Customer Reviews

Blue Jasmine

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The American world of children's literature has a very funny relationship with India. On the one hand, getting a publisher to release a children's book that was originally published in India is akin to attempting to force a nest of hornets to produce honey. It would help the hornets and make the world a better place, but so far it has not produced so much as a drop of sweetener. On the other hand, children's book publishers are wild about printing original books about children from India coming to grips with their heritage in the United States. The best of these is the teen book, "Born Confused" by Tanuja Desai Hidier. There are plenty of titles for the younger set as well, and of these, "Blue Jasmine" is one of the nicest. A very gentle telling of how one girl comes to terms with living in two different cultures, author Kashmira Sheth (NOT to be confused with India pop actress Kashmira Shah)'s book is a gentle story that can be enjoyed by children everywhere, regardless of culture.

When Seema hears that she and her family will be moving to America soon, she's baffled. The idea of her little family unit (her mother, her father, her sister, and herself) separating from the rest of the clan (involving grandparents on both sides and countless aunts and uncles) is almost impossible to consider. She will especially miss her cousin Raju who has been like a brother to her for both of their lives. Just before she leaves, Seema befriends the exceedingly poor girl Mukta, and the two carry on a correspondence across continents. In America, Seema faces an entirely new land and has to deal with fitting in. She meets a bully, makes multiple friends, and begins to come to a better understanding of becoming a truly international gal. When the time comes to visit India once again, Seema realizes where her home is and what her life can mean.

It was difficult to read through this book without comparing it to the myriad of other girls-come-to-America-from-overseas titles out there. "Tangled Threads" by Pegi Deitz Shea and "A Step From Heaven" by An Na both tell similar tales (though one is a Hmong girl and one Korean, respectively) but with one big difference. Where those two books are deeply serious and often depressing looks at the difficulties facing contemporary immigrants, "Blue Jasmine" is as light and airy as a flam. Seema deals with serious issues that all foreign-born kids must face. Learning a new language, adjusting to a different culture, making friends, etc. But Seema's troubles are the troubles of all kids as well. Dealing with a bully is a universal problem and one that is solved with lightning-quick rapidity here. In fact, it often feels as if Kashmira Sheth was a slightly overprotective author. She dislikes placing Seema in difficult situations for too long. So if Seema needs friends, she makes them instantly and without further ado on her own block. If she has a bully at school then hit the bully with a prolonged disease and *boom*. Instant new friend. Still, for all the easy-peasyness of the tale, Sheth makes every event in Seema's life ring true. Also, this lack of the overwhelming depression and pain found in the two other books means that "Blue Jasmine" is ideal for younger readers who may not be too keen on the whole abuse angle found in the other two tales.

The character of Mukta was an interesting addition in an otherwise straightforward story. Sheth didn't have to add her in. This could easily have remained a tale of leaving friends and family behind and dealing with a new land without ties to a single extraordinary person. Mukta brilliantly ties the book together, though. Because of her, Seema is able to forgive a bully that reminds her of herself once. In Mukta we find the real heart of the tale (and I am especially pleased that the original cover of this book shows both Seema and Mukta front and center). The fact that Sheth chooses not to discuss class in India was particularly interesting. Mukta is obviously a member of a lower caste, but the word never even surfaces. It's as if Sheth has felt the need to gloss over this particular aspect of Indian living for fear of complicating her kids' book. In the context of the character of Mukta, I'm not entirely certain that such a lack was a good idea.

Just in case you're hankering for a sequel to "Blue Jasmine", try reading the aforementioned, "Born Confused". It deals with some pretty mature themes, but also is a brilliant way of answering the question, "What will Seema's little sister be like when she reaches sixteen?". "Blue Jasmine" is ideal for those parents and educators that would like to get their kids interested in a children's book that deals with a culture both like and unlike their own. This is a lovely little novel and a truly deserving winner of the Paul Zindel First Novel Award.

I ordered this book as a novel study for my fifth grade students. We are doing a unit on migration, and I thought it would go well with the theme. It was such a pleasant literary surprise! We all enjoyed the use of figurative language in the folds of its pages. The children's writing has been transformed too. They use more similes, metaphors, personification and colloquialisms than ever before.

On a personal note, I felt the final chapter captured well the experiences of an immigrant... being one myself. I have always thought it is a life decision that leaves one forever divided with half of your heart in one place and the other half on different shores.

The following is my 5th-grade daughter's review:

Have you ever wondered where you are meant to live? Seema Trivedi has that question. Blue Jasmine is written by Kashmira Sheth. Twelve-year-old Seema and her family, which consists of Mr. and Mrs. Trivedi and Seema's younger sister, Mela, move from India to Iowa City for their father's sabbatical, leaving behind their cousins, Raju and Uma, their Kaki(uncle) and Kaka(aunt), their grandparents, and Seema's friend Mukta. Right before moving, Seema realizes that despite being poor and unpopular, Mukta is very kind and gentle. When they get to Iowa City, Seema meets two new friends named Jennifer and Ria who live six blocks away from Seema's new home. After about a month in an American school, a bully named Carrie from Chicago comes to Ms. Wilson's class. Seema absolutely loathes her. Carrie, feeling insecure, constantly teases Seema about her lack of good English. Jennifer and Ria don't like her either. Although Seema's English isn't good, she can still write in Hindi to Mukta, who later becomes her pen pal. Suddenly, Carrie is extremely kind to Seema. Seema decides to invite Carrie to her birthday party that spring. Is Carrie faking her sudden friendship with Seema? Will Seema ever see her beloved India again? To find out, read this book. Have you ever wondered where you are meant to live? Seema Trivedi has that question. Blue Jasmine is written by Kashmira Sheth. Twelve-year-old Seema and her family, which consists of Mr. and Mrs. Trivedi and Seema's younger sister, Mela, move from India to Iowa City for their father's sabbatical, leaving behind their cousins, Raju and Uma, their Kaki(uncle) and Kaka(aunt), their grandparents, and Seema's friend Mukta. Right before moving, Seema realizes that despite being poor and unpopular, Mukta is very kind and gentle. When they get to Iowa City, Seema meets two new friends named Jennifer and Ria who live six blocks away from Seema's new home. After about a month in an American school, a bully named Carrie from Chicago comes to Ms. Wilson's class. Seema absolutely loathes her. Carrie, feeling insecure, constantly teases Seema about her lack of good English. Jennifer and Ria don't like her either. Although Seema's English isn't good, she can still write in Hindi to Mukta, who later becomes her pen pal. Suddenly, Carrie is extremely kind to Seema. Seema decides to invite Carrie to her birthday party that spring. Is Carrie faking her sudden friendship with Seema? Will Seema ever see her beloved India again? To find out, read this book.

I enjoyed Kashmira's book very much. It was well written, and was a poignant story that grabbed the reader's attention. It was however heavy on the similes and at times, became slow, going off into tangents that bored me. Overall, a good showing for a first novel.

I enjoyed her second novel much more.

Seema's close ties with her entire extended family in India are broken when her parents decide on a temporary move to Iowa, where she feels like an outsider and finds everything too different. Her slow absorption of the language and her eventual knowledge of how to handle a school bully advance her, but when her grandmother falls ill in India, family ties pull her back in Blue Jasmine's striking portrait of two very different cultures and many adjustments. More so than most, Blue Jasmine deftly depicts not just the challenges, but how different cultures are absorbed.

This is the story of Seema, a young Indian girl whose family moves to Iowa when her father is offered a job there.

Seema is a wonderful character - full of the fear and curiosity of youth. Her confusion at different situations is so well written. She feels frustration with herself for certain actions, and learns from these actions. She is a wonderful example to any young girl who is unsure of herself.

The book itself is a wonderful study of both cultures - you can smell the jasmine and the hyacinth, you can taste the mango pickles and the pumpkin pie. And Seema does a wonderful job bridging the two cultures, struggling at first, then flowing, like the floral garlands she makes at once point in the story.

I would highly recommend this story to anyone with a young child who is moving or has moved, or has lost a friend who has moved. It's a great story, and misery likes similar company.

(*)>

This is a delightful book filled with color and smells and the wonder of learning new things. I learned a little about life in a small town in India as 12 year old Seema learned about life in Iowa City.

The importance of expanding the concept of friendship to include those who might be unfamiliar is woven throughout the book. This makes this an important book for young people to read as they learn about Blue Jasmine, the math unit lakh, and the reason we don't wear dandelions in our hair.

My son went to school with the author's daughter and I want to extend my congratulations to Kashmira for writing such a warm and wonderful book.

Inspired by the author's own experiences, Blue Jasmine tells the story of a teenager who immigrates from a small town in India to a large American city. Leaving behind the comfort of her loving extended family and friends, twelve year old Seema Trivedi moves to Iowa City when her father accepts a new job

offer. There she learns not only a new culture and language, but also that in America, like India, one must look past the facade to discover the true value of people.

While Blue Jasmine examines many familiar immigration issues such as fear of being the outsider, cultural duality, and difficulty of learning a new language, Kasmira Sheth's novel fills a void in children's literature by presenting this story from an Indian teenager's perspective. Since very little children's

literature exists on the topic, this award winning book is a welcome addition to classroom libraries.

The book blue jasmine is a storyabout an indian girl who moves to the U.S with her family. Seema is the main charecter of the book she will learn things about the cultures of the U.S.A. Her world and the new world would come toghether, she misses her friends and the rest of the family who are in India.

This book will give you many lessons about life its a compaling story about cultural misunderstanding, friends, and family.

This book will always keep you happy, sad, and sometimes it will make u feel angry. I recomend this book because you will really love it, its a one of a kind book about cultures, family, and friendship.

In Blue Jasmine, Kashmira Sheth poignantly describes the emotional turmiol a young immigrant must face. The title's allusion to a chimerical blue jasmine exemplifies the agitation Seema feels in attempting to return to her Indian roots yet adapting to life in a new environment. This book will take the reader on an spell-binding journey into the depths of Seema's mind. Pressured to stay by friends and family, Seema embarks upon a life-changing pilgramage.