TJ Powar Has Something to Prove
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
“With an iconic heroine, delightful banter and a deeply felt message, this debut proves many times over that Jesmeen Kaur Deo is an invaluable new voice. TJ Powar Has Something to Prove is rife with insight and rich with rom-com joy, often on the same page.” — Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of If I’m Being Honest
When TJ Powar—a pretty, popular debater—and her cousin Simran become the subject of a meme: with TJ being the “expectation” of dating an Indian girl and her Sikh cousin who does not remove her body hair being the “reality”—TJ decides to take a stand.
She ditches her razors, cancels her waxing appointments, and sets a debate resolution for herself: “This House Believes That TJ Powar can be her hairy self, and still be beautiful.” Only, as she sets about proving her point, she starts to seriously doubt anyone could care about her just the way she is—even when the infuriating boy from a rival debate team seems determined to prove otherwise.
As her carefully crafted sense of self begins to crumble, TJ realizes that winning this debate may cost her far more than the space between her eyebrows. And that the hardest judge to convince of her arguments might just be herself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Deo's poignant debut, Punjabi Sikh Canadian high school senior TJ Powar is horrified when a photo of her freshly waxed and threaded face is used in a meme as the pretty "after" to her cousin Simran's "before." TJ resolves to disprove the cruel joke's toxic message surrounding beauty standards by no longer removing her body hair, insisting that she can embrace her natural body and be respected, which results in her boyfriend dumping her in disgust. Emotional upsets with her best friend and Simran, and a decline in her own self-worth complicate matters further. When her cute debate partner, Charlie, compliments her protest, TJ feels validated, but as her feelings for him grow, she dreads the long hours they must spend alone together preparing for Nationals now that she no longer sees herself as beautiful enough for him. As TJ struggles with her own self-image, she engages in valuable moments of internal reflection while reconciling her own role in upholding—and dismantling—harmful beauty expectations. Deo delivers a refreshing take on the familiar self-love narrative, portraying characters across the Indian diaspora whose determination to be themselves, irrespective of Western cultural perspectives, drives home the idea that the perception of oneself through a singular lens is often incomplete. Ages 12–up.
