Mark is white and diversity in gender identity, sexuality, and religion is exemplified in the cast. The plot is not neat and tidy but drips with realism. The relationships within Mark's friend group are heartwarming, inclusive, and intelligent. This could be a heavy read but humor and vivid imagery keep it moving. Mark is ready to start the movement, even if it exposes who he really is to the community. Every kid deserves a safe space, acceptance, and love. But when a peer is attacked for being gay and the school administration does nothing, Mark decides to run for class president, representing change. Mark is the transitioning son of a politician who would prefer to pretend that he does not exist, so Mark tries to stay out of the public eye.

Being LGBTQIA+ in a heteronormative environment is not easy and they need each other. It doesn't matter that most of them don't take French. Gr 9 Up-In a California high school where the Gay/Straight Alliance consists of straight white students, a group of queer and non-cisgender friends find refuge in French Club. 'Charming, stunning, and unapologetically queer.' -Mason Deaver, bestselling author of I Wish You All the Best and The Ghosts We Keep This is a novel that every teen needs.' -Kacen Callender, author of Felix Ever After But with an investigative journalist digging into his past, a father trying to silence him, and the bully frontrunner standing in his way, Mark will have to decide which matters most: perception or truth, when both are just as dangerous.

Soon Mark feels emboldened to engage with voters-and even start a new romance. Still, thanks to Scandal and The West Wing, they know where to start: from campaign stops to voter polling to a fashion makeover.

He didn't grow up in this town, and his few friends are all nerds. But when he sees a manipulatively charming candidate for student body president inflame dangerous rhetoric, Mark risks his low profile to become a political challenger. Mark has promised to keep his past hidden and pretend to be the cis guy everyone assumes he is. Everything Mark knows about politics, he learned from his father, the Congressman who still pretends he has a daughter and not a son. Red, White, & Royal Blue meets The West Wing in Jasper Sanchez's electric and insightful #ownvoices YA debut, chronicling a transmasculine student's foray into a no-holds-barred student body president election against the wishes of his politician father.

The [Un]popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez