Jazz in Love [Paperback]

It seems to be some kind of secret that teens of color want chick lit and contemporary fiction that isn't SO INTENSE ALL THE TIME. The stories of tough neighborhoods, alcoholism, drug use, abusive parents, etc. are vital for ALL teens to read. But it's nice to be able to relax and just read about a teen who happens to be a teen of color, living life. That is why I love this book. Yes Jazz has additional troubles of having very tradition Indian parents who are secretly planning out her marriage, but she also has crush troubles like everyone else and like many teen girls today has to deal with parents who don't want her to date. Jazz isn't trying to constantly rebel against her parents or complaining about them, she just wants a little more freedom to have a crush on whoever and to be able to act on her feelings.

Bonus points for Jazz having a crush on Tyler R., who is West Indian (yes a two-culture [bicultural?] romance!). The author introduces a bit of tension that exists between West Indians and Indians but it doesn't overwhelm the reader with details, it's very succinct. While not all readers have to deal with ethnic cultural pressures, we all have to deal with feeling like an outsider and being true to ourselves, the whole coming-of-age deal. "But did it take courage to just keep doing what you're told, without asking any questions? Did it take a different level of courage to not love the person you loved, and do what was considered appropriate-as Auntie Kinder had done? Or to pretend you were something you weren't-like what Mit was doing?" (0g. 105). At times Jazz in Love threatens to be overwhelmed by a second plotline, one involving Auntie Kinder and her abusive ex. I didn't mind all the time, since that plotline kept me feverishly turning the pages, afraid that Jazz's plan would blow up and hoping, hoping that it would all work out. The story with Auntie Kinder has an 'aww' factor (it's never too late for true love), but it does at times, overshadow Jazz and Tyler. Tyler only seemed to come up when it was convenient, sometimes he was pushed aside (and at the most inopportune times!) and I wanted more from him because he was cute and a bit of jerk but he had some family drama that needed to be explored.

Jazz in Love is a splendid read, perfect for those readers who think the only books about poc are 'problem' novels. It's also an essential read for those who like excellent contemporary novels, it's not issue driven. There are some issues underlying this book, but they do not take over the book. At the heart, this book is about being in-like, having a crush and navigating those treacherous waters while not neglecting your family and friends. It's also about deciding how far you will go to make your family happy. The treatment of GLBT people in ethnic communities is addressed as are other unique difficulties to growing up Indian in America. For the most part (more Tyler details!), the major and secondary characters (Auntie Kinder and Dr. Babaloo) are well-thought out, three dimensional. The Jeeves storyline reads like the same old story but it completely surprised me. It was so nice to see the strong friendship between Cindy and Jazz, no guy drama, no self-esteem issues that could ruin their friendship. Their friendship is a strong one and it was lovely to read about. A sequel is a necessity I think (well not really since this book stands strongly on its own but a sequel would be nice). I want to see more of Jazz, Jeeves, Tyler and Cindy.

PS Another favorite quote "I decided, right then and there, that I would do anything-anything at all-to have what I was feeling right this moment, as a permanent part of my life. How could a person marry someone not knowing if they'd ever feel like this in their arms, on the hood of a car? So many kids in the world got to do this without hiding it. Without being afraid that someone would immediately force them into a marriage they didn't want if they ever got caught. I liked this feeling. It was huge like the sky above us, and I wanted to follow it to see where it led

I was so happy to read this book. There aren't many YA authors painting stories with the color brown, and this author has clearly increased in confidence and skill with this book.

Jazz, short for Jasbir, is seventeen, and despondent because her strict Punjabi Sikh parents want to start the process of fixing her up with a "suitable boy" as determined by family matchmakers. Jazz, however, is an all-American girl, and wants to date, and have boyfriends, and then fall madly in love, like in the bodice-ripper romances she is so fond of reading.

She gets lucky when one of her aunts proposes a young handsome boy from Canada who comes down to meet Jazz. He confides in her that he is gay, and suggests they pretend to like each other so that their respective parents will leave them alone. In time, Jazz and "Mit" become good friends, and the ruse seems to be working.

Meanwhile, Jazz, her best friend Cindy, and her childhood friend Jeevan ("Jeeves"), all members of the Future Stars and Leaders (FSL) Program at their high school, scheme to help find true love for Jazz's Auntie Kinder.

When both Jazz and Mit become smitten for real, however, all the deceptions seem to lead to disasters. Jazz's parents threaten to send her to India, and Jazz isn't sure anymore what love really is:

"Was I too busy looking for the giant, all-consuming love I'd read about; the one that woke sleeping beauties out of eternal sleep and whisked lovely maidens away from their wicked stepmothers, transforming them into princesses in glittering ball gowns? A love that sent my heart racing and made my tongue go numb; that made an FSL - Future Star and Leader - student like me do stupid things despite knowing better? ...What if Love wasn't all that? What if it was quieter, like a whisper on a breeze that you had to listen real hard for? Or smaller, like a cardamom seed that's soothing and pungent and explosive all at once?...."

Evaluation: This story mixes in the wonderful flavor of Indian Punjabi culture to distinguish it from other YA books. The teens are basically good kids: they want to make their parents proud, but they want to be true to themselves as well. This book is charming and funny and poignant, and gets high school talk absolutely perfect. I definitely recommend this enjoyable read.

Jazz in Love is the latest YA book from author, Neesha Meminger. Her previous book, Shine Coconut Moon was an ALA Best Books for Young Adults Nominee, CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book and NYPL "Books for the Teen Age". Yet, Meminger had to self publish if she wanted Jazz in Love to reach the light of day. What's wrong with the book? It's a contemporary teen romance that isn't a story of racism, of being an immigrant or a retelling of a traditional Indian tale. It is a refreshing story of Jazz (short for `Jasbir'), a young teen girl who wants to be more American than her Punjabi parents. She has such an amazing sense of self, thanks to friends, family and local Punjabi community members who are supportive of her in a very realistic way. They are as likely to tell Jazz when she's wrong as they are to go along with her on one of her crazy schemes.
What's Jazz's problem? She likes boys as friends as well as romantically but her parents are of a generation that believes young girls should never be seen alone with a boy. In fact, Jazz was observed alone with her dear friend, Jeeves and the tongues begin to wag. Jazz's parents decide it's time to arrange a marriage and what followers is a skillfully executed presentation of the pros and cons of such an arrangement. What follows is Jazz's attempt to please her parents while living her own life. What follows is Jazz growing up.
Such a story only works with well developed characters such as those that Meminger gives us. You can't deal with an issue like arrange marriages and have one dimensional male or female characters if you want readers to realize this is an authentic and contemporary telling.
We enter Jazz's world and realize that this is just one story, there is more than one culture in India and it's diaspora and that individuals within these cultures each have their own stories. These impressions are in the story without it becoming overwhelming. What we really get to know is the goodness in Jazz's heart. She's someone any teen could relate to while learning about the world around them.
I have to disclose that I do have a professional, online relationship with the author. I was afraid to read this book because I didn't know quite what I would do if I didn't like it. If you've ever read Neesha's blog or Shine Coconut Moon, you'd know there's a pretty good chance this book would be good. But there was still that `what if'. I can tell you that if I hadn't liked Neesha's book, I wouldn't have reviewed it. It's a wonderful story!
Just to prove how much faith I have in this book, I've bought two copies of Jazz in Love which I'll be giving to two lucky readers. If you want a chance to win the book, leave a comment and tell why you'd like to read Jazz in Love. Contest closes on Saturday 29 January 2011 at which time I'll do an old fashioned drawing to see which two numbered entries win. GOOD LUCK