Jasper Sanchez's dynamic #OwnVoices debut, The (Un)Popular Vote, conveys the raw energy and tenderness of protagonist Mark Adams and his passionate, political-minded queer friends as they embark on the student government campaign trail.
Mark, a West Wing fanatic and trans high school senior, hadn't planned on running for student government. Early in the year, an acquaintance became the target of threats and homophobic slurs at their satirically named Utopia High School; the school responded by victim-blaming. Sick of waiting around for things to get better for himself and other marginalized peers, Mark decides to throw his hat in the ring. But Mark's campaign and livelihood face a very real threat: no one knows he's trans. After starting at a new school to protect his congressman father's high-profile reputation, Mark is forced to mask his trans identity so his dad can maintain a squeaky-clean heteronormative facade.
Sanchez deftly portrays the tension and irony between Mark's attempt to alter his new school's vox populi while also having to silence his inner voice and hide his truth to win his absent father's approval. The author gracefully navigates Mark's perception of how to be a white trans man running for political office: initially Mark postures himself as a "true statesman" to his constituents, with slick talk and perfectly styled hair while maintaining a hypervigilance around his physical form. Eventually, though, Mark begins to "rewrite the script of what masculinity is supposed to look like." Sanchez balances the characters' quick-witted banter and mature political savvy with Mark's well-developed character arc, expertly portraying political drama, toxic masculinity and activism all in a character holding fiercely to his queer identity. --Kieran Slattery, freelance reviewer, teacher, co-creator of Gender Inclusive Classrooms