Review:
“Politics,” my dad used to tell me, “is sleight of hand.” Smoke and mirrors. The art of the steal, rather than good old-fashioned hard work. Democracy, he said, is an elegant, elaborate distraction.
This book will especially cater to people who are heavily invested and interested in politics, which good for you, but at this point in my life I can barely stomach push notifications on my phone, so kudos! But if you’re into politics, thrive on narratives of getting justice, and seeing the bad guy fall, then this book is perfect for you. There’s a plethora of real-life political references that will either make you want to go out there and smack people over the head for how they’re messing up the world, or at the very least pray that Mark and his friends will succeed in their endeavour to make sure that everyone at their school get the unconditional support they need and deserve. If no one will give them the space to be themselves without fear of being persecuted, then by God, they will create it themselves, and I was here for it.
I loved the diverse cast of characters in this book. Besides Mark, who is trans and has made a deal with his politician father to stay under the radar and tell no one he is trans so he can finish school without causing headlines for his father, we also have loads of BIPOC representation and people on the LGBTQIAP+ spectrum. This never felt like the author was just checking boxes but instead, every character was fleshed out and had their own pursuits and dreams.
That being said, I felt almost too dumb for this book at times. Though I really enjoyed the characters, they sometimes sounded like they were thirty— which of course isn’t an issue but after a few chapters, it became obvious that nothing really distinguished them when they talked about political concepts. It’s hard to explain but basically, they were all fleshed-out and distinct until they spoke about politics at school or in the world outside in which cases they all reverted to sound like the same Wikipedia article. One moment, they were these flawed teens who make mistakes and learn what it means to stand up for someone else and themselves, and the next, they took themselves so seriously they lost their heads a bit. But in a book this powerful, that’s a small issue that might just be me, anyways.
Overall though, I really enjoyed this book. There’s a lot to be dealt with in a short amount of time—the reason why Mark suddenly runs for student body (and the outcome of that), the aspects of bullying, of passing as a boy, stigmatisation surrounding mental illness, the very fraught relationship Mark has with his father and his own worries about his gender identity, and so much more. I really liked the pacing and how Sanchez interweaved these different aspects of this story. Mark is fighting for a brighter future, not only for himself, but for every other queer kid at his school and I loved how this is (most of the time) how people get involved in politics—because they want to fight for the “little guy” and create systemic change.
Perfect for lovers of the Netflix show The Politician and the iconic Election movie starring Reese Witherspoon, The (Un)Popular Vote shines with its diverse cast of characters, high-concept politics, and empowerment for the queer community!
The (Un)Popular Vote is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of June 1st 2021.
Will you be picking up The (Un)Popular Vote? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Red, White, & Royal Blue meets The West Wing in Jasper Sanchez’s electric and insightful #ownvoices YA debut, chronicling a transmasculine student’s foray into a no-holds-barred student body president election against the wishes of his politician father.
Optics can make or break an election. Everything Mark knows about politics, he learned from his father, the Congressman who still pretends he has a daughter and not a son.
Mark has promised 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 risks his low profile to become a political challenger.
The problem? No one really knows Mark. He didn’t grow up in this town, and his few friends are all nerds. Still, thanks to Scandal and The West Wing, they know where to start: from campaign stops to voter polling to a fashion makeover.
Soon Mark feels emboldened to 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 the bully frontrunner standing in his way, Mark will have to decide which matters most: perception or truth, when both are just as dangerous.
