Title: The Voting Booth
Author: Brandy Colbert
Narrator: Robin Eller, Cary Hite
Published: July 2020, Dreamscape Media LLC
Length: 6 hours 5 minutes
Source: ALC via Libro.fm
Summary:
Marva Sheridan was born
ready for this day. She’s always been driven to make a difference in
the world, and what better way than to vote in her first election?
Duke
Crenshaw is so done with this election. He just wants to get voting
over with so he can prepare for his band’s first paying gig tonight.
Only problem? Duke can’t vote.
When Marva sees Duke turned away
from their polling place, she takes it upon herself to make sure his
vote is counted. She hasn’t spent months doorbelling and registering
voters just to see someone denied their right. And that’s how their
whirlwind day begins, rushing from precinct to precinct, cutting school,
waiting in endless lines, turned away time and again, trying to do one
simple thing: vote. They may have started out as strangers, but as Duke
and Marva team up to beat a rigged system (and find Marva’s missing
cat), it’s clear that there’s more to their connection than a shared
mission for democracy.
Romantic and triumphant, The Voting Booth is proof that you can’t sit around waiting for the world to change, but some things are just meant to be.
My thoughts: I don’t typically read a lot of YA and I definitely don’t usually gravitate towards books that are of a political nature, but this one just called to me and I’m glad that I gave it a chance. It’s the first book I’ve read by Brandy Colbert and I have to say, it was quite good.
I think what really surprised me was how serious this ended up being. I really picked this one up because I had heard some good reviews of it and it was available to me. I never imagined the depth it would go to and I think after the crazy year we had and with everything that happened with our most recent election, this book could not have been more timely. Seeing the excitement that some people have about voting and then the struggles that people face when it comes to voting and the attitude that others have about it was all so clearly drawn and I think this all comes across so well. This really would be such a great book for high school students to read, especially as they get ready for vote for the first time.
While this book is short, it certainly provides a lot of food for thought. It would definitely be a great book club book as well as there are so many discussion points. Taking a chance for me definitely paid off with this one and I’m glad I did. What’s the last book you took a chance on?
Audio thoughts: This was a great audio to listen to and the two narrators, Robin Eller and Cary Hite, did a great job bringing the book to life. Being that the book is so short, coming in at just over 6 hours, it is quite easy to listen to in one day and that is what I was able to do. I found myself completely caught up in the story and found both narrators really kept the pace going and infused just the right amount of emotion and tension into their voices as necessary. This audio was very enjoyable!
