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nicmgray's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Transphobia and Homophobia
spark_879's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
that said, the beginning part of this kinda reminded me of middle grade books i used to read (in the vest way possible) - eg. the mc wanting to do something to make a big change in the community, the "you have the power to make a difference" type of thing. i hadn't read any books like that in a while so it was a nice change. *note: it does advance past where middle grade books would ever go in terms of the mc questioning his motives for what he's doing, so this is definitely worthy of the ya tag rather than mg.
this is much longer than what i usually write for book reviews lol but basically what i'm saying is i liked it a lot but beware of transphobia & deadnaming done by a parent & directed at their child.
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Bullying
Minor: Racism and Alcohol
stacy837's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Homophobia, and Bullying
Moderate: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Cursing
Minor: Alcohol and Religious bigotry
elliizzzabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Benji was definitely the stand out, especially in the audiobook where you get to hear his southern twang. It was also a very authentic look at the trans experience and made it a part of the plot without making it tragic or too sensationalised. Also the relationship was predictable but very cute.
I did have a few issues, mostly that there seemed to be some weird vendetta against the GSA, constantly saying it was 'only full of straight people' but never went to the GSA so how does he know? He says there are hardly any out gay people in the school but how do you know they are not only out to the GSA? I'm not American so maybe that's just a stereotype about them but it seemed a bit sort of gatekeep-y like saying they were the 'real queers'. Also annoyed that
But overall it was a very good read!
Graphic: Transphobia, Alcohol, Bullying, Deadnaming, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death of parent, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Hate crime, Grief, Racism, and Acephobia/Arophobia
Minor: Terminal illness and Dysphoria
imstephtacular's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Violence, Classism, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Grief, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Outing, Racism, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Blood
emordnilap's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
but also i found the plotline and certain points to be really odd and very bad
(they just kind of skim over many of the lies the mc tells and there are little consequences)
Graphic: Transphobia and Homophobia
Moderate: Religious bigotry
criticalbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Classism, Misogyny, Bullying, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Violence, Deadnaming, and Dysphoria
alwaysshure's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Moderate: Death of parent, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Violence
heytherekaity's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
**Themes**
On its surface, this book is about politics and queer kids. And while those are definitely big themes in *The [Un]Popular Vote*, I think it's arguably even **more** about privilege and intersectionality, about having faith in and hope for humanity.
**Characters**
My favorite character was Pablo! This will surprise absolutely no one when I tell you that Pablo is extremely laid back, asexual, biromantic, and fat. I also really loved Mark! He felt like a real person, and even when I didn't like what he was doing, I always understood it. Ralph was also adorable, and Nadia and Rachel and Jenny and Benji were all fantastic!
**All the Feels**
I laughed, I cried, at one point I wanted to straight up **MURDER** a fictional character. Basically, I felt ***ALL*** of the feels when I was reading this book. I think the best way to sum up how I feel about *The [Un]Popular Vote* is this quote from Ted Lasso's Dr. Sharon, ***"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."***
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Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, and Violence
alyshkalia's review
Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Bullying, Violence, and Homophobia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and Blood
There is a LOT of deadnaming and transphobia from Mark's father.