The Voting Booth

Black and brown people vote more than we get credit for, first of all. We've stopped a lot of assholes from getting into office and voted out plenty, too.” pg 41, Duke

Good book about voting, not a black rom tho

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.

Not as good as Colbert's other books, honestly. I think it was rushed to publication and the plot suffered because it was weak.

I enjoyed quite a few aspects of this book. I think the characterizations of the two MCs were well drawn and likable, shown through dual narration. The political backdrop was well done. I liked the whole story in one day, it kept the plot moving nicely. It's a solid read and great for teens who are interested in politics or advocacy. My experience may have been affected by the audio, as I couldn't quite buy at least one of the narrators.

4.5 stars

this was... fine? I liked & appreciated the overall message of how important it is to vote and the discussions of voter suppression, racism, police brutality, political activism, etc. but the characters just felt really flat to me and I didn't really feel the high stakes of the conflict.

This was so great! I love a rule-following, driven teen who lets loose for one day! Even if letting loose just means organizing a voter drive and breaking up with her dumb boyfriend. Go Marva! I'd love to read more about Ida, too. Brandy Colbert, write a sequel about Ida and her activism?!

3/5 stars

The Voting Booth falls into the new trend of political YA contemporaries and I absolutely adored this take! The Voting Booth takes place in a single day following the two characters Marva and Duke in their attempt to vote. Marva is very politically active and has dedicated herself to getting people to vote. Duke is at the same polling place as Marva when he finds out he isn't on the list and has to go to a different location. We follow Marva and Duke in their attempt to actually be able to get Duke to vote all whilst skipping school.

I really enjoyed the issues that were discussed in this that related to voter oppression. Every topic that leads into voter suppression (ableism, racism, etc.) is present. These topics were handled with grace and I loved seeing a different perspective. The opinion that voting won't change anything is also within this book and it was interesting to see people's reasoning behind that. This book is EXTREMELY relevant to everything going on in the world currently. It doesn't just discuss voter suppression which pertains to the upcoming 2020 presidential election but also racism within the system. Gun violence is discussed in this because Duke's brother was killed due to lack of regulation. It also brings in police violence a bit which is especially important for young people to see in a novel.

The two characters did fall a bit flat for me. While I think that they were quite dynamic and had many racists to them, something about them just didn't click with me which I found odd since I identify with both characters in a way. Duke is a mixed character which I am and I relate to Marva in being very politically active and taking school seriously.

There isn't emotional cheating in here technically but this is a romance that takes place in one day. At the beginning of the novel Marva has a boyfriend and the romance aspect of this put me off. I would have much rather the two characters just be friends than have any romance considering at the beginning they both have romantic interests.

I enjoyed the writing for the most part but there were a bit of info dumps about certain characters in Marva and Duke's lives. That part just put me off a bit because one moment we are just thrust into flashbacks. The transition to them wasn't seamless because there are heading like “About said character”.

Overall I really did enjoy this book despite the couple flaws I saw within it. I think this book is so relevant right now and the timing of this release couldn't have been more perfect. Thank you to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for sending me an advanced e-copy before release date.

ahh Brandy Colbert truly is the GOAT of YA contemporary! This is so funny and charming and perfectly in line with Gen Z's activism. Bonus star awarded for INSTAGRAM FAMOUS CAT DRAMA.