Twisted

Yasmin is a protagonist and one of the first-person narrators of the novel. She is 23, with brown skin and curly black hair she finds it difficult to control—a detail that foreshadows the wildness in Yasmin’s character that she will uncover. Her father comes from a Lebanese family that emigrated to the United States, and her mother was originally from Iran. Her mother died giving birth to Yasmin, and so Yasmin has been cherished and pampered as the sole daughter of Ali Karam.

While she didn’t notice Ali’s overbearing vigilance when she was younger, Yasmin has since realized how her father’s protectiveness has set limits on her adulthood. She’s never had to acquire life skills like cooking or driving. She defines herself as a people-pleaser, feels intimidated in crowds of strangers, and chews on her bottom lip to manage frequent episodes of anxiety. Because she hides these vulnerabilities, others, like Julian, assume that Yasmin enjoys being pampered and petted.

In reality, Yasmin longs for more freedom and independence, but she doesn’t know how to approach her father, afraid he will be displeased and withhold affection or approval. Yasmin sees agreeableness as the hallmark of her character: “all these years, I’ve nodded and said yes to anything he’s asked, I’ve gone away like a good little girl to all the boarding schools and the etiquette classes, and I’ve never spoken out of turn” (31).