THE (UN)POPULAR VOTE is a great look at how allowing the queer demographic to truly speak out in high school can affect it. I enjoyed the obvious passion for politics as shown by Sanchez. My only complaint is the sudden swing of the story to paint Mark as religious/wanting some sort of religious a-okay from God about everything. I feel that it wasn't prepared enough to warrant that turn of events.

I’m still processing all my thoughts and feelings with this one. It’s an LGBTQ+ West Wing set in high school with a diverse cast.

What I loved: the queer found family in the French Club. The LGBTQ+ identity reps go beyond the typical such as ace and aro reps and a demi girl. The MC is transmasculine and pansexual. I loved the idealist view of a queer friends group in high school, and I totally understand why the author wanted to create the world he didn’t get to have when in high school. As a queer reader, I love to read queer found families since it’s really hard to find others like myself IRL.

What I struggled with: There is a lot of dead naming in this book. It’s done with a purpose and to make the main antagonist more of a villain, but it happens a lot. I also struggled with the dialogue. These students read more like college-aged than high schoolers. The overall romantic plot didn’t do much for me either. It seemed more like an afterthought since the main focus was the MC’s political journey, and I wished there had been more of a grand gesture from the MC to the LI.

I’m glad this book exists and I’m excited for readers, especially LGBTQ folks to read this and share their thoughts and feelings on this one.

Overall 3.5 star read, rounded up to 4 stars for Goodreads.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

Many thanks to the author for getting me an ARC of this, I'm so grateful I got to read this early!

Let me start this review off by saying that you're going to absolutely LOVE this if you enjoyed The Politician on Netflix. Unfortunately, that wasn't really my cup of tea, and this book wasn't either. It's really just a matter of taste - it really wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't really my thing. That's mostly, same as with The Politician, because I felt like these kids were taking themselves so extremely seriously, and I wanted them to put things in perspective and maybe go have some fun so badly. Quite honestly though, I'm not a fan of politics. I see it as a necessary evil to have to pay attention to it. So that ultimately makes this book not for me.

I didn't really resonate with the trans rep either, but that's very much okay; not every trans book is going to be for every trans reader, and I'm just super glad in general that we're getting more trans books! One thing I thought was unnecessarily triggering was how often the MC's deadname was mentioned, sometimes really casual, even. So please be prepared for that if you pick up this book!

If the cast of West Wing was a chaotic friend group of queer teenagers...well, it would have been better. Lucky for all of us, The (Un)Popular Vote is exactly that. This contemporary debut from Jasper Sanchez is about a transmasc high school senior who enters the race for student body president at the last minute to combat the bullying and homophobia at his high school, aptly named Utopia. The prose is equal parts hilarious and heartwarming, the diverse campaign staff livens every page, and the number of Scandal references is honestly impressive.

TW: transphobia, deadnaming, misgendering

UPV stars Mark, a trans boy who made a deal with his congressman father to stay stealth and unobtrusive at his new school—a deal that fractures when he decides to run for student body president against a popular bully with dangerous rhetoric.

Every single character is so real, raw and messy and aching in truest teenage fashion. The novel is heart wrenching and hilarious in turn—and if the fantastic writing, core plot, and all the political references weren’t enough to sway me, the romance is incredibly sweet too. UPV has my vote.

The (Un)Popular vote is honestly such a fun and supportive book, and doesn't just play out like a plain romantic comedy like many other YA queer reads. There is unexpected depth, and both likable and unlikeable characters found here. If Scandal was a cute teen show, I think this would be its equivalent. The plot itself isn't the most sustainable in the long run, but for what it is, Sanchez pulled out an excellent foray.

Jasper Sanchez has spun a deliciously fun political comedy-drama. The story follows Mark, a young transman, who at first is just trying to finish high school unscathed. After another student is the subject of bullying, Mark takes it upon himself to stand up against the bullies, and the administration that is punishing the victim, by running for senior class president. His group of friends rally around him and find some new allies along the way that creates a solid supporting cast that you want to spend this time with. The drama of high school feels all too realistic and is going to provide some with a strong reminder of just how big the stakes feel during this time. Fans of political shows like The West Wing and Scandal will be given some serious service, but you don't have to be a full-blown policy wonk to fall along (although it can be appreciated).

The politics of gender and autonomy were also well-handled. Mark is not out at the beginning of the story for reasons that would spoil the fun, but this aspect of the story was on solid ground when it came to showing how difficult that process is for anyone. If you have someone in your life struggling with their gender, or who may not be aware of trans rights, this is a strong and positive conversation piece. There are a lot of things that could have been horribly mismanaged or lost in this novel based on the premise, yet Sanchez shows a deft hand and I can't wait to see what he presents next.

This book was so funny and heartfelt and just a wonderful read all around. Even though it dealt with really heavy topics, it felt so hopeful and inspiring the whole time. Mark was a wonderful character and politician and it offered a nice story about a small scale government election that represented something much bigger. The dialogue was well written and Sanchez knows how to write teenagers very well. #NetGalley #TheUnpopularVote

"Make your Mark", is the slogan Mark Adams uses the tell his classmates that a vote for him is a vote for change! In a politically charged world this novel will speak to young readers bringing some of the issues of the world into the high school setting. Unpopular Vote is the story of a high schooler and his quest to win class president, with the help of the French Club, which is really less a French Club and more a queer support group for him and his friends. Mark wants his high school to be an accepting and a safe place for those with secrets to be themselves, Mark knows first hand that trusting others to be accepting is easier said than done.
This book had a lot of diversity in sexuality, gender identity, race and religion. It promotes the idea that the right to a safe space is something all individuals should have. There was a lot of idealization in the book, the main character saw injustice and mistreatment everywhere, I thought it was important that the main character himself was shown to be fallible and capable of making assumptions about gender himself.

This book was absolutely delightful. You will resonate with the main character even if you aren't trans, and even then there's so much to love about him. The politically savvy references are prevalent, as it's a book about a teenager passionate about all things politics, but don't take it all to a cringe level where the teens sound cartoonish. The romance is adorable, and even when the main character makes mistakes, you'll still be on his side. I love the politics of the author; after political books are far too liberal for my taste whereas this one was leftist: right up my alley. 4.5/5 stars.

This is a truly wonderful YA novel. This book focuses on a group of LGBTQ+ high schoolers who, in response to a homophobic attack on campus, rally together to run for student body president. Meanwhile, our main character is trans masc--and his politician father desperately wants him to stay as in the closet as possible. So, the plot tackles a lot of contemporary issues and does them impressively well. The pacing is solid and the language is great, especially for YA, where sometimes language can be cliche. This book also has a lot of contemporary references to pop culture and politics. I definitely recommend this book.

I loved this book. The political nature of the story was extra compelling in the midst of an election cycle. It might be just a school election but real world issues resonate throughout the whole novel. The friendships were so beautiful and made me ache for this almost utopic experience they are creating with and for each other. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in politics, a better future, or creating safer, more inclusive spaces. This book is an important addition to classroom and school libraries.

Sometimes, when you finish a book, you want to cradle it against your chest because of all the warm, fuzzy feelings it gave you or because it impacted you in some way. This was one of those books.

I'll start by saying that I was probably the perfect demographic for this particular book. I love YA, I -really- love The West Wing, I love diverse and authentic representations of queer teens, and like the main character I was obsessed with politics in high school. I went into this book with high hopes, and it knocked them out of the park.

I loved Mark as a main character, and I felt deeply for him as he struggled with his dad's refusal to accept him. I appreciated the cast of characters that made up French club, and I thought that every character in this book was written in a way that was authentic and unique. I really enjoyed the fact that Mark's ultimate lesson forced him to confront the sort of man (and politician) he wanted to become as he began to view his own father's career through a more critical lens. The references to different political and philosophical theories was great, and Mark's campaign for class president was, simply put, fun to read. Basically, there's a lot to love here.

And, for all my fellow West Wing fans out there- there is a cathedral scene with the main character that serves as a pretty awesome callback to the episode "Two Cathedrals." I was almost tempted to put on "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits just to complete the effect. If you, like me, have binged the show so many times you can quote most episodes line-for-line, you will definitely enjoy this book even if your YA days are behind you.

I'm almost tempted to ignore the rest of my TBR pile and read it again.

Now for the teacher bit: This book does make some passing references to characters being sexually active, though nothing occurs onscreen and there are no "fade to black" moments. There are quite a few f-bombs throughout, though I feel it's not egregious. It would be important for students to be aware that this book deals with a parent who is not accepting of their LGBTQ+ child's identity, as this may be triggering to students who face similar struggles. This is definitely a high-school YA book; I will purchase a copy for my 8th-grade classroom library, but I think this one might be a little too advanced and mature to use for book clubs with that age, unless you're working with gifted kids who are also a little more emotionally mature.

This was a really sweet and enjoyable read. I was pulled in by the premise—a YA "Red, White, and Royal Blue"—and was not disappointed. Perfect for both YA readers and adult fans of the aforementioned romance book.

This book is basically if all the characters in The West Wing went to high school together, but in the present day and they're all queer. In other words, it's like all of my interests rolled into one! Seriously, this might be the closest thing to a perfect book for me that I've ever read. Highly, highly recommend!

“Unflinching support is exactly what you deserve. Unconditional love. Unequivocal acceptance.”
“It’s what we all deserve. Every queer kid in America.”

As a Social Studies teacher, I LOVE reading novels that have a plot that involves something under the Social Studies umbrella: history, politics, economics, geography. It’s even better now that there are LGBTQ+ books being added into that mix!

“I’M GOING TO STEAL THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.”
My head jerks up, then back against the headrest.
Pablo’s eyes stay on the road. “That got your attention, didn’t it?”
“National Treasure is no joking matter.”

I know this is not everyone’s “cup of tea”, but I couldn’t help but laugh along with the characters when it came to the numerous pop culture and current real-life political references. The amount of “Olivia Pope” jokes never failed to make me crack a smile! Each character had their own style of humor that made each reference feel at-home, like you were part of the group yourself.

What I loved most about this book was the amount of BIPOC representation on top of the slew of representation on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. It felt natural, like these were people the author knew and interacted with in daily life, which brought an authenticity to the characters.

The author has a way with words that produces vivid imagery without being overly obnoxious. For example, “bubbles erupt on the batter like tiny volcanoes, leaving yawning craters in their wake” is the PERFECT description to add to a post-hangout pancake cooking scene; you can almost SMELL the dark chocolate chip pancakes!

The (Un)Popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez is the emotional roller-coaster ride of what it’s like to be a high school student in today’s society. It’s the kind of book teens need to show them that there ARE people out there that are exactly like them; that their thoughts, ideas, and decisions are valid.

I can’t wait to see what else the author has in store for us!

This was excellent. A fun, lighthearted book with a transmasc character and Jewish LI, that has heart and tension without leaning on the trauma. Mark is a character I'll be thinking about for a long while. I hope one day he runs for President.

This book reminded me a lot of the politician. It was a great young adult novel with a lot of important themes. The characters were complex, diverse, and relatable. The plot was definitely interesting enough to keep me interested. I would definitely recommend this book to others to read!