Book Review – The (Un)Popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez
The (Un)Popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez
Contemporary | Young Adult | 416 pages
Published on 1st June 2021 by HarperCollins
Synopsis
Vaseline on the teeth makes a smile shine. It’s a cheap stunt, but Mark Adams knows it’s optics that can win or ruin an election.
Everything Mark learned about politics, he learned from his father, the congressman who still pretends he has a daughter and not a son. To protect his father’s image, Mark promises to keep his past hidden and pretend to be the cis guy everyone assumes he is. But when he sees a manipulatively charming candidate for student body president inflame dangerous rhetoric, Mark decides to risk the low profile he assured his father and insert himself as a political challenger.
One big problem? No one really knows Mark. He didn’t grow up in this town, and he has few friends; plus, the ones he does have aren’t exactly with the in-crowd. Still, thanks to countless seasons of Scandal and The West Wing, these nerds know where to start: from campaign stops to voter polling to a fashion makeover. Soon Mark feels emboldened to get in front of and engage with voters – and even start a new romance. But with an investigative journalist digging into his past, a father trying to silence him, and a bully front-runner who stands in his way, Mark will have to decide which matters most: perception or truth, when both are just as dangerous.
My rating:
Review
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I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I have so many feelings about this book. Firstly, as a cis British woman, I feel I am miles away from a shared understanding of life! The politics of American high schools is completely lost on me 😉
BUT. I have a shared love for the West Wing, and so a lot of the politics felt familiar. Not to mention largely light-hearted. I do think it will struggle to make sense to someone who hasn’t obsessively watched any show about US politics (high school or otherwise!!) though.
It’s fair to say that I *hated* Mark’s dad. With a passion. And with him comes a whole host of trigger warnings about how not to support your trans kid – deadnaming, shaming, gaslighting, emotional abuse. He’s a truly horrible man.
I liked Mark, but his constant rollercoaster was hard for me – this is partly because he thinks like a politician and partly due to our very different backgrounds I think. But I loved his faith in a better world. This is the sort of book that makes me want to get into politics. It makes me want to be a better person and help others do that too. To make life fairer.
I loved his friends – their constant support and manipulation of the schools politics was wonderful. Though I did feel like the way politics worked within the school and the capabilities of some of the kids were improbable (if you’re from the US and I’m wrong definitely tell me! Plus by capability, I more mean time and access to resources, not their ability to do what they did).
Overall this really hits some emotional punches while still managing to be a fairly lighthearted and quick read. 4 stars.
Buy The (Un)Popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez from Waterstones or Blackwells.
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