The Beginner’s Guide to Winning an Election

Brit Kitridge’s plan was just to get her high school diploma and head to med school, but nobody can escape from fate, or is it history? The Beginner’s Guide To Winning an Election? High school student Brit loves history and, after spending a summer reading a number of books and obtaining a passion for politics, decides to join TM (Team Mathew), a fourteen-member group that helped Mathew Boltanski win the election of student body president. By orchestrating brilliant campaigns one after the other, TM has made Matthew a national young star and promising politician who could even run for higher office in Washington. When Brit is accused of sabotaging the team, she realizes that Hawthorn High has its secrets, and someone needs to shed some light on them. The story is set in a world six years ahead of our time. Security is a constant issue. Politics isn’t black-and-white, it’s not even gray anymore. Inflation is out of control and the educational system is in crisis. Brit’s campaign message? Transparency.

Michael R. French does an amazing job of keeping his characters genuine. Brit is still a teenager despite the political intrigue surrounding her. She has doubts and fears but also the courage to address what most people would turn a blind eye to. Throughout the book, we watch her transform into a bold and fearless mini-version of what a true leader should really be. She wants to uncover the truth, make it accessible to everyone, fix what’s wrong, and make it better, and that is exactly what makes her a great candidate. But money and corruption run deeper than values, and Brit has an extreme, almost impossible task: winning her own political campaign. She isn’t alone in this race. She has a great team advising, managing and planning her campaign and, most importantly, supporting and defending her every step of the way. Her biggest ally, however, is her history teacher. He’s something like a mentor to Brit. He never stops believing in her and her abilities. He is always there for her, advising and showing her the right way through his class lectures.

The Beginner’s Guide To Winning an Election is a quick read with a well-written plot and a fast pace. I really liked the fact that the book didn’t end on election day but continues until graduation day. If you thought politics is tough, high school politics belongs to a level of its own.