Fictional Elections

There’s a big election coming up in November. I’m sure you’ve heard about it. And if you’re 18 or turning 18 before November, you might want to look at Corey’s post about voting and voting resources or our library’s Voter and Election Information page.

While you’re waiting for election excitement, here’s a list of fictional stories about school and national politics, and all the drama, backstabbing and stress that such things entail:

All’s Fair in Love, War, and High School / Janette Rallison

When head cheerleader Samantha Taylor does poorly on the SAT exam, she determines that her only hope for college admission is to win the election for student body president, but her razor wit and acid tongue make her better suited to dishing out insults than winning votes.

My Perfect Life / Dyan Sheldon

Ella has no interest in running for class president at her suburban New Jersy high school, but her off-beat friend Lola tricks her into challenging the rich and overbearing Carla Santini in a less-than-friendly race.

Vote For Larry / Janet Tashijian

Not yet eighteen years old, Josh, a.k.a. Larry, comes out of hiding and returns to public life, this time to run for President as an advocate for issues of concern to youth and to encourage voter turnout.

I am a genius of unspeakable evil and I want to be your class president /Josh Lieb

In Omaha, Nebraska, twelve-year-old Oliver Watson has everyone convinced that he’s extremely stupid and lazy, but he’s actually a very wealthy, evil genius, and when he decides to run for seventh-grade class president, nothing will stand in his way.

Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

Gigi decides to run for student rep, but she’ll have to get over her fear of public speaking—and go head-to-head with gorgeous California Will. Bea used to be one of the best skiers around, until she was derailed. It could be time for her to take the plunge again. And Neerja loves the drama club but has always stayed behind the scenes—until now.

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.

The Misfits / James Howe

Four students who do not fit in at their small-town middle school decide to create a third party for the student council elections to represent all students who have ever been called names

Popular Vote / Micol Ostow

In an election year, sixteen-year-old Erin Bright sets aside her familiar supporting role as daughter of the mayor and girlfriend of the student body president to stand up for what she believes in and protect an historic park from being replaced by a gas station.

Confessions of a First Daughter / Cassidy Calloway

Unfortunately for high school senior Morgan Abbott, every mistake she makes ends up as a front-page headline because her mom is the President of the United States. When her mom has to slip away on secret business, Morgan acts as a decoy in her place.

 

First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover & First Daughter: White House Rules / Mitali Perkins

During her father’s presidential campaign, sixteen-year-old Sameera Righton, who was adopted from Pakistan at the age of three, struggles with campaign staffers who want to give her a more “all-American” image and create a fake weblog in her name.

Once sixteen-year-old Sameera Righton’s father is elected president of the United States, the adopted Pakistani-American girl moves into the White House and makes some decisions about how she is going to live her life in the spotlight.

First Boy / Gary Schmidt

Dragged into the political turmoil of a presidential election year, fourteen-year-old Cooper Jewett, who runs a New Hampshire dairy farm since his grandfather’s death, stands up for himself and makes it clear whose first boy he really is.

All American Girl / Meg Cabot

A sophomore girl stops a presidential assassination attempt, is appointed Teen Ambassador to the United Nations, and catches the eye of the very cute First Son.

My Life Next Door / Huntley Fitzpatrick

When Samantha, the seventeen-year-old daugher of a wealthy, perfectionistic, Republican state senator, falls in love with the boy next door, whose family is large, boisterous, and just making ends meet, she discovers a different way to live, but when her mother is involved in a hit-and-run accident Sam must make some difficult choices.

Demon Chick / Marilyn Kaye

Sixteen-year-old Jessica discovers that her mother, a charismatic presidential candidate, sold Jessica’s soul to the devil in exchange for political power.

Wide Awake / David Levithan

In the not-too-distant future, when a gay Jewish man is elected president of the United States, sixteen-year-old Duncan examines his feelings for his boyfriend, his political and religious beliefs, and tries to determine his rightful place in the world.

Belles / Jen Calonita

Fifteen-year-old Isabelle loves her impoverished North Carolina beach community, but when her grandmother must enter a nursing home, Izzie is placed with distant relatives she never knew–a state senator and his preppy wife and children.

The Daughters Join the Party / Joanna Philbin

Emma’s senator-father is running for president, and when her rebellious style and indifference to rules and convention create problems, she relies on her good friends, who are also the daughters of well-known people, to help her gain perspective

Fake mustache : or, how Jodie O’Rodeo and her wonder horse (and some nerdy guy) saved the U.S. Presidential election from a mad genius criminal mastermind  / Tom Angleberger

Lenny Flem Jr. is the only one standing between his evil-genius best friend, Casper, and world domination as Casper uses a spectacularly convincing fake mustache and the ability to hypnotize to rob banks, amass a vast fortune, and run for president.

Freshman for President / Ally Condie

Tired of not being noticed, fifteen-year-old Milo decides to run for president of the United States, and through the course of the campaign, he discovers that he–and other teenagers–can make a real difference.

Hero / Mike Lupica

Fourteen-year-old Zach learns he has the same special abilities as his father, who was the President’s globe-trotting troubleshooter until “the Bads” killed him, and now Zach must decide whether to use his powers in the same way at the risk of his own life.

Hope Was Here / Joan Bauer

When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner’s political campaign to oust the town’s corrupt mayor.

Happy reading! – Tessa, CLP – East Liberty