and witty debut that made me laugh as much as it made me cry. Utterly fantastic." - Mason Deaver, award-winning author of I Wish You All the Best and The Ghosts We Keep "This book is smart, it's funny, and there are hilarious Iranians throughout!" - Negin Farsad, Comedian/host of Fake the Nation podcast "Whip-smart, funny, and bursting with heart. Jasmine Zumedeh is exactly the kind of protagonist I want to spend pages with." -Jenn Bennett, author of Alex, Approximately "Debut author Susan Azim Boyer has written a coming-of-age novel that is smart, funny, and completely satisfying. Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win perfectly captures the tension and anxieties of trying to fit-in, of wanting to be seen while also trying to hide." --Matt Mendez, author of Barely Missing Everything and Twitching Heart "Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win has the voicey hilarity reminiscent of Maureen Johnson with a dash of Louise Rennison's chaotic Georgia Nicholson. A modern story set against a vivid early 80s backdrop, Susan Azim Boyer has crafted a story that will not only make you laugh out loud at every turn but will also make you question how far you would go, and if you'd be brave enough to do what's right, if you were in Jasmine's shoes." - Samantha Markum, author of This May End Badly "It is so special to be able to read a book that tackles such sensitive topics like self-acceptance and xenophobia, and can do so in a way that makes you laugh along the way and leaves you feeling warm and realized in the end." - Charlene Thomas, author of Seton Girls