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vinylbob's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Infidelity and Misogyny
Minor: Alcoholism and Drug abuse
novelvisits's review against another edition
4.0
{My Thoughts}
Original Source: https://novelvisits.com/charlotte-walsh-likes-to-win-by-jo-piazza-audiobook-review/
What Worked For Me
An Author’s Courageous Timeline – Before anything else, I have to applaud Jo Piazza for setting her story right NOW in the middle of one of the most hotly contested set of mid-term elections that we’ve ever experienced. Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win begins in mid-2017 and ends with the November 2018 elections. You can’t get timelier than that. When you think about the time to write a book, submit it, do all the editing, and then go through the entire publication process, it’s truly amazing that Piazza was able to pull this book off. I’d love to know when she started writing it. I suspect it was shortly after the 2016 elections. Piazza’s amazing foresight proves her to be a very wise woman!
An Insider’s Glimpse of Running for Office – Charlotte Walsh wants to be Pennsylvania’s next senator for all the right reasons. The man she hopes to replace has been in office for over 30 years and has done little for the state. She’s appalled at the direction the country has taken. And, she has terrific qualifications as a woman who has successfully run a cutting edge-company, written a book about empowering women, and has been called by many to run for office. Charlotte knows to hire a tough, experienced campaign manager. She knows to surround herself with powerful advisors and she makes sure her family is on board. But none of that is enough.
The rigors of running are overwhelming, for anyone, but as a woman Charlotte has to also endure the indignity of being scrutinized for her hairstyle, her clothing, her shoes, and her mothering. Things no one even considers for a man. And then there’s the dirt, real and fabricated, on both sides. Time after time it nearly breaks Charlotte.
Two voices competed in Charlotte’s head, “The work you will do in office once you win this race will be more important than the humiliation you feel in this moment.” The other said, “Quit now! This will only get worse.”
Charlotte’s Personal Life – Throughout the book Charlotte struggled to maintain a family life with her husband, Max, and her three young daughters. Occasionally she had success, but mostly she didn’t because in reality running for office is a nasty, nasty business. It put everyone she loved under a microscope. Still, I enjoyed Charlotte’s family and her complicated loved story with Max. Of course, they all suffered, they all sacrificed to help Charlotte succeed, as all family’s must when one member chooses to run for office.
A Balance of Funny and Sad – Piazza’s book was not a light summer read and it was not a gloomy tragedy. Instead it was a perfect balance between the two. You had to laugh about Charlotte’s daily shoe choices getting their own Instagram account, just as you felt her frustration that her shoes were getting more press coverage than her message.
Narration – Tavia Gilbert did a marvelous job reading Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win. She really brought Charlotte to life and both her pacing and inflections were great. Gilbert is one of those readers who makes you want to get right back to listening!
What Didn’t
Unnecessary Parts – There were a few short parts of the story that I felt were unneeded or out of character for Charlotte. For example, just days before the election after some bad news, she goes to a bar and has a few drinks. It just didn’t seem like something Charlotte would have done with so much on the line. The story needed no distractors.
{The Final Assessment}
I really enjoyed this timely novel and admire Jo Piazza for taking it on. The ending of Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win didn’t surprise me, and I liked it a lot. Be sure to read Piazza’s explanation of why she chose to end the book the way she did. That was VERY impressive! In addition to the pleasure I got from this book, it left me with one big question: Why would anyone ever WANT to run for office? It’s so awful, no matter how clean you are. So, for all the brave folks who take on the task, the least the rest of us can do is stay informed and vote! Grade: B+
Original Source: https://novelvisits.com/charlotte-walsh-likes-to-win-by-jo-piazza-audiobook-review/
What Worked For Me
An Author’s Courageous Timeline – Before anything else, I have to applaud Jo Piazza for setting her story right NOW in the middle of one of the most hotly contested set of mid-term elections that we’ve ever experienced. Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win begins in mid-2017 and ends with the November 2018 elections. You can’t get timelier than that. When you think about the time to write a book, submit it, do all the editing, and then go through the entire publication process, it’s truly amazing that Piazza was able to pull this book off. I’d love to know when she started writing it. I suspect it was shortly after the 2016 elections. Piazza’s amazing foresight proves her to be a very wise woman!
An Insider’s Glimpse of Running for Office – Charlotte Walsh wants to be Pennsylvania’s next senator for all the right reasons. The man she hopes to replace has been in office for over 30 years and has done little for the state. She’s appalled at the direction the country has taken. And, she has terrific qualifications as a woman who has successfully run a cutting edge-company, written a book about empowering women, and has been called by many to run for office. Charlotte knows to hire a tough, experienced campaign manager. She knows to surround herself with powerful advisors and she makes sure her family is on board. But none of that is enough.
The rigors of running are overwhelming, for anyone, but as a woman Charlotte has to also endure the indignity of being scrutinized for her hairstyle, her clothing, her shoes, and her mothering. Things no one even considers for a man. And then there’s the dirt, real and fabricated, on both sides. Time after time it nearly breaks Charlotte.
Two voices competed in Charlotte’s head, “The work you will do in office once you win this race will be more important than the humiliation you feel in this moment.” The other said, “Quit now! This will only get worse.”
Charlotte’s Personal Life – Throughout the book Charlotte struggled to maintain a family life with her husband, Max, and her three young daughters. Occasionally she had success, but mostly she didn’t because in reality running for office is a nasty, nasty business. It put everyone she loved under a microscope. Still, I enjoyed Charlotte’s family and her complicated loved story with Max. Of course, they all suffered, they all sacrificed to help Charlotte succeed, as all family’s must when one member chooses to run for office.
A Balance of Funny and Sad – Piazza’s book was not a light summer read and it was not a gloomy tragedy. Instead it was a perfect balance between the two. You had to laugh about Charlotte’s daily shoe choices getting their own Instagram account, just as you felt her frustration that her shoes were getting more press coverage than her message.
Narration – Tavia Gilbert did a marvelous job reading Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win. She really brought Charlotte to life and both her pacing and inflections were great. Gilbert is one of those readers who makes you want to get right back to listening!
What Didn’t
Unnecessary Parts – There were a few short parts of the story that I felt were unneeded or out of character for Charlotte. For example, just days before the election after some bad news, she goes to a bar and has a few drinks. It just didn’t seem like something Charlotte would have done with so much on the line. The story needed no distractors.
{The Final Assessment}
I really enjoyed this timely novel and admire Jo Piazza for taking it on. The ending of Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win didn’t surprise me, and I liked it a lot. Be sure to read Piazza’s explanation of why she chose to end the book the way she did. That was VERY impressive! In addition to the pleasure I got from this book, it left me with one big question: Why would anyone ever WANT to run for office? It’s so awful, no matter how clean you are. So, for all the brave folks who take on the task, the least the rest of us can do is stay informed and vote! Grade: B+
_rachelreads_'s review against another edition
3.0
Timely, tongue-in-cheek look at today's political climate and how difficult it remains to be a successful woman. I appreciate Piazza's desire to write such a topical novel, but Charlotte Walsh is still on the whole fluffy and I think the pacing was off. The novel dragged in the middle but then ended rather abruptly.
krisloveskihei's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun and easy read. Bit of a behind the scenes look into the ugliness of a competitive election. It's a fluffy beach or airplane read though, no real examination of any of the issues it touched upon - marriage when both partners work for the same company and the woman is the boss, marriage after infidelity, impact of campaign year in the children and other family members. There were so many other possib!e side themes in this book that could have been explored a little more. And also - spoi!er alert - a deeply unsatjsfying ending.
kdurham2's review against another edition
4.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
There are quite a few books that take a reader behind the scenes of Hollywood, but I think there are less that take a reader behind the scenes of politics. I know there are some out there, but I think there are less. This book really felt like a real peek behind the curtain and I loved it.
Charlotte Walsh is heading not only back to her home state but small hometown and is going to run for state Senate in Pennsylvania. In this book and in real life there had been no females elected into the Senate for Pennsylvania and I did an extensive google search homing to prove the book wrong and sadly it was true until this last election. So back to the book, Charlotte is running and she is heading back to her small hometown to center her campaign there. She left a small town in Pennsylvania and not in the best circumstances and has become a COO of a Silicon Valley corporation and published a book, she made me think of Cheryl Sandberg. I loved following her through the ups and downs of returning home and then the crazy battle of politics.
There are quite a few books that take a reader behind the scenes of Hollywood, but I think there are less that take a reader behind the scenes of politics. I know there are some out there, but I think there are less. This book really felt like a real peek behind the curtain and I loved it.
Charlotte Walsh is heading not only back to her home state but small hometown and is going to run for state Senate in Pennsylvania. In this book and in real life there had been no females elected into the Senate for Pennsylvania and I did an extensive google search homing to prove the book wrong and sadly it was true until this last election. So back to the book, Charlotte is running and she is heading back to her small hometown to center her campaign there. She left a small town in Pennsylvania and not in the best circumstances and has become a COO of a Silicon Valley corporation and published a book, she made me think of Cheryl Sandberg. I loved following her through the ups and downs of returning home and then the crazy battle of politics.
jo5heffe's review against another edition
4.0
Filled with all the drama of a west wing episode, this novel addresses the struggles of a woman running for office in the post 2016 era and the decisions/sacrifices required to win.
Charlotte Walsh, a wealthy and influential tech executive in Silicon Valley, decides to move back to her home state of Pennsylvania and run for Senate against the states old, extremely conservative incumbent. With serious backing and a dedicated staff, she does her best to navigate the trials of an election as it takes its toll on her family, relationships, and her own mental state...but in the end she can't stop herself because she just needs to win.
While no real life individuals are directly mentioned, the post 2016 mood is especially present. Utilizing tweets and media talking heads, the book did a nice job depicting how the modern media landscape would react to these situations (Charlotte giving a speech in flats instead of heels, for example). Most of all I enjoyed reading about the trials and emotions of the campaign trail, how the campaign pushes all the characters to their most extreme. Though I think this book tried to check a lot of the political cliche boxes and I would really liked to have seen more of the secondary characters, I still really enjoyed reading it. It's very accessible and makes for a good recommendation to others. If looking for another fictional election book I'd recommend "Primary Colors" by Anonymous.
Charlotte Walsh, a wealthy and influential tech executive in Silicon Valley, decides to move back to her home state of Pennsylvania and run for Senate against the states old, extremely conservative incumbent. With serious backing and a dedicated staff, she does her best to navigate the trials of an election as it takes its toll on her family, relationships, and her own mental state...but in the end she can't stop herself because she just needs to win.
While no real life individuals are directly mentioned, the post 2016 mood is especially present. Utilizing tweets and media talking heads, the book did a nice job depicting how the modern media landscape would react to these situations (Charlotte giving a speech in flats instead of heels, for example). Most of all I enjoyed reading about the trials and emotions of the campaign trail, how the campaign pushes all the characters to their most extreme. Though I think this book tried to check a lot of the political cliche boxes and I would really liked to have seen more of the secondary characters, I still really enjoyed reading it. It's very accessible and makes for a good recommendation to others. If looking for another fictional election book I'd recommend "Primary Colors" by Anonymous.
ajmarrs's review against another edition
5.0
Review originally published: https://www.allysonmarrs.com/punctuate/blog/review-charlotte-walsh-likes-to-win
Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win. And how many women are “allowed” to ever admit that ambition? This is the book women needed after the 2017 election: it’s timely, insightful, and a page-turner. Set right after Trump wins the Presidential election (yes, this is still fiction though), Charlotte Walsh — a Silicon Valley COO of a hugely successful tech company — decides to run for Senate in her home state of Pennsylvania. The incumbent is a thrice-married philanderer in his 80s. He’s worked to ban Planned Parenthood as is as much a radical conservative as they come. And he’s had his Senate seat for decades, often running unopposed.
Charlotte is an intelligent, capable, strong woman. Even when the campaign begins to change her, I’m still rooting for her, because you know she’s still there. You know her intentions are still pure: she wants to change the bigoted, biased status quo and help people find jobs and secure affordable healthcare.
While we see Charlotte dominate interviews and thoughtfully answer questions about policy, we more frequently see her subjected to fashion criticism, and dismissal of her capabilities because of her gender. She’s also accused of being a bad mother and a cold wife — all because she dares to have ambition.
These scenes, of course, called up what happened to Hilary Clinton during the 2017 election. Where her looks were judged more than her ideas. Where her emails were a bigger scandal than Trump’s racial, religious, and gender slurs. Because this book is really a reflection of reality, and a reminder of the crucial, damming rule: women are not allowed to make mistakes; men are expected to. Above all else, women must be likable to succeed, no matter their brains, experience, or capabilities.
And Charlotte does make mistakes. And past ones resurface as journalists circle for the next big story. While that mistake is not a big literary surprise, it did fit well within the narrative. And something I appreciate about this book overall. It would be easy to make this story into a ruthless tale of tabloid fodder. To make it outlandish and entertaining through dramatics. Instead, it’s a well-paced, well-told narrative, with characters being introduced at the exact right time, the plot steadily building, and the events eerily accurate (and infuriating).
I loved it, and I loved how it’s unabashedly empowering, yet subtly encouraging for other women to follow suit. Because it’s not telling readers to do anything; it’s reminding us what has already been done to women in the political landscape, and that alone is enough to inspire action.
Read this. Please, just read this book. (Sensitive, overly privileged males need not apply.)
**Spoilers Ahead**
Don’t read this section if you don’t want to be spoiled.
My singular complaint about this book is the ending. I understand that Piazza didn’t want to write one, so that we could draw our own conclusions, and construct an ending we needed (her author’s note says as much). But truthfully, as a reader, that feels like a copout. It is the author’s job to write an ending. It’s hard work. And she says that very thing, explaining that she wrote several versions. But you still have to choose. You have to end your story. I’m a purist that way.
Yes, I understand the idea of letting a reader make up their own, so they maybe don’t leave disappointed, but to be with a character for hundreds of pages, you want to know what happens to her. If she wins, I want to celebrate that. If she loses, I want to empathize with that. And you know what — we women had to suffer through a gutting loss in 2017. The least Piazza could have done is given us this one win. Charlotte Walsh deserved it.
Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win. And how many women are “allowed” to ever admit that ambition? This is the book women needed after the 2017 election: it’s timely, insightful, and a page-turner. Set right after Trump wins the Presidential election (yes, this is still fiction though), Charlotte Walsh — a Silicon Valley COO of a hugely successful tech company — decides to run for Senate in her home state of Pennsylvania. The incumbent is a thrice-married philanderer in his 80s. He’s worked to ban Planned Parenthood as is as much a radical conservative as they come. And he’s had his Senate seat for decades, often running unopposed.
Charlotte is an intelligent, capable, strong woman. Even when the campaign begins to change her, I’m still rooting for her, because you know she’s still there. You know her intentions are still pure: she wants to change the bigoted, biased status quo and help people find jobs and secure affordable healthcare.
While we see Charlotte dominate interviews and thoughtfully answer questions about policy, we more frequently see her subjected to fashion criticism, and dismissal of her capabilities because of her gender. She’s also accused of being a bad mother and a cold wife — all because she dares to have ambition.
These scenes, of course, called up what happened to Hilary Clinton during the 2017 election. Where her looks were judged more than her ideas. Where her emails were a bigger scandal than Trump’s racial, religious, and gender slurs. Because this book is really a reflection of reality, and a reminder of the crucial, damming rule: women are not allowed to make mistakes; men are expected to. Above all else, women must be likable to succeed, no matter their brains, experience, or capabilities.
And Charlotte does make mistakes. And past ones resurface as journalists circle for the next big story. While that mistake is not a big literary surprise, it did fit well within the narrative. And something I appreciate about this book overall. It would be easy to make this story into a ruthless tale of tabloid fodder. To make it outlandish and entertaining through dramatics. Instead, it’s a well-paced, well-told narrative, with characters being introduced at the exact right time, the plot steadily building, and the events eerily accurate (and infuriating).
I loved it, and I loved how it’s unabashedly empowering, yet subtly encouraging for other women to follow suit. Because it’s not telling readers to do anything; it’s reminding us what has already been done to women in the political landscape, and that alone is enough to inspire action.
Read this. Please, just read this book. (Sensitive, overly privileged males need not apply.)
**Spoilers Ahead**
Don’t read this section if you don’t want to be spoiled.
My singular complaint about this book is the ending. I understand that Piazza didn’t want to write one, so that we could draw our own conclusions, and construct an ending we needed (her author’s note says as much). But truthfully, as a reader, that feels like a copout. It is the author’s job to write an ending. It’s hard work. And she says that very thing, explaining that she wrote several versions. But you still have to choose. You have to end your story. I’m a purist that way.
Yes, I understand the idea of letting a reader make up their own, so they maybe don’t leave disappointed, but to be with a character for hundreds of pages, you want to know what happens to her. If she wins, I want to celebrate that. If she loses, I want to empathize with that. And you know what — we women had to suffer through a gutting loss in 2017. The least Piazza could have done is given us this one win. Charlotte Walsh deserved it.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
4.0
A while ago I was looking for a female lead book where she presuming politics and I gave up and now I found it randomly! Safe to say I had high hopes on this and it didn't disappoint. It was very entertaining and I really enjoyed following Charlotte Walsh around, she was a strong person with big ambition and it was very interesting look into politics but made less serious and boring. It was a fun book!
hisparks23's review against another edition
3.0
3.5–A fun one! I don’t love all politically focused books, especially ones based somewhat on our actual political climate, because our current political state as a country just maddens and depresses me, but this book reads easy and politically “lite” enough that it was still enjoyable. At the same time, it was also full of substantial and empowering narratives surrounding women in politics, women in business, the way society views women, and women in general. Charlotte was a great character to root for her because I didn’t always agree with her, but I really wanted to see her succeed. I didn’t want to put this one down because I was so invested in seeing how her campaign would turn out (spoiler alert: I had a feeling it was going to end the way it did.)
I also LOVED Kara and was rooting for her too throughout the story. My only complaint is that I wish she had gotten more of a “redemption” arc because she deserved it, but at the same time I appreciated that the author depicted the reality of life in towns like Elk Hollow. I almost think there was more the author could have done/said about this aspect and how it specifically relates to the political climate we have found ourselves in as a country—but there’s definitely a solid amount in this already to chew on, although I can’t say it’s anything I didn’t already “know.”
This book confirmed that I have absolutely zero desire to work in politics or run for any type of political office everrrrr, but it definitely gave me a deeper understanding and perspective of what it means to be a woman doing so.
I also LOVED Kara and was rooting for her too throughout the story. My only complaint is that I wish she had gotten more of a “redemption” arc because she deserved it, but at the same time I appreciated that the author depicted the reality of life in towns like Elk Hollow. I almost think there was more the author could have done/said about this aspect and how it specifically relates to the political climate we have found ourselves in as a country—but there’s definitely a solid amount in this already to chew on, although I can’t say it’s anything I didn’t already “know.”
This book confirmed that I have absolutely zero desire to work in politics or run for any type of political office everrrrr, but it definitely gave me a deeper understanding and perspective of what it means to be a woman doing so.