BLUE JASMINE

The comfortable and confident life 12-year-old Seema Trivedi enjoys in her upper-class neighborhood in India is altered by the family’s move to an American middle-class suburban community. Everything is new and different for this tween who must adjust to American English, food, dress, culture, and school politics. Seema’s classmates in both countries present parallel situations that illustrate the complexities of middle schoolers and their maturation. Mukta, the very poor Indian girl who lives in one room behind the family’s snack shop, is constantly teased and misunderstood by both Seema and her cousin Raju. Seema’s mistreatment in her American school by the new class bully, Carrie, is an awakening for her as she grows to understand and develop emotionally. Exposed to life in two worlds and from two positions in her peer groups, Seema acquires the ability to appreciate differences as she struggles to belong in both countries. New author Sheth writes from personal experience using descriptive language and a plethora of metaphors to emphasize her protagonist’s feelings and view of circumstances and situations. A realistic emigration story told with empathy and sincerity. (glossary) (Fiction. 12-14)