Zoya Sattar
"The first time I 'saw myself' was in the book Blue Jasmine by Kashmira Sheth. Although I say I grew up in Oklahoma, I spent much of my childhood moving between America and Pakistan. I had a very confused perception of what it meant to be American, South Asian, and the daughter of immigrants – I had thought of these things more as being separate identities than existing together.
Blue Jasmine was the first book I recall reading with a Desi-American character, one that hit on all the points of feeling torn between two spaces where years of distinct experiences laid. I'm pretty sure no one else got the chance to read it in elementary school because I would check it out so often!"
