Forward March by Skye Quinlan
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Special thanks to Manda Group for sending a copy for review.
Summary:
Harper “Band Geek” McKinley just wants to make it through her senior year of marching band—and her Republican father’s presidential campaign. That was a tall order to start, but everything was going well enough until someone made a fake gay dating profile posing as Harper. The real Harper can’t afford for anyone to find out about the Tinder profile for three very important reasons:
1. Her mom is the school dean and dating profiles for students are strictly forbidden.
2. Harper doesn’t even know if she likes anyone like that—let alone if she likes other girls.
3. If this secret gets out, her father could lose the election, one she’s not sure she even wants him to win.
But upon meeting Margot Blanchard, the drumline leader who swiped right, Harper thinks it might be worth the trouble to let Margot get to know the real her.
With her dad’s campaign on the line, Harper’s relationship with her family at stake, and no idea who made that fake dating profile, Harper has to decide what’s more important to her: living her truth or becoming the First Daughter of America (Goodreads).
Thoughts:
Forward March is a first person introspective rom-com written by Skye Quinlan. The leading character, Harper, is a senior student in a band who is constantly living under her parent’s shadows. She feels like every step she takes is on pins and needles, and every mistake she makes has huge implications on her mother’s reputation as the school Dean and on her father as a Republican running in a political election.
As a band kid, the cover and epilogue drew my attention, and the vibrantly presented imagery quickly pulled me in. The plot starts with Harper figuring out that she is being impersonated on a dating app by an anonymous person from the school. On the other hand, Margot, who is being “catfished,” realized that they actually never knew anything about each other. This results in a lot of drama as the story unfolds.
Harper is trying her absolute hardest to navigate her friendship, health, and her identity while trying to find the best way to come out as bisexual. I find her relatable as a high school student coping with my own coming of age while figuring out what career to pursue. Because of her family, Harper has a history of anxiety and panic attacks that could exacerbate her asthma under extreme conditions. I understand how challenging Harper’s experience of feeling inferior in a high-authority household is; not to mention the fact that both parents have very conservative and rigid views about the LGBTQ+ community.
I enjoyed Quinlan’s simple yet meaningful writing style. The storyline is generally well-paced and clearly told. She added a lot queer and BIPOC characters to recognize diverse identities. We really need someone like Quinlan to write more non-binary representations. She also did a decent job showing the growth of each character through their new strong friendships, but I also feel like they could have been expanded on. Margot was understanding about Harper’s asexuality, and I was surprised by how it was developed throughout the story. They found out that they genuinely care for each other, re-established their relationship, and “confronted each other for the [dating app] profile” (111).
There is one specific thing about her father’s campaign that was candidly presented that unsettled me. Harper faced chronic panic attacks because of the phony news reports that followed her father’s election. She was given the name “Daughter of Presidential Hopeful Marcus Kinley” (127) and was tagged everywhere on social media; she was stalked or photographed wherever she went. She couldn’t bear to carry this burden and wanted to live a normal life. Quinlan tried to reveal the “ugly truth” behind conservative news organizations and politicians who prioritized their own interests.
On the other hand, the story also attempted to show Harper’s perspective as she dealt with anxiety by highlighting the psychological effects that false beliefs have on people. Several other subplots remained unresolved including some of the sexist statements made or political positions taken, the lack of resolution about Margot feeling burdened by her parent’s choices, and her mother’s crude and infantilizing remarks targeting her. I believe Quinlan could have made adjustments to scenes to neatly tie them up.
I still enjoyed this month’s read even though there were several iffy points. Harper’s self-worth and the course she was on for the future appeared to be steered on a much better route at the end. As Harper learned more about who she is and her sexuality, she gradually figured out more about her freedom to be herself. Personally, I am very glad to see these dynamic changes in Harper.
Reviewed by Grace N.