Horn Book Review
In his fourth light outing, Kevin Spencer remains a typical, good-natured, if a little deceitful, young teenager. His tendency towards manipulation rears its ugly head when he decides to run for class president to impress practically perfect Tina, now his girlfriend. He has confidence ("I'm the most gifted leader you'll ever meet") and a plan; both are humorously tested during the campaign. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Kevin knows the buzzwords that will surely get him elected student-body president; it's unfortunate that he's running for the wrong reason. Kevin's gotten into trouble before (Crush, 2002, etc.). In this fourth, funny outing, he navigates the mostly self-created obstacles of eighth grade. This time, having achieved a first date with his new girlfriend, Tina, he realizes that a new student, good-looking Cash Devine, is running unopposed for student-body president--and capturing lots of attention in the process. That just doesn't seem right to Kevin. After all, he's the one with all of the natural leadership ability, and he knows, somehow, all of the ins and outs of campaigning. However, he might not know quite as much as Cash's campaign manager, Kevin's clever rival, Katie. The strength of this effort comes from the surfeit of hyperbole that Kevin effortlessly churns out in his rarely self-critical but frequently amusing first-person narration. Each chapter title offers yet another pithy rule for aspiring politicians: "The True Politician Deftly Sidesteps Problems That Might Arise from an Overabundance of Truth," for example. Many of these "rules" seem unlikely to arise from the brain of an eighth-grader however, making this a little less credible than others in the series. Still, especially for kids who have watched recent elections, Kevin's brand of campaigning is readily recognizable. (Fiction. 10-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Kevin Spencer returns with a new plan to impress beautiful Tina Zabinski: he will run for student body president! Paulsen's latest entertainment, a companion to Liar, Liar (2011) and its sequels, is set over the course of five days while Kevin contests handsome Cash Devine for the empty seat. Thanks to Kevin's older brother's ideas, and the maneuvering of the two girls managing the campaigns, it begins to look like he could actually win. However, though he usually has an exaggerated opinion of his abilities, Kevin is self-aware enough to know that he is not really right for the job. Those who started this four-book series at the beginning may sense that our protagonist is maturing a wee bit, but not so much as to dampen the humor for fans or newcomers, both of whom will pick up enough of the backstory to recognize the 14-year-old's delusional tendencies. Fast-paced action and Kevin's penchant for getting into ridiculous situations make this the perfect book bait for not-so-eager readers.--Isaacs, Kathleen Copyright 2010 Booklist
Excerpts
I was sitting on the front stairs of school Monday morning, waiting for the first bell so I could head to homeroom. I was also watching Tina, who was standing by the flagpole with her friends. Katrina Maria Zabinski, the World's Most Beautiful, Most Perfect, Best-Smelling Girl. Never in the history of girls has anyone been as . . . radiant as Tina. I looked up pictures of Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Mata Hari and Nefertiti and, even though they're supposed to be world-class babes, they've got nothing on Tina. In fact, I thought they were kind of horrible-looking, but when you've seen perfection up close and in person, everything else seems dismal in comparison. Especially if all you have to go by is ancient artwork that usually makes them look super crabby. I was now Tina's official boyfriend. I no longer had to worry about how to get her. Now I was panicked about how to keep her. We'd had a great time at my neighbor Betsy's grandparents' fiftieth-anniversary party a week ago. It had been everything I'd ever dreamed of--me and Tina talking and laughing and eating chunks of banana dipped in the chocolate fountain. The perfect first date. I freaked out after the party, though, and reverted to form last week at school. Which meant that I fell over my own feet every time I saw her and, for conversation, made sounds like the dinosaurs probably did the nanosecond they saw the giant meteorite hurtling toward them. She didn't seem to mind, she'd smile and wave as I hurried away from her, so I didn't make a bad situation worse. But I couldn't count on her tolerance forever. If you want a girl like that to stay your girlfriend, you've got to raise your game. I had to find a way to impress her. Fast. "Hey." My best buddy, JonPaul, appeared as if out of thin air. That's the thing: when Tina's around, I don't notice anything else. A volcano could erupt next to me and I wouldn't flinch. Unless, of course, the molten lava threatened Tina's safety, in which case I like to think I'd swoop in to save her. Kevin Spencer: middle school superhero. "Hey." I watched JonPaul pull Baggies of edamame and slivered almonds and dried figs out of his messenger bag. He's a health nut and a jock and he eats the ugliest food on the planet. This was his post-breakfast, pre-midmorning-snack snack. He's obsessed with fueling his body for optimum performance on the field. On the court. In the ring. Whatever. I can never keep track of what sport he's playing. "What are you doing sitting on the steps all by yourself?" He slurped from a bottle of pulverized-seaweed juice. I shuddered at the scummy green mustache it left behind. "Watching Tina." "Why?" "She's beautiful." "If you say so." JonPaul had a girlfriend of his own, Sam, and wasn't the kind of shady boyfriend who'd notice other girls. Even if they were shockingly gorgeous. "Why are you just watching her? Thought you two were official." "We are. Kind of. Sort of. I guess." I was about to explain my dilemma when I noticed Cash Devine working his way through the crowd, handing out buttons, flashing his big phony smile and shaking hands. He was wearing a sandwich board--VOTE 4 CA$H. "What's he doing?" Cash is my mortal enemy. He doesn't realize I can't stand him, but I've loathed Cash from the moment I saw him two weeks ago, when he transferred to our school and latched on to Tina. Cash looks exactly like the kind of guy who should be dating a girl who looks like Tina. Therefore, I spend a great deal of time thinking about how he annoys me. "Running for student-body president." "Don't we already have one?" "Not anymore. Danny Donnerson moved." "What's with all this moving all of a sudden? Don't today's parents care about providing stability for their kids--and their kids' classmates-- anymore?" "Dunno." JonPaul stays pretty detached when I rant and rave. He's very calming that way. Just then Cash headed for the group of girls standing near the flagpole. He headed toward Tina. The same primal instinct that prompted the cavemen to wave spears in the air when the woolly mammoth came too close kicked in and I was on my feet, barreling toward my competition. I arrived at Tina's circle of friends just as Cash was reaching out to hand her a button; I slid between them at the last second. He jerked his hand back and jabbed himself in the leg with the pin. "Oh, hey, Cash, you okay there? Gotta be careful," I said, hoping Tina would appreciate the concern in my voice and not realize how insincere I was. "Uh, yeah, I'm good. First blood of the campaign season," he guffawed, sounding exactly like the guy on the local-access cable channel who's way too excited about selling used cars. "Can't win an election without a little wear and tear." He looked over my shoulder and winked at the girls. I heard a collective sigh and turned to face Tina and her friends. JonPaul had Tina holding one of his gluten-free rice cakes while he drizzled organic honey on it, so she, thank the gods of love, wasn't one of the sighers. Connie Shaw and Katie Knowles, my sorta friends, were two of the girls oohing and aahing over Cash. I felt a stab of jealousy even though I'm with Tina and I don't like Katie and Connie that way. "Cash is going to run for student-body president," Katie told me, a soft look on her face as she gazed at Cash. A flyer she'd been holding fluttered to the ground. I stooped to pick it up. CA$H 4 PRE$IDENT. Excerpted from Vote by Gary Paulsen All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
