Blue Jasmine - Hardcover

Sheth, Kashmira

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786818557 ISBN 13: 9780786818556

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH, 2004

Synopsis

When twelve-year-old Seema Trivedi learns that she and her family must move from their small Indian town to Iowa City, she realizes she'll have to say good-bye to the purple-jeweled mango trees and sweet-smelling jasmine, to the monsoon rains and the bustling market. More important, she must leave behind her best friend and cousin, Raju. Everything is different in Iowa City, where Seema feels like an outsider to the language and traditions. As she begins to plant roots in the foreign soil, however, her confidence starts to bloom, and she learns she can build a bridge between two homes. With lyrical language and poignant scenes, Kashmira Sheth unearths the meaning of "home" and "family" in this tender debut novel. Kashmira Sheth's own experiences as a teenager who moved by herself from India to America inspired her to write this novel. She is a microbiologist and lives with her family in Madison, Wisconsin.

About this title

About the Author

Kashmira Sheth's own experiences as a teenager who moved by herself from India to America inspired her to write the novel Blue Jasmine. She is a microbiologist and lives with her family in Madison, Wisconsin.

Review

"When 12-year-old Seema moves with her parents and younger sister from India to Iowa City, she must leave her grandparents, extended family, and, most distressingly, her cousin Raju, who has been like a brother to her. Seema describes her adjustment to the newness of the U.S. the food, clothing, weather, education and her feelings: "I was always the outsider listening in ." Although she makes friends, she also encounters surprising hostility from another newcomer to her class, and ultimately learns the coping skills necessary to deal with this troubled girl. The writing is infused with evocative descriptions: " the few leaves left clinging to the trees made them look like beggars in ragged clothes" or "the days stretched out like a sari." Sheth uses Seema's letters to India and a classroom assignment to transmit significant cultural information, but at times this approach takes on a didactic and unnatural air. Still, the narrative advances steadily, with many opportunities for insights into the experience of this new immigrant, plus enough tension introduced through the bully to keep readers interested."
-School Library Journal
Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
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Filled with details that document an immigrant's observations and experiences, Seema's story, which articulates the ache for distant home and family, will resonate with fellow immigrants and enlighten their classmates.”
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
-Booklist

About this edition

• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0786818557
• ISBN 13: 9780786818556
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192