Vote for Larry
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Those were the magic words and Beth knew it. How many times had I uttered that phrase to Ms. Robinson in guidance, the standard answer for what I wanted to do with my life? CHANGE THE WORLD. Did I still have the strength and determination to get it together and try to make a difference?
Was it my destiny, my vocation?
Or was I just trying to impress a girl?
As I looked at Beth, I wondered if the reason why even mattered.
The indefatigable Larry is back, and this time he takes on the American political system
After falling off the wagon and becoming what he so clearly and strongly resisted-a consumer-Josh Swensen (aka Larry) finds himself in a hyper-paranoid state of no return. That is, until he's kidnapped and coaxed into resurfacing as his old persona. Before long, Larry is back on the scene with much more on his mind than a gospel Web site-this time Larry wants to affect change in government. What starts out as a campaign to get the younger population to vote turns into a run for the presidency. Can Larry really take on George Bush?
In this very smart, very witty novel, Janet Tashjian brings the political world to the forefront and explores it from many different points of view.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Tashjian's clever, inspiring sequel, Josh Swensen (known to his public as Larry) now living in Boulder, Colo., as Mark Paulson comes clean about faking his death in The Gospel According to Larry (he refers to it as a "pseudocide"), and announces his run for the presidency. Beth, his childhood love, convinces him to return to public life ("It was time for me to contribute again"). Readers meeting Josh for the first time do not have to worry; a generous supply of Tashjian's trademark pithy footnotes fill in the back story. Here, instead of battling consumerism via a Web site, Josh (as Larry) is out trying to get young people to vote. He blasts SUV drivers, the nation's "color-coded alert system" and "politicians who taken so much money from Big Business for their campaign war chests that they have to listen to their concerns." When teen supporters press for a constitutional amendment to allow 18-year-olds to be eligible for the presidency, Josh's candidacy goes from symbolic to viable. But trouble looms: betagold, the woman who exposed his identity in Gospel, is back on his trail, and there's a traitor in his camp. Josh's narration moves swiftly, and the topical yet universal themes make this book even more compelling than the first. Readers will get a charge out of Josh/Larry's fiery speeches and outrageous platform, and startling facts (e.g., "Every minute, a baby in the U.S. is born without health insurance") plus a resource list in the back (with voter registration Web sites) provide plenty of fuel for those motivated by the hero's call to action. Ages 14-up.
