At Lincoln High, extracurricular superstar Stacey expects to cruise to student body president. Then two unexpected challengers enter: Julia, a French-Canadian transfer student perceived as Latina who gains Latino votes despite not knowing her own heritage; and Tony, a stoner whose platform is removing the school’s chocolate milk ban. What follows is a satirical, cutthroat political campaign filled with mud-slinging, false accusations, media manipulation, and dirty tricks. Stacey’s best friend Brian becomes caught between his loyalty to Stacey and his growing attraction to Julia. Through multiple perspectives (the three candidates, Brian, his younger brother), the novel explores race, class, privilege, identity, and belonging within a high school microcosm.
DCP Stories Collection
Review
What’s Done Well
- Explores alienation from genetic heritage. Something Julia wrestles with throughout this book is feeling disconnected from her genetic heritage and culture. While she is perceived as Latina, she does not have any concrete information about her donor, leading her to question whether or not she can “claim” Hispanic heritage. Later in the book, once she receives the results from a DNA test, Julia then has to wrestle with idea of having a cultural heritage without cultural knowledge, an experience that many donor-conceived people can have after using DNA services.
What Bothered Us
- Donor conception plays a small role. This book includes multiple perspectives, so it does not heavily focus on donor conception. At times, donor conception is solely used to move the plot forward.
