The Voting Booth

The Voting Booth centers the perspectives of two young adults, Marva Sheridan and Duke Crenshaw, who do not initially know one another. Marva, who is Black, spends her free time helping other register to vote and is excited for her first opportunity to vote, even after she learns that her white boyfriend, Alec, has decided not to vote as a protest against the two-party system. Duke, who is mixed race, feels the need to vote given his late brother Julian's political activism but is more excited about playing for his band's first paying gig. On the day of the election, Marva sees Duke turned away from the polling place. Marva's social justice instincts kick in, and the two make it their goal to help Duke discern his voter registration issues. Throughout the day, they "discuss race ..., privilege ..., and their different family dynamics", and turn from strangers to something more as "Duke falls hard for passionate, driven Marva, and she begins to appreciate his laid-back charm".{{Cite web |last=Fulwood |first=Jaclyn |date=July 7, 2020 |title=The Voting Booth |url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/readers-issue.html?issue=933 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120122559/https://shelf-awareness.com/readers-issue.html?issue=933 |archive-date=November 20, 2023 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Shelf Awareness}}

The Voting Booth received starred reviews from Booklist,{{Cite web |last=Reagan |first=Maggie |date=June 1, 2020 |title=The Voting Booth |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/The-Voting-Booth-/pid=9728918 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212040638/https://www.booklistonline.com/The-Voting-Booth-/pid=9728918 |archive-date=December 12, 2023 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Booklist}} Kirkus Reviews,{{Cite web |date=2020-05-01 |title=The Voting Booth |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brandy-colbert/voting-booth/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526023458/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brandy-colbert/voting-booth/ |archive-date=2022-05-26 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Kirkus Reviews}} and Publishers Weekly.{{Cite web |date=June 10, 2020 |title=The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781368053297 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909212932/https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781368053297 |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Publishers Weekly}}

On behalf of Shelf Awareness, Jaclyn Fulwood described The Voting Booth as a "sweet, politically minded YA romance".

According to Booklist's Maggie Reagan, the book's alternating perspectives allow Colbert to "warmly and appealingly [address] issues that many teens, especially those considering how their own first vote may play out, are facing". Publishers Weekly similarly highlighted how Colbert "aptly discusses matters of civil disobedience and social justice—including police brutality and voter suppression—without sacrificing the delicate, lighthearted relationship at the story’s center". Kirkus Reviews praised Colbert for how she "skillfully manages both serious and playful elements throughout the novel". Beyond the political element, Fulwood highlighted how "Colbert gently but thoroughly addresses the strain of grief, the relief of having someone to lean on and the importance of involvement even in an imperfect system". Writing for The New York Times, American young adult novelist Nicola Yoon noted that "in less skilled hands", the book's "premise could easily have become didactic", but found that "Colbert is deft at making the political feel truly personal".{{Cite news |last=Yoon |first=Nicola |author-link=Nicola Yoon |date=2020-08-01 |title=For Two Teenagers on Election Day, the Political Gets Personal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/books/review/brandy-colbert-the-voting-booth.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104004143/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/books/review/brandy-colbert-the-voting-booth.html |archive-date=2020-11-04 |access-date=2021-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Both Kirkus Reviews and Reagan found Marva and Duke to be well-developed and realistically portrayed. Yoon described Marva and Duke as "smart and highly opinionated, making for plenty of zippy and infectious dialogue". Kirkus also found that the "secondary characters add rich texture to and understanding of the primary characters", and that the novel's use first-person perspective for both characters gave "the novel an intimate feel".

School Library Journal's Talea Anderson also reviewed the novel.{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Talea |date=July 10, 2020 |title=The Voting Booth |url=https://www.slj.com/review/the-voting-booth |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=School Library Journal |archive-date=December 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214015056/https://www.slj.com/review/the-voting-booth |url-status=live }}

Reviewing the audiobook narrated by Robin Eller and Cary Hite, AudioFile indicated that "Hite is especially convincing and appealing as Duke".{{Cite web |date=July 2020 |title=THE VOTING BOOTH by Brandy Colbert Read by Robin Eller Cary Hite {{!}} Audiobook Review |url=https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/182095/the-voting-booth-by-brandy-colbert-read-by-robin-eller-cary-hite/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=AudioFile Magazine |language=en |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803145546/https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/182095/the-voting-booth-by-brandy-colbert-read-by-robin-eller-cary-hite/ |url-status=live }}

The Voting Booth novel and audiobook are both Junior Library Guild books.{{Cite web |title=The Voting Booth (Audiobook) |url=https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/the-voting-booth-audiobook-9781954659285j |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212040136/https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/the-voting-booth-audiobook-9781954659285j |archive-date=December 12, 2023 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Junior Library Guild |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=The Voting Booth |url=https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/the-voting-booth-9781368053297j |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212040137/https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/the-voting-booth-9781368053297j |archive-date=December 12, 2023 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Junior Library Guild |language=en}}

In 2020, Booklist included The Voting Booth on their Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth list,{{Cite web |date=January 1, 2021 |title=The Voting Booth |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Booklist-Editors-Choice/pid=9743352 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131155419/https://www.booklistonline.com/Booklist-Editors-Choice/pid=9743352 |archive-date=January 31, 2022 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Booklist}} as well as their list of the top ten romance novels for youth.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Julia |date=September 1, 2020 |title=Top 10 Romance Fiction for Youth: 2020 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9739477 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011232922/https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9739477 |archive-date=October 11, 2023 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Booklist}} The following year, it was included on Young Adult Library Services Association's (YALSA) list of the best fiction for young adults.{{Cite web |date=March 15, 2021 |title=Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2021 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Best-Fiction-for-Young-Adults/pid=9744798 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606034410/https://www.booklistonline.com/Best-Fiction-for-Young-Adults/pid=9744798 |archive-date=June 6, 2022 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Booklist}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20210112210122/https://www.ocregister.com/2020/07/04/brandy-colbert-explains-how-the-voting-booth-takes-two-teens-on-an-election-day-adventure/ Brandy Colbert explains how 'The Voting Booth' takes two teens on an election day adventure]

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Category:2020 children's books

Category:Disney-Hyperion books

Category:American young adult novels