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Vote for Remi
Fiery US government teacher Remi Covington is relentless in her desire to impart the genius of the democratic process to her students. Her so-called “academically challenged” high school seniors sometimes find her enthusiasm more than a little annoying—so, in an effort to teach her a lesson, they execute a brazen, high-tech, social media blitz touting her as the newest candidate in the upcoming US presidential race. Much to everyone’s surprise, Remi plays along with her students’ ruse—and in a nation weary of politics and career politicians, she unexpectedly finds herself the darling of the American public. As the campaign takes on a life of its own, Remi is forced to confront a myriad of long-held social biases and cultural clichés, and realizes she isn’t quite the woman she thought was. Vote for Remi is about a would-be a presidential candidate who, despite being all wrong—the wrong gender, the wrong party, and certainly the wrong social status—discovers that she might be exactly what America needs: someone with a passion for doing what is right.
261 pages, Paperback
First published April 13, 2015
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216 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 24, 2015
I love women-running-for-president stories. The drama, the competition, the paparazzi, the politics...all make for great intrigue. And oh, the opposition for being a woman. That'll always be there.
This isn't just your run-of-the-mill story though. This woman ends up running for president by accident and it's actually very touching and cool how this comes to be. She is a government teacher who stresses to her students that anyone who meets the legal requirements can run for president. She encourages kids whom everyone else has given up on to be all they can be, to strive for more. Testing her theory, her students announce she's running for president.... Long story short, they become her campaign team and she ends up really running for office.
But it changes her life and she battles with herself. Is she doing the right thing? Is she doing it for her country or for herself? How many people in her life will walk away from the all the stress and drama before it becomes too much? And then political threats and blackmail enter the picture...and Remi has some moral decisions to make.
Full review and favorite quote: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2015/...
This isn't just your run-of-the-mill story though. This woman ends up running for president by accident and it's actually very touching and cool how this comes to be. She is a government teacher who stresses to her students that anyone who meets the legal requirements can run for president. She encourages kids whom everyone else has given up on to be all they can be, to strive for more. Testing her theory, her students announce she's running for president.... Long story short, they become her campaign team and she ends up really running for office.
But it changes her life and she battles with herself. Is she doing the right thing? Is she doing it for her country or for herself? How many people in her life will walk away from the all the stress and drama before it becomes too much? And then political threats and blackmail enter the picture...and Remi has some moral decisions to make.
Full review and favorite quote: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2015/...
March 19, 2015
Her vigor and spirit in the classroom has inspired her high school students to the extreme. While out on the town, Remi spots a video of herself on a local television screen, pronouncing her candidacy for president of the United States. With the intentions to withdraw after confronting her students on Monday morning, Remi finds herself in front of the camera after school, confirming her candidacy and stating her intentions to run although she knows her odds of winning are low. Remi believes that her battle for the presidency will be a great experience for her students and for the status quo. With her students behind her, Remi is a powerhouse and she knows she will be tackling some rough issues and some powerful people but she believes in what she is doing and she feels the American people will be behind her. Like most candidates, Remi is not immune from scandalous issues, her past is dragged through the mud and the media finds a few lies that they grabs onto and can’t let go of. Yet, Remi knows her politics and she knows how to work the press. She’s strong and she’s honest and the people seem to like her. The news is important to her, it’s what real. Remi and her team of high school student can get the job done, it’s amazing the work these students can produce. Unfortunately there are costs to such devotion and Remi is beginning to pay the price.
I liked the devotion that Remi’s students gave to her and her campaign. These high school students stood by her and supported her the whole way. Using their skills and talents they put in many long days and hours to help her try to achieve her goal. She motivated them in the classroom and now the tables are turned. There were times that life got too hard and the costs were too great that Remi wanted to quit but there was always something that pulled her back. Although she created her own party, she was not immune to the slander that follows campaigns yet Remi tries to see above it. This novel also provides great information about the political process and how this process all fits together.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
I liked the devotion that Remi’s students gave to her and her campaign. These high school students stood by her and supported her the whole way. Using their skills and talents they put in many long days and hours to help her try to achieve her goal. She motivated them in the classroom and now the tables are turned. There were times that life got too hard and the costs were too great that Remi wanted to quit but there was always something that pulled her back. Although she created her own party, she was not immune to the slander that follows campaigns yet Remi tries to see above it. This novel also provides great information about the political process and how this process all fits together.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
July 17, 2015
Remi Covington finds herself in a very unusual situation: a candidate for the President of the United States. The kids in her US government class were inspired from a lesson she gave in class about how as long as a person meets the constitutional parameters that ANYONE can technically run for president. Her students post a video about what Remi thinks is wrong with Washington and somehow the video is a social media whirlwind. What started off as somewhat as a joke, becomes something seen by millions of people. Remi becomes an actual contender. However, even though she seems to the support of the everyday people, the media and professional politicians are out to get her.
Remi's students become her campaign managers and they set out to change Washington through the presidential run. Remi vows to see the campaign to the end, but it isn't always easy. Her relationships suffer and she has a hard time balancing her personal life with the everything that is demanded of her by running. At one point when she can no longer recognize herself, Remi wonders if all politicians start out with good intentions and then end up losing their way. You feel for Remi as she has to defend things she did when she was a kid or the actions of other people in her life. It had ring of truth from that aspect since we see so many smear campaigns from politicians instead of them focusing on their own platforms. There are tragic things that happen along the way, but it is an interesting read in the sense of seeing how the social media firestorm propels Remi to places she never thought she would be!
I received and advanced copy of this book for an honest review.
Remi's students become her campaign managers and they set out to change Washington through the presidential run. Remi vows to see the campaign to the end, but it isn't always easy. Her relationships suffer and she has a hard time balancing her personal life with the everything that is demanded of her by running. At one point when she can no longer recognize herself, Remi wonders if all politicians start out with good intentions and then end up losing their way. You feel for Remi as she has to defend things she did when she was a kid or the actions of other people in her life. It had ring of truth from that aspect since we see so many smear campaigns from politicians instead of them focusing on their own platforms. There are tragic things that happen along the way, but it is an interesting read in the sense of seeing how the social media firestorm propels Remi to places she never thought she would be!
I received and advanced copy of this book for an honest review.
May 28, 2015
The story: a group of teens takes the liberty of nominating their favorite teacher for president; not of the school board, but of the United States. Social media catapulted this unlikely political choice to super-stardom.
My take: Vote for Remi is the debut novel for Ms. Lehman. I normally avoid debut novels, as they tend to be clunky, but I had met Ms. Lehman on social media and was anxious to learn if her personality came through in her writing – it did! Ms. Lehman delivered a believable, engaging story. I enjoyed the premise, the storyline was original and I was along for the ride from the first couple of chapters. I have a teenage son the same age as several of the characters, their dialog and actions were completely believable. The ending had me cheering for Remi against all odds. This is an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys an underdog story. Overall – this is likely one of the best debut novels I have ever read.
I received an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.
My take: Vote for Remi is the debut novel for Ms. Lehman. I normally avoid debut novels, as they tend to be clunky, but I had met Ms. Lehman on social media and was anxious to learn if her personality came through in her writing – it did! Ms. Lehman delivered a believable, engaging story. I enjoyed the premise, the storyline was original and I was along for the ride from the first couple of chapters. I have a teenage son the same age as several of the characters, their dialog and actions were completely believable. The ending had me cheering for Remi against all odds. This is an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys an underdog story. Overall – this is likely one of the best debut novels I have ever read.
I received an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 16, 2015
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
A US government teacher told her students over and over again that ANYONE could run for President - they took her at her word and entered her into the race! From the synopsis, I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy this one and I did!
Remi is a teacher who has been teaching for a long time and is now a teacher for at risk students and she is trying everything under the sun to connect with her students and from their reaction to her lessons - I think she did! After two divorces and two sons - one who is in jail and not in the best situation, Remi is just enjoying being in the classroom until her students intervene!
A US government teacher told her students over and over again that ANYONE could run for President - they took her at her word and entered her into the race! From the synopsis, I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy this one and I did!
Remi is a teacher who has been teaching for a long time and is now a teacher for at risk students and she is trying everything under the sun to connect with her students and from their reaction to her lessons - I think she did! After two divorces and two sons - one who is in jail and not in the best situation, Remi is just enjoying being in the classroom until her students intervene!
May 14, 2015
Remi is a character whom I can relate to. And I love the characters of the students in her class who become her campaign team. I enjoyed seeing them evolve from young people with family issues to young people with a purpose, which is to help get Remi on the ballot for President and see if a "normal" person can with the presidency.
Remi's relationships suffer and things surface from her past, but that helps to make the tale more believable. I found myself rooting for Remi along the way, and rooting for her students.
I enjoyed this story from Leanna Lehman and definitely recommend it.
I received a copy of the paperback version of this book for my honest review.
Remi's relationships suffer and things surface from her past, but that helps to make the tale more believable. I found myself rooting for Remi along the way, and rooting for her students.
I enjoyed this story from Leanna Lehman and definitely recommend it.
I received a copy of the paperback version of this book for my honest review.
May 28, 2020
I could really use a candidate like Remi! I may not agree on some of the viewpoints she has, but I will say she is somebody willing to come to the table and work out compromises like an adult. What a shame she isn't real.
I enjoyed the writing and the pace of the story. There were a couple of points that I wanted the story to go further into, but I didn't feel it detracted from the story.
I loved having a political story about a candidate underdog that didn't bow down to the pressures of politics and money.
This is a book I would recommend for others to read.
I enjoyed the writing and the pace of the story. There were a couple of points that I wanted the story to go further into, but I didn't feel it detracted from the story.
I loved having a political story about a candidate underdog that didn't bow down to the pressures of politics and money.
This is a book I would recommend for others to read.
April 24, 2021
You would have thought I had enough politics with all that has been going on lately - but I wanted a positive spin on it and I got it!
It was great to see a teacher so good at her job, she motivated her students to want her to be president. The campaign, the politics and the students all seemed believable.
I enjoyed the read. If you like to root for the underdog - you will enjoy this one.
It was great to see a teacher so good at her job, she motivated her students to want her to be president. The campaign, the politics and the students all seemed believable.
I enjoyed the read. If you like to root for the underdog - you will enjoy this one.
June 24, 2018
Great book
This was a great book that kept my interest from start to finish. It also kept me guessing as to the outcome. I would highly recommend Vote for Remi.
This was a great book that kept my interest from start to finish. It also kept me guessing as to the outcome. I would highly recommend Vote for Remi.
March 25, 2015
I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Pros: there's not really any objectionable content in the book. The premise is interesting, it's light on language, there is no sexual content or violence.
But...I would say the biggest weakness is the lack of emotional center. The writing, while competent, is dense, mechanical, FULL of "tell" and desperately missing the "show" element that draws readers in. It becomes tedious. The book also has an incredibly uneven pace, hovering over completely mundane scenes, while whisking past something that might make for a fun, or insightful, or even interesting scene, like when the main character appears on the Ellen Show. I was frequently confused by what the author chose to briefly mention and then gloss over, like one of the characters having been gang raped in her past, her own son's freedom being threatened by a mysterious man-in-black (that whole scene, the character, the threats, all of it, were so disjointedly out of place), or even her best friend suddenly dating the man she chose for Vice President. I often found myself saying "Wait, what?" and then, inevitably "Why??"
At it's core, I think this could have been a good book. Pared WAY down, with a tighter focus on letting characters live and breath (without moving them around like marionettes in the story), trusting that readers would come to the conclusions you hoped for without telling them exactly this and exactly that, and minus a few extraneous characters/plots/details that aren't given much depth and don't add to the story, and this could have been a greater success to me.
Pros: there's not really any objectionable content in the book. The premise is interesting, it's light on language, there is no sexual content or violence.
But...I would say the biggest weakness is the lack of emotional center. The writing, while competent, is dense, mechanical, FULL of "tell" and desperately missing the "show" element that draws readers in. It becomes tedious. The book also has an incredibly uneven pace, hovering over completely mundane scenes, while whisking past something that might make for a fun, or insightful, or even interesting scene, like when the main character appears on the Ellen Show. I was frequently confused by what the author chose to briefly mention and then gloss over, like one of the characters having been gang raped in her past, her own son's freedom being threatened by a mysterious man-in-black (that whole scene, the character, the threats, all of it, were so disjointedly out of place), or even her best friend suddenly dating the man she chose for Vice President. I often found myself saying "Wait, what?" and then, inevitably "Why??"
At it's core, I think this could have been a good book. Pared WAY down, with a tighter focus on letting characters live and breath (without moving them around like marionettes in the story), trusting that readers would come to the conclusions you hoped for without telling them exactly this and exactly that, and minus a few extraneous characters/plots/details that aren't given much depth and don't add to the story, and this could have been a greater success to me.
September 6, 2015
See all of my reviews: www.walleysbookreviews.com
Vote for Remi is the perfect remedy to the upcoming election year. Remi is a passionate American Government teacher for at-risk teens and suddenly finds herself running for President. During the course of her class, Remi taught her students that anyone could run for president and now they have taken her to task to prove her concept. Without Remi's knowledge or permission, her students declare her candidacy via social media and while Remi, at first, is completely against the idea, her students convince her otherwise. Together they develop the Do Right party and Remi begins the journey of a lifetime.
Vote for Remi is an interesting and timely book about the changing political scene. Remi is the type of candidate everyone says they want for President and the book highlights the struggles to run as a third party candidate as well as the media scrutiny that is an inevitable part of any political campaign. I liked the concept of the book and found it both inspiring and heartwarming.
I received this book from BookSparks as part of their summer reading challenge 2015 in exchange for an honest review.
Vote for Remi is the perfect remedy to the upcoming election year. Remi is a passionate American Government teacher for at-risk teens and suddenly finds herself running for President. During the course of her class, Remi taught her students that anyone could run for president and now they have taken her to task to prove her concept. Without Remi's knowledge or permission, her students declare her candidacy via social media and while Remi, at first, is completely against the idea, her students convince her otherwise. Together they develop the Do Right party and Remi begins the journey of a lifetime.
Vote for Remi is an interesting and timely book about the changing political scene. Remi is the type of candidate everyone says they want for President and the book highlights the struggles to run as a third party candidate as well as the media scrutiny that is an inevitable part of any political campaign. I liked the concept of the book and found it both inspiring and heartwarming.
I received this book from BookSparks as part of their summer reading challenge 2015 in exchange for an honest review.
December 13, 2015
Where is Remi when we need her? When the general public becomes enamored with a non-politician who runs for President of the United States, the world of politics gets turned upside down. Lehman almost seems to eerily foretell the current political arena in this interesting take of a political outsider pulling the rug out from under the "boys of Washington."
Well-researched, the nuances of the pre-election process are clearly presented in a manner which is easily understood for those of us who are less than savvy in the not-so-pretty world of politics. This was an interesting glimpse into a grassroots campaign and the effects the toll of politics can make on a candidate's personal life.
The book is well-written in the sense of structure and grammar, but is told in a manner which almost always kept me at arm's length from any real intimacy with Remi, and therefore made it difficult to fully immerse myself into the story.
Well-researched, the nuances of the pre-election process are clearly presented in a manner which is easily understood for those of us who are less than savvy in the not-so-pretty world of politics. This was an interesting glimpse into a grassroots campaign and the effects the toll of politics can make on a candidate's personal life.
The book is well-written in the sense of structure and grammar, but is told in a manner which almost always kept me at arm's length from any real intimacy with Remi, and therefore made it difficult to fully immerse myself into the story.
August 21, 2015
With all of the political prattle going on these days, this book really hits home with me. Remi and her Do Right Party are a breath of fresh air in a country tired of political rhetoric, campaign promises, and outright lies.
This is a very believable story--well thought out and fully researched. You will find yourself rooting for the underdog, and cheering for how the story ends.
It is hard to believe this is a debut novel, as it is much more professional than many first novels I have read in the past. Here's to a long, productive writing career for Ms. Lehman!
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
This is a very believable story--well thought out and fully researched. You will find yourself rooting for the underdog, and cheering for how the story ends.
It is hard to believe this is a debut novel, as it is much more professional than many first novels I have read in the past. Here's to a long, productive writing career for Ms. Lehman!
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
May 2, 2020
I don’t normally read books about politics, but I do enjoy a good underdog story. Ms. Lehman does address politics but she mainly focuses on the importance of priorities, relationships and hard work. The third-party’s nickname, The Do Right Party, gave me the mental picture of Dudley Do Right riding his horse backwards and always trying to do the right thing. Vote for Remi leaves you feeling inspired and hopeful for the future.
“It’s time we ignore the fact that third-party candidates don’t win. It’s time to forget about history—and it’s times to start changing it.”
“It’s time we ignore the fact that third-party candidates don’t win. It’s time to forget about history—and it’s times to start changing it.”
May 26, 2015
Vote for Remi was at first an enjoyable read that quickly became tiresome. While the premise is fun, a woman egged on by her high-risk students to run for the presidency, the constant hammering home of her heroism, her goodness and selflessness was repetitive and tedious. I disagreed with many of Remi's political viewpoints, i,e gun control,privatization of education, but her populist message about the impact of money and the media in politics was on-target. Overall, a political fairy-tale that could have been more engaging with a more fleshed out character.
June 1, 2015
I Vote for Remi
I heard the premise of this book a year ago when I met the author at a conference. As a veteran educator and second career writer, I fell in live with Remi before I ever met her. So I was delighted to receive my copy of the finished book and was not disappointed. Vote for Remi is a wonderful romp into the world of “What if?”, a tribute to the underappreciated skill and enthusiasm of emerging “alternative” adults, and a welcome commentary on the politics, presidential and otherwise, of a middle ground apart from extremes. It’s a great story and a fun read!
I heard the premise of this book a year ago when I met the author at a conference. As a veteran educator and second career writer, I fell in live with Remi before I ever met her. So I was delighted to receive my copy of the finished book and was not disappointed. Vote for Remi is a wonderful romp into the world of “What if?”, a tribute to the underappreciated skill and enthusiasm of emerging “alternative” adults, and a welcome commentary on the politics, presidential and otherwise, of a middle ground apart from extremes. It’s a great story and a fun read!
September 21, 2015
This is a cute book about a teacher who is very exhuberantin teaching her class democracy. I guess she goes a little overboard and they get annoyed. So they as a joke get her on the ballot to run for President. What a unique thing to do. It.s get pretty complicated and chaos ensues. She learns a lot herself.
August 8, 2015
A YA novel about high school students nominating their U.S. government teacher for the US Presidency. A welcome alternative to all of the current political rhetoric. Light-hearted, fun read. Sent to me by BookSparks to review.
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Read my review at...
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August 8, 2015
I enjoyed this book about a high school US Government teacher's journey to becoming a president. It started out due to a prank by her students through the use of social media but after much consideration, she decided to go for it. With the election coming soon, and debates taking place, it's a good time to read this book.
June 22, 2015
An underdog story set in today's times with today social media impact. A believable and well thought out story that will have you rooting for the underdog and cheering all the way to the end! 4 stars
Currently reading
July 6, 2015I won this book from Goodreads First Reads program. The book has not yet arrived, but I excited to read it once it does!
did-not-finish
June 6, 2015I just couldn't get through it. I found it to be a bit boring and drawn out. The writing wasn't bad, just not for me.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews