Yasmine enters Lebanon escaping a messy divorce and seeking the family, culture, and connection that her Palestinian mother hid during their life in Toronto. It’s 2006, and she’s meeting her cousin Reem for the first time after connecting over social media. Reem teaches Arabic and lives in a refugee camp with her mother and sister. Her brother Ahmed lived there too until he went to Syria for work and then disappeared. When Yasmine receives a package of mysterious letters suggesting her father might still be alive, the cousins embark on a discovery of political secrets no one in the family wants them to know.

Complicating her questions about identity, belonging, and healing even further, Yasmine runs into Ziyad — an old flame who’s incidentally taking Reem’s class. Though the cousins' lives could not be more different, Yasmine and Reem must learn from each other as they navigate abusive relationships, grief, displacement, and war.

Set amid the arid glamour of Lebanon’s beaches and urban landscapes, Where the Jasmine Blooms is at once a political historical thriller and a Muslim feminist love story. Turn-of-the-century Arab politics feature prominently, echoing loudly even twenty years later.

Zeina Sleiman is a Palestinian Canadian writer and educator based in amiskwacîwâskahikan (also known as Edmonton). She has more than ten years’ experience working in post-secondary education, in research supporting the development of barrier free communities. She is a Tin House workshop alum and former mentee in Canada’s Writers Union BIPOC Connect Program. She is the recipient of a 2024 Silk Road Creative Arts Grant. Where the Jasmine Blooms is her debut fiction.

Zeina Sleiman's profile page

“A powerful story of family, generational trauma and Palestinian identity, Zeina Sleiman’s debut novel is an engaging and bittersweet story about secrets, both acknowledged and hidden. A compelling read.”

Uzma Jalaluddin, author of Ayesha At Last