Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Voting Booth

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert is an alright book that focuses more on encouraging voting and political engagement than the romance at its center. Everything that happens in this 300 page book happens in a day and although the romance felt rushed, the pacing felt slow to me. If this book had aimed for brevity, I think I would have appreciated it more.

The writing style also preferred telling rather than showing, especially when it came to political topics. A lot of characters talk about their protests and activism, but characters aren’t shown being activists or participating in activism. There also wasn’t that much discussion about elections or voting despite that being the main topic. This book is about voting, but there is barely discussion of electoral colleges, two party systems, or voter suppression, but there is a lot of bureaucracy!

There are good moments in this book that I enjoyed but overall, it felt drawn out and I didn’t feel satisfied with the romantic development. Overall, it’s an alright book that did not resonate with me but I wouldn’t turn a friend away from it.

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chelseawrites21's review against another edition

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emotional informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

After Duke is rejected from voting at his local polling place, Marva makes it her personal mission to help him find where he can vote. As the two spend more and more time together, they have candid conversations about voting and grief while also confronting their relationships with the people in their lives.

I like the Voting Booth. It's not my favorite but it's had some really good conversations about race and how important voting really is. Some situations that come up in the book hit me with the reality of voter suppression and how it impacts people.

Although, I felt like the main characters lacked chemistry. They didn't start to see each other differently until the VERY end. It wouldn't have been a problem if this book wasn't marketed as a romance and people weren't commenting about them as a couple. Duke had more chemistry with his friend, Kendall than Marva. Marva also irritated me sometimes. She was very pushy about voting but I get that she was just passionate about it. The ending was also very rushed.

All in all, I would say The Voting Booth is perfect for people that are about to vote or want to learn more about voter suppression, but I wouldn't call this a black romance at all.

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forlorn_traveller's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

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graceheiberger's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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ballgownsandbooks's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

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guiltyoftsundoku's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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321zeggy's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring relaxing fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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miyaosamu's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

“Even if things don't go our way, it'll be alright. We'll get through it.”

The Voting Booth was such a fun, fast paced, lighthearted read about two teens running about town together with obstacles thrown their way and getting it down. It touches on really important topics that we face in society and in the US as of today. Colbert incorporates systematic racism, white ignorance, and voter suppression into the story quite well as it adds on to overall character arcs as we are able to see their backstories as well. Marva and Duke's dynamic and seeing it grow was definitely one of the best parts. I just love these type of books that cover adventures of one single day without it feeling like the story is dragging. I definitely would've been able to read this book in a day if I weren't reading and preparing myself for another book at the same time This is a book I would recommend as a good, adventurous fast read while it also is an important read for everyone!

“Like, I knew I had to start working to make sure things change, or I'd never be able to forgive myself. I can't just sit back and watch this world go to shit, you know?”

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