The idea is clever - another one of those "boy meets girl in the morning and falls in love by dinner" stories but instead of someone leaving the country or dying we watch the characters vote - or try. I appreciate what the book conveys because it's a cause dear to my heart; voting and highlighting voter suppression. If this will help teens realize the importance of their votes, then I'm all for getting the story out there.

Could this happen in real life? Meh. But it's a cute tale and an important premise. I'd buy it for our middle school library.

This book is amazing and I hope so many teens and adults will read it. The premise is a falling in love during the course of a day troupe similar to The Sun Is Also a Star but it becomes so much more. The story follows two teens who set out to vote for the first time in Election Day and while one is able to cast her vote, the other runs into problems with his voting location and registration mixup. As they team up to help him find his polling place, they open up to each other about their families, aspirations, frustrations, and dreams for the future. The story expertly addresses microagressions, privilege (especially when it comes to caring and participating in politics), interracial relationships, and family dynamics. I love that while many YA books show social media as an evil, this story shows how important it is in the lives of teens in positive ways like finding forums to discuss topics you can’t talk about with friends and running pet Instagram accounts as ways to be creative and a different side of yourself than what’s expected. I could gush on and on about this book which I plan to do in the months leading up to its publication. I immediately want to read more by this author. I’m so glad this story and her voice are out their for readers today.

The Voting Booth is a great read for this election year. It tackles big ideas, voter suppression, voter turnout, social media influence, police brutality, and many more in a poignant manner. This provides hope for a stressful election year, that regardless of the outcome, every vote matters.

This was such a good, engaging read- perfectly for fans of realistic contemporary fiction. I really enjoyed the alternating viewpoints, and the way the story unfolded over the course of one day. This book has a lot of good stuff to say about voting rights, and how there can be very considerable obstacles to voting. I liked reading about teens who understood how important every person's vote is-- this is the second book I've read this year about teens and voting, and I LOVE this trend. Definitely going to recommend this one at my library!

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a contemporary romance that takes place in one day regarding voting. Marva and Duke set out on a quest of sorts to get to his voting destination and end up falling for each other in the process. This was a fun quick read but the language was a bit much for me.

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert captures the teen voice and perspective, as it moves back and forth between two realistic teen characters. The format reminded me a lot of Eleanor and Park, which has been a big hit with my students! I appreciated Marva's passion and her drive to change the current political climate in America one vote at a time. There were a few moments that specific political views (which differ from my own) took me out of the story and made me want to stop reading, but I enjoyed the relationship between Marva and Duke and the way their story unfolded naturally in such a short amount of time.

I've never read anything by Brandy Colbert that I didn't love, and The Voting Booth is no exception! I read this book in its entirety on the day of the Iowa caucuses (because what else are you going to do while waiting at the car repair place?), and it filled me with hope to read a book about young people who are on fire about electoral politics and participating in democracy. Marva and Duke are different in so many ways, but I found them both really relatable, and I was rooting for them from the moment the book began. It's rare with an alternating point-of-view book that I don't find myself wishing I was reading more of one character and less of another, but Colbert does such an excellent job with each character's voice that I didn't find myself favoring one.

Super relevant story in 2020! This book is a terrific blend of fun and meaningful. Marva is the most civic-minded 18 year old you’ll ever meet, who cannot WAIT to vote in her first election. Duke is super chill, excited to vote, but more excited for his band’s 1st paying gig later that night. Soon after Marva votes, her whole world changes - Duke can’t vote, an important family member goes missing, things go awry with her boyfriend...all in the span of mere hours.
This book flowed well, and I never wanted to put it down. I was thoroughly invested in both Marva and Duke and wanted to know all about their backstories. I loved that were both Black and that their families are very civic-minded and have made sure their children know how important voting is. I also loved how Duke seemed to defy every stereotype about young Black men. This book offers some great discussions about race, microaggressions, police brutality, and voting suppression. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone I know!

Brandy Colbert is one of my favorite authors and I love the way that her stories are both fun and meaningful. I absolutely love Marva, whose driving goal is to make sure that people are registered to vote (and then that they actually do) because it's the easiest way for any one person to make a difference. And so when she accidentally hears Duke not being allowed to vote, she swings into action and makes it her mission to ensure that he does actually get to cast a ballot that day.

But there's a lot of other stuff to deal with, too. And that's what saves this book from just being another "issues book." (And no judgment there; I love issues books.) But this has so much going on, and it's a complete joy to read. (As all of her books are.)

Told in alternating points of view- Marva goes to a predominately white prep school and is focused on activism, particularly in exercising your right to vote and she’s happy to do it for the first time at the beginning of the story. Duke is a tall black kid who goes to the local public high school and is voting too- except he’s not registered in that county which puts the two on a collision course in a meet-cute with deeper roots. Duke’s brother died by gunfire working and helping the same people that ultimately killed him. That’s a ghost perennially on his shoulder.

Marva’s problems seem quaint in comparison- she’s fighting with her white boyfriend and her Insta-famous cat has gone missing.

Together they trounce around town in an effort to solve all of issues that are weighing both of them down while discovering their newfound love for one another. Will the cat be found? Did Duke vote? How was the band? What will Marva do next to take on the world?

It’s inspiring, adorable, foundational, and entertaining with the realistic characters that Colbert always creates and matches it with a well-rounded good ol’ fashioned story.

5 stars

I loved this. This is my third Colbert novel, and while I thoroughly enjoyed both of the others, this one is my favorite so far.

When the novel opens, readers learn three critical factors about Marva: she is VERY pumped to vote for the first time, she has an adorable cat named Selma, and her boyfriend - Alec - is trash. Marva meets Duke at her polling place, the two of them experience a day-long adventure in voter suppression, and, in the process, readers get to know these characters (who alternate perspectives) as they get to know each other.

I love everything about the organization and flow of this work. The quest to vote sets a seamless backdrop for the overarching themes of racism and voter suppression throughout, and both Marva and Duke share information about the various ways in which their lives have been and continue to be impacted by their identities. Marva's interactions with Alec and his family, Duke's relationship with his brother Julian, various scenes with the police, and so much more (I'm going to keep this spoiler-free, but so many meaningful connections between the characters!) create an inarguable narrative about race in present-day America.

Colbert tackles so many important issues in this work, and yet it never feels didactic. Powerful messages pile on top of each other, but they are all couched in the experiences of two average teens who are JUST trying to vote and live their lives. The characters are incredibly endearing, complex, and intriguing. Readers will want to know them and to root for them. The ancillary plot lines also add to the greater context of the work (rather than distract from it, which I have found to be a persistent and profuse problem in a lot of the recent YA I've encountered).

I'll be recommending this book to students, friends, family, and colleagues for a long time. It's a tremendous reflection of our times, but I think it also has incredible staying power as an example of solid YA contemporary realistic fiction novel.

Marva is excited to do her civic duty and vote, but after she finished the day seems to unravel. First, another teen is turned away at the polls. After fighting with her boyfriend about the importance of voting, she decides to make it her mission to help Duke make his voice heard. There are a few shenanigans involving a gossipy Starbucks-wielding mom and an internet famous cat, but in the end this stands out as a story that exemplifies what two people with determination and passion can do for their community.

The Voting Booth starts as a race-around-town rom-com, but turns into a novel that touches deeply on everything from voting inequality, class differences, and emotional trauma. I would recommend it for any YA reader interested in realistic fiction, activism, making a difference -- even a reader who just understands what it's like to be incredibly passionate about something in their life.

The characters were relatable, although most of them sat in the back seat (lol!) for a majority of the novel. The dialogue was realistic and the actual circumstances of the running around town was entirely believable. The novel sometimes shifted very quickly in tone from light rom-com to heavy social commentary, but it always felt appropriate for the moment.