Blue Jasmine

by Kashmira Sheth

Book Overview

When 12-year-old Seema Trivedi learns that she and her family must move from their small village in India to Iowa City in the USA, she realises she will say goodbye to the only home she's ever known... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786818557
• ISBN13: 9780786818556
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Disney Press
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Two cultures - so different, yet so similar

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. (*)>

Book report for 5th grade on Blue Jasmine

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.

Striking portrait of two very different cultures

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.

A Perfect Portrayal

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.

Friendship and Flowers

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.