My Review:From Jo Piazza, the bestselling author of The Knock Off, How to Be Married, and Fitness Junkie, comes an exciting, insightful novel about what happens when a woman wants it all—political power, a happy marriage, and happiness—but isn’t sure just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it.
Charlotte Walsh is running for Senate in the most important race in the country during a midterm election that will decide the balance of power in Congress. Still reeling from a presidential election that shocked and divided the country and inspired by the chance to make a difference, she’s left behind her high-powered job in Silicon Valley and returned, with her husband Max and their three young daughters, to her downtrodden Pennsylvania hometown to run in the Rust Belt state.
Once the campaign gets underway, Charlotte is blindsided by just how dirty her opponent is willing to fight, how harshly she is judged by the press and her peers, and how exhausting it becomes to navigate a marriage with an increasingly ambivalent and often resentful husband. When the opposition uncovers a secret that could threaten not just her campaign but everything Charlotte holds dear, she has to decide just how badly she wants to win and at what cost.
A searing, suspenseful story of political ambition, marriage, class, sexual politics, and infidelity, Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win is an insightful portrait of what it takes for a woman to run for national office in America today. In a dramatic political moment like no other with more women running for office than ever before, Jo Piazza’s novel is timely, engrossing, and perfect for readers on both sides of the aisle.
This was almost painful to read - not because it was poorly written (it wasn't) but because it was so real. Being a campaign is infuriating, exhausting and soul destroying. Sometimes the good and big moments seem to make up for the bad parts but definitely not always. This book goes behind the scenes of just such a campaign - a woman running for the Senate in Pennsylvania against a hypocritical misogynist. Plus, of course, she's got all sorts of family secrets she's protecting and life as an executive, wife and mother to juggle at the same time. I think this was a very realistic portrayal of such an election but it was still so hard to read because of its realistic portray. Definitely my favorite thing I've read from Jo Piazza so far!
"I need to show you something." Josh opened his laptop to reveal four quadrants of Excel spreadsheets filled with percentages. "You're ahead in the latest polls. You're doing great with both college-educated women and non-college-educated women. White men are still a problem"
"That should be on a T-shirt or, better yet, a hat," Leila interjected. " 'White Men Are Still a Problem.' "
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