Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Houston, Texas, 1999. Enter Tucker "Catfish" Davis, a high school senior with high-flying political ambitions as the self-proclaimed heir to populist Louisiana Governors Huey and Earl Long. Armed with idealism and a fedora, he embarks on a quixotic campaign to get elected to the local school board in an effort to help the "little people" of Houston.

In the wild days that follow, Catfish's long-shot bid gains traction through guerilla campaigning against a questionable tax deal supported by his opponent, a powerful executive at an Enron-esque energy company. With the help of his classmates, an indicted Louisiana governor, a gay journalist with nascent mayoral ambitions and an ex-Green Beret trained to wage unconventional warfare, Catfish makes it a race Houston will never forget.

Based on an actual 1999 news story, School Board is an entertaining but satirical debut novel that revels in the diversity, madness and absurdities of the Bayou City.

I RECEIVED AN ARC FROM THE PUBLISHER. THANK YOU.

My Review: First, read this:

"I'm not wearing this."
"You are if you want to win tonight's debate," the political consultant said, holding up the picture of Walker in full polo regalia in the Chronicle that Tucker's campaign had planted in the morning edition. "Less polo playing, more goat roping."
"We live in Memorial, the richest area of town."
The political consultant showed a poll from The Pony Express with Walker trailing by twelve percent.
"That's Tucker's paper," Walker said. "What legitimate poll has a margin of error of eleven percent?"

This is a sassy, Swiftian satire of turn-of-the-century Houston, Texas, and its far-too-rich, far-too-crazy political culture. The place that gave rise to both the Bushes that infested the White House. The culture that's given rise to many, many a ridiculous fad...moving their baseball team to the American League! building freeways not trams! nary a zoning law to be found!...is skilfully flensed by a native son who saw this plot play out in real life.

What makes books like this fun to read is the sense of absurdity and the fun they allow you to have laughing at, as well as with, the protagonist. The thing that keeps me reading in political satires is that sense of being outside the action looking at them make the stupid mistake or misread the room, a lot like y'all who watch The Office and Arrested Development do.

What didn't work for me, this time, was the sense that I, the one laughing at other people, wasn't laughing as hard or with as much contempt as the author was. He seems to have a really serious dislike for these characters. It's not like that's unheard of, of course, but it doesn't make me feel comfortable...I need to sense the author pulling his punches or I start sympathizing with the targets not the actors.

I won't shove it at you...but I won't say avoid it, either. In today's political climate, maybe this is just the thing for working through your emotional breakdown as the spectacle of Clinton versus Trump (!!) unfolds. ( )

I received a copy of this book from Librarything in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very tough book for me to rate, because while it was well-written and had an interesting story, there were still a few faults that disengaged me and for the most part I just could not get into it.

First, Tucker Davis is one of the most annoying and obnoxious characters I've ever encountered. He's more than just flawed; I can't think of any redeeming qualities about him. He's hypocritical, ignorant, ironically self-centered, and completely clueless. For someone wanting to help people, he sure doesn't treat his friends and family very well by manipulating them, using them, and not even considering their advice. This book was difficult to read, because I just could not stand the main character.

Secondly, I'm not really into politics and that was the only thing driving the story. That's mostly my fault for picking a book about politics. However, as a book advertised as "a roaring comic allegory", I was expecting to laugh a little, or even crack a smile. But the only this this book did for me was confirm my dislike of politics. Despite the interesting concept, the text got very boring very quickly. The whole thing seemed to be really stretched out. The story felt slow the first three quarters of the book. While the ending was predictable, I could not help but be satisfied solely because the last page marked the end of my time with Tuck Davis. ( )

I received a signed, hard copy of Mike Freedman's novel, School Board via LibraryThing Early Viewers program and appreciated the opportunity. I will start by saying that I was impressed before I even started into the story. With it's soft blue dust jacket and gem of an illustration on the inside front cover, I was eager to delve in.

The author shares the story of Tucker "Catfish" Davis, an 18 year old champion for the "little folks", whose passion for politics takes him on a race for a seat on the local School Board. Having spent his childhood admiring the unlikely of political heroes, Tucker takes on the rich and vengeful conglomerates who dare to steal away hard-earned money from everyday Houstonians. Tucker may not be a Top-A student and his outlook on life is nothing short of "unique", but he knows how to rally the people for the "cause". He brings together an eclectic group of supporters in an honest attempt to unseat the status quo who have always used their "status" as their political weapon.

The story is chalked full of humor and wit. It touches on themes of political corruption, corporate greed and civil rights. Add in the energy of today's youth, vulnerable seniors, Vietnam Vets and new immigrants and you've got yourself a drama that is sure to entertain.

I recommend to any reader who is likely to cheer for the little guy! 4/5 stars and hoping for more of Mike Freedman's writings in the future! ( )

Larger-than-life protagonist and high school senior, Tucker Davis, decides to challenge a school board member for his seat on the Houston school board. He is motivated by the legacy of Huey Long, his hero, and another Louisiana Governor Beaudreaux. The book touches on several issues -- gay rights, the Viet Nam War, among others and portrays the ups and downs of the last semester of high school. The action, while not always believable, is conveyed with lots of charm. The pace is about right for a high school level reader. ( )

I'm usually a quick reader, but it took me several weeks to finish this book - I kept putting it down because I found the writing style (and characters) grating. Although this may sound like a trivial complaint until you're actually reading the book, Catfish uses the phrase "little folks" an absurdly frequent amount, which drove me crazy. In general, I found that most complex issues - from the experience of war veterans to the discussion surrounding gay rights - were oversimplified and unoriginal. I was also sometimes uncomfortable with the way that gay people were discussed/presented, even given that the book is set in 1999. Many of the characters/dialogue were cliched as well. ( )