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Power Drive
Maya finds out about dirty politics when she decides to run for the student council.
130 pages, Paperback
First published May 29, 2001
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About the author
Nancy Peacock
31 books6 followersNancy Peacock's first novel, Life Without Water, was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book. Her second book, Home Across the Road, was also published to favorable reviews. A Broom of One's Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning and Life is her first work of nonfiction, part memoir and part writing manual. In addition to working as a housecleaner, she has also been a bartender, carpenter, baker, waitress, assistant drum maker, and newspaper deliverer. Now a writing teacher, she lives with her husband in Chatham County, North Carolina."
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 9, 2018
Power Play
PLOT: Maya decides after watching her role model of the week Karen Dean Malloy (the local senator) and her overly opinionated classmate Camille Bates taints about her lack of a stand on the school's potential uniform policy she decides to run for student council. She allows a classmate Lori-Kate to take over as her campaign manager along with her friend Amber. Yet Politics isn't all It's cracked up to be and Maya finds out there's actual work involved such as making speech's, and posters, and working with the humanity habitat. And then there's something weird going around with Lori's Kate's creepy imitation of Maya and the mysterious tricks that have sprung up against Maya's campaign that no one from Camille's party seems to want to take credit for. And then is Maya's hero Karen Dean really all she makes herself out to be in the press?
MY THOUGHTS: Another campaign book-which I'm not a fan of-. Maya's "honesty" slogan is uninspired and boring. And in this she comes off "fake". It's ok to not know in high school what you want to do but Maya chooses to run because she has hero-worship for Karen Dean Malloy (a local senator) and because it’s a getting one up on a enemy (just like the last book I read that was similar). Maya has been annoying in other books and she continues to be in this book because she seems to care more about her clothes -and in the process making ridiculous fashion choices-than the "real work" going on around her that requires her attention. Showing she isn't into politics. Which is cool. I'm not either. But if you aren't into it OWN IT! Actually Camille Bates seemed more serious than Maya about the school's dress code. Which why do school's always think this is a good idea to stifle students expression and make them all look the same? I guess they think it'll eliminate jealousy and distractions and fights if everyone looks the same. The plot twist was that the stalker -Lori Kate- ended up rigging the election to make it look like Camille did all the mean tricks against Maya because she took it from Karen Dean Malloy's camp. Of course Karen Dean Malloy pleaded dumb. I'm not so sure tho after reading about how she's all supposed to be for gas efficiency and drives a SUV model that eats up more gas than any other car.
MY RATING: 4 (D) I've found that books dealing with politics and teens tend to go like this 2 different groups (of girls) in different enemy cliques go out for an election of some kind for the same position. There's some kind of drama. Usually one of the clique of girls really doesn't want to do it but is in it for the either a) status b) rivalry. Some kind of scheme or plot takes place. Then the one that doesn't want it realizes it and ends up dropping out and giving it to another candidate that's more suited. They follow this SAME format. Then if you didn't know that something didn't add up with Lori-Kate (shakes head). My guess was that Lori-Kate was like a spy and that she was really working for Camille and doing this for Camille to damage Maya's campaign by making Maya look like she was behind the attacks. Still Lori-Kate was a pycho and I see a insane asylum rather than a career in politics in her future!
PLOT: Maya decides after watching her role model of the week Karen Dean Malloy (the local senator) and her overly opinionated classmate Camille Bates taints about her lack of a stand on the school's potential uniform policy she decides to run for student council. She allows a classmate Lori-Kate to take over as her campaign manager along with her friend Amber. Yet Politics isn't all It's cracked up to be and Maya finds out there's actual work involved such as making speech's, and posters, and working with the humanity habitat. And then there's something weird going around with Lori's Kate's creepy imitation of Maya and the mysterious tricks that have sprung up against Maya's campaign that no one from Camille's party seems to want to take credit for. And then is Maya's hero Karen Dean really all she makes herself out to be in the press?
MY THOUGHTS: Another campaign book-which I'm not a fan of-. Maya's "honesty" slogan is uninspired and boring. And in this she comes off "fake". It's ok to not know in high school what you want to do but Maya chooses to run because she has hero-worship for Karen Dean Malloy (a local senator) and because it’s a getting one up on a enemy (just like the last book I read that was similar). Maya has been annoying in other books and she continues to be in this book because she seems to care more about her clothes -and in the process making ridiculous fashion choices-than the "real work" going on around her that requires her attention. Showing she isn't into politics. Which is cool. I'm not either. But if you aren't into it OWN IT! Actually Camille Bates seemed more serious than Maya about the school's dress code. Which why do school's always think this is a good idea to stifle students expression and make them all look the same? I guess they think it'll eliminate jealousy and distractions and fights if everyone looks the same. The plot twist was that the stalker -Lori Kate- ended up rigging the election to make it look like Camille did all the mean tricks against Maya because she took it from Karen Dean Malloy's camp. Of course Karen Dean Malloy pleaded dumb. I'm not so sure tho after reading about how she's all supposed to be for gas efficiency and drives a SUV model that eats up more gas than any other car.
MY RATING: 4 (D) I've found that books dealing with politics and teens tend to go like this 2 different groups (of girls) in different enemy cliques go out for an election of some kind for the same position. There's some kind of drama. Usually one of the clique of girls really doesn't want to do it but is in it for the either a) status b) rivalry. Some kind of scheme or plot takes place. Then the one that doesn't want it realizes it and ends up dropping out and giving it to another candidate that's more suited. They follow this SAME format. Then if you didn't know that something didn't add up with Lori-Kate (shakes head). My guess was that Lori-Kate was like a spy and that she was really working for Camille and doing this for Camille to damage Maya's campaign by making Maya look like she was behind the attacks. Still Lori-Kate was a pycho and I see a insane asylum rather than a career in politics in her future!
September 4, 2019
I had the hardest time actually getting into this book and if I had not been reading it for a challenge I'm certain I would have put it down and walked away
January 2, 2014
This book was more interesting than the last one I read because I could relate to it slightly better, but I'm still going to rate it three stars. Why? Well, I think it was geared towards younger kids. Younger as in maybe junior-high to early high school kids. The outcome was kind of easy to predict. But the moral was good, so I'm giving it three stars for that.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews