Don’t Vote for Me

Seventh-grade band geek David Grainger and his two best friends are social zeros at Shepard’s Vale Middle School, unlike classmate Veronica Pritchard-Pratt, who is on her way to another unchallenged victory as class president. When David makes an impromptu speech about Veronica not representing class interests, Veronica goads him into running against her. Then, much to David’s dismay, the two political rivals are chosen to play a duet together at an upcoming school recital. Veronica turns out to be more complicated than David realized, and he gradually comes to understand her better and wonder who really will be the better class president. While the lessons David learns about the sometimes hidden reasons behind people’s actions are a bit on the nose (“For some reason, it hadn’t occurred to me that Veronica’s life wouldn’t be perfect, that it wouldn’t be like mine”), Van Dolzer (The Sound of Life and Everything) keeps the tone light between David’s wry observations, amusing friends, and the goofy predicaments he falls into. Ages 10–up. Agent: Kate Schafer Testerman, KT Literary. (Aug.)