In David Paul Kuhn's What Makes It Worthy, we follow political journalists Taylor Solomon and Cait Ellis on the campaign trail of Democratic primary candidate Joseph Girona and the Republican's Constance Wallace. Taylor Solomon is one of the Washington Current's young stars, and Cait Ellis is with the New York Times, forever dogged by the legacy of her retired mother Erin Ellis, a renowned international correspondent. David Paul Kuhn takes us through the meteoric rise of Girona, a Lothario who plucks at American heartstrings as an everyday Joe, and his likeliest opponent in the presidential race, Wallace, a female candidate who evokes hope as a war hero in her party, but who is painted as an affluent, out of touch politician. An ensuing battle consumes the press, fueled by the undercurrent of back room political pandering, and plays out alongside a love story that develops between Taylor and Cait.

David Paul Kuhn's What Makes It Worthy is an engaging, formidable work of fiction that encompasses every aspect of life on a campaign trail from the perspective of both candidate and journalist. From page one, we are sucked into a world of corruption, scandal, and the inner workings of the relationship between politicians and the press. Kuhn's in-depth characterizations make it almost impossible to root for a single candidate, humanizing their perverted notions of right and wrong. Ultimately, we watch one make a spectacular fall with devastating consequences to Taylor and Cait — who each had their own hand to play in this captivating story. I give David Paul Kuhn's What Makes It Worthy a well deserved five stars.

What Makes It Worthy by David Paul Kuhn is a fictional story that deals with very real topics of today. It ventures into the 'tabloidization' of American politics, and explores power and the press at the highest levels possible. When on the campaign trail, it seems anything can happen from dealing with high octane politicians, finding the juicy stories, dealing with ethics and, of course, when you work in close quarters with someone you may just come across a little bit of love, whether you want to or not. Everyone has to make choices and all too often you have to compromise your ideals when in this game.

Wow is the first impression that comes to mind when you are done reading this book. The next is high octane and full of magic. If you want to get to know the inside track of politics this is the way to go; the story may be fictional but you can easily picture everything that happens really happening on the campaign trail. Cait and Taylor are an amazing set of characters that you can tell have truly been fleshed out and feel real. I connected mostly with Cait and her struggle to crawl out from a shadow that has been cast upon her by her mother. We all want to make our own mark on the world and not be judged by what our parents have done, be it good or bad. I admire the work that David Paul Kuhn put into the book and I look forward to reading more. If you love fast paced, interesting books that focus on real issues, this book is going to amaze you.