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elliizzzabeth's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
I'm not someone who is into politics (especially American politics) but for some reason this book drew me to it and I was not disappointed! Despite it being about a political campaign it didn't make the narrative boring and all of the characters made it interesting. It was what Ryan Murphy's 'The Politician' wanted to be.
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 jenny gets mad at Mark for not reading her mind? Like don't tell someone you want to give in and then get mad that they let you
But overall it was a very good read!
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!
Content Warnings
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
bookshelvesandtea's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- 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
Have you ever thought about running for office? How about running for class president? That’s exactly what Mark does in The (Un)Popular Vote. And turns out the “club français”, which is just an excuse for the queer kids to hang out, can run a presidential campaign like the best political masterminds in the country.
Too bad Mark promised his father to blend in at his new school. Because what’s more important than maintaining a carefully crafted image of their oh so perfect family when you’re a congressman? And Mark, Mark is the exact opposite of what the perfect family image is supposed to be.
When I was 16 I first told someone about being well, no clue what. All I knew was that I was not a cis woman. I was scared to death. And these few lines from the book spoke to me, because to my friends it also was just that easy. And I didn’t trust it for a single second.
““I’m transgender,” I try again. “Transmasculine.”
But *** says, “Okay.” Same tone. Same expression. No judgment.
My shoulders roll back, and my spine creaks into alignment. My body is light, buoyant. Giddy with relief and hope—but I can’t trust it.”
But *** says, “Okay.” Same tone. Same expression. No judgment.
My shoulders roll back, and my spine creaks into alignment. My body is light, buoyant. Giddy with relief and hope—but I can’t trust it.”
If you too are a big fan of YA, especially if you’re queer, do yourself a favour and go read this debut. Even if you’re European like me and have no clue what a class president is supposed to do. If you want to read this novel, please be aware that it does contain depictions of transphobia and homophobia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Hate crime, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness
solly's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this a bit more than I thought I would, to be honest. Reviews comped this to The Politician and I couldn't make it past the first episode of that show, but I think my taste in books vs. movies/TV shows is super different in some places and that's why.
I'm a bit of a politics nerd, so it was great for me. I tend to enjoy non-American politics more, because American exceptionalism is a plague, so this annoyed me in places, but not more than politics usually annoy me. I'm a politics nerd but I don't *love* politics, I'm just very involved in my local and national politics as an activist, and all of my friends are, so it's something I can talk about for hours. So seeing teens deep into politics was really enjoyable to me, as I've been discussing politics with friends since middle school (my very political far-left best friend got me into it haha).
It was still a bit unrealistic in places. Not so much because kids can't be this involved in politics but because EVERYONE was. Everyone was taking themselves so seriously and while I believe some kids are very politically oriented, a lot aren't. So this whole dramatic election thing demanded some suspension of disbelief in places but, hey, it's fiction and I was happy to give in.
I really enjoyed the ace best friend and the aro best friend rep, they were both fully realised characters and there wasn't any aphobic stuff that I caught, and it made my aroace heart really happy.
The LI was sweet too, though I wish the romance subplot had been a little bit more engaging in places.
There's a few times throughout the book where I wanted people to be MORE angry at Mark instead of just accepting apologies straightaway or refusing his apologies.
The LI was sweet too, though I wish the romance subplot had been a little bit more engaging in places.
There's a few times throughout the book where I wanted people to be MORE angry at Mark instead of just accepting apologies straightaway or refusing his apologies.
Binder safety also just... wasn't it in this. Mark wears his binder to work out at the gym, wears it in the water... it's not good, despite him mentioning binder safety earlier/taking his binder off after 8 hours of wearing it. I know a lot of trans teens don't follow safety guidelines because dysphoria is a bastard, but it wasn't even mentioned that Mark wasn't respecting said safety guidelines, so that was a meh aspect of the book to me.
Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. There's a lot of misgendering and deadnaming but I didn't mind, there has to have space for trans stories where this is central. It's understandable if some readers wanted to avoid it, though, so be warned.
I enjoyed the questioning Mark had to go through to find his ground in politics, I enjoyed that one of the best friends was a self-assumed politician shark, I enjoyed some of the subverted tropes, and I enjoyed that this didn't glorify politics/politicians and that it had some critical lines about the whole thing. It was good! Probably not for everyone for several reasons, but it was good.
I enjoyed the questioning Mark had to go through to find his ground in politics, I enjoyed that one of the best friends was a self-assumed politician shark, I enjoyed some of the subverted tropes, and I enjoyed that this didn't glorify politics/politicians and that it had some critical lines about the whole thing. It was good! Probably not for everyone for several reasons, but it was good.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Transphobia, Mental illness, Homophobia, Deadnaming, and Bullying
Minor: Antisemitism and Religious bigotry
xoodlebooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
4.75
Full review to come.
Things this book has: Trans author, transmasculine main character. Jewish author, Jewish side character that talks a lot about Jewish theology, identity, and intergenerational trauma. Main character with bipolar disorder, but it doesn’t come up much at all. Side character with an anxiety disorder. Depictions of panic attacks. The main character is Catholic. He isn’t very religious, but he used to go to Catholic school, and he had a super eloquent prayer scene towards the end of the book. Emotionally manipulative father. So many good quotes. Diverse cast. Basically all of the main side characters are queer. Some things felt kind of weird / token-y, but maybe I am overthinking it? I am not sure. Academic / extracurricular pressure. Competitive students. The audiobook narrator was really great and had a lot of emotion. They might have pronounced a few words. Either that or the words in question have alternative pronunciations that I am unaware of. Also, there was a bit of Hebrew and Yiddish in the book, but I can’t verify whether or not the narrator’s pronunciation of Hebrew and Yiddish words was good. I really liked this book.
Things this book has: Trans author, transmasculine main character. Jewish author, Jewish side character that talks a lot about Jewish theology, identity, and intergenerational trauma. Main character with bipolar disorder, but it doesn’t come up much at all. Side character with an anxiety disorder. Depictions of panic attacks. The main character is Catholic. He isn’t very religious, but he used to go to Catholic school, and he had a super eloquent prayer scene towards the end of the book. Emotionally manipulative father. So many good quotes. Diverse cast. Basically all of the main side characters are queer. Some things felt kind of weird / token-y, but maybe I am overthinking it? I am not sure. Academic / extracurricular pressure. Competitive students. The audiobook narrator was really great and had a lot of emotion. They might have pronounced a few words. Either that or the words in question have alternative pronunciations that I am unaware of. Also, there was a bit of Hebrew and Yiddish in the book, but I can’t verify whether or not the narrator’s pronunciation of Hebrew and Yiddish words was good. I really liked this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Transphobia
Moderate: Antisemitism, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Biphobia, Blood, Cancer, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Genocide, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Racism, and Xenophobia
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