The (Un)Popular Vote

Coming out June 1, 2021 from Katherine Tegen Books

Red, White, and 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.

Vaseline on the teeth makes a smile shine. It’s a cheap stunt, but Mark Adams knows it’s optics that can win or ruin an election.

Everything Mark learned about politics, he learned from his father, the congressman who still pretends he has a daughter and not a son. To protect his father’s image, Mark promises to keep his past hidden and pretend to be the cis guy everyone assumes he is. But when he sees a manipulatively charming candidate for student body president inflame dangerous rhetoric, Mark decides to risk the low profile he assured his father and insert himself as a political challenger.

One big problem? No one really knows Mark. He didn’t grow up in this town, and he has few friends; plus, the ones he does have aren’t exactly with the in-crowd. Still, thanks to countless seasons of Scandal and The West Wing, these nerds know where to start: from campaign stops to voter polling to a fashion makeover. Soon Mark feels emboldened to get in front of and engage with voters—and even start a new romance. But with an investigative journalist digging into his past, a father trying to silence him, and a bully front-runner who stands in his way, Mark will have to decide which matters most: perception or truth, when both are just as dangerous.

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PREORDER CAMPAIGN

Submit your preorder receipts and library requests to receive your exclusive (Un)POPULAR VOTE swag! Every preorder will receive one postcard featuring original character art by @djarn, one vinyl campaign sticker, and one signed bookplate. Open internationally. Ends 5/31 11:59 PM PT.

You can find the entry form here.

praise for the (un)popular vote

Mind-bogglingly good. The narrative takes a smart, careful look at the intersection of identity and politics, and the fight in standing up for friends and ourselves, even against people that we love. I laughed, I cried, I rooted for Mark all the way. With everything that’s happening in the world right now politically, this is a novel that every teen needs.
-Kacen Callender, author of Felix Ever After

Charming, stunning, and unapologetically queer.
-Mason Deaver, bestselling author of I Wish You All the Best and The Ghosts We Keep

content warnings

explicit:
transphobia • misgendering • deadnaming • homophobia • bullying • brief violence • slut shaming • depression • anxiety • underage alcohol & marijuana use • swearing

non-explicit:
racism • classism • xenophobia • islamophobia • antisemitism