Book Review: Winger by Andrew Smith

Release Date: May 14, 2013

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 439

Received: Library

Star Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★








Summary:
                   Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.

With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.

My Thoughts:

This book includes all the beauty there is to realism in teenagers. Ryan Dean's voice was authentic and moving. I could easily relate to the characters and their genuine traits. The writing was witty and a page turner from start to finish! I felt so many feelings while reading this story, for me, this book went past my expectations and above its storytelling.

Ryan Dean is a fourteen year old boy, who goes to a boarding school for rich kids. He is suffering being friend-zoned with his best friend, Annie. Ryan Dean is also enduring living in Opportunity Hall. OH is a dorm for hooligans and troublemakers. He broke one of the rules and lives at OH for now. Now the story of Ryan Dean goes from there and shows how he survives in his complicated life.

The obstacles Ryan Dean has to go through are REAL and HUMOROUS. The characters and their relationships with Ryan Dean makes everything stereotypical, genuine and original. The short chapters make the novel a page turner and reels you in. The plot is gripping and easy to follow. The characters are engrossing and interesting. But the humor is not like the others! I would love to say that the humor and characters define the book. I'm not a huge label fan, but humor such an important factor; in sad times.

"And then it's always that one word that makes you so different and puts you outside the overlap of everyone else; and that word is so fucking big and loud, it's the only thing anyone ever hears when your name is spoken.
And whenever that happens to us, all the other words that make us the same disappear in its shadow."

The relationship between Ryan Dean and Annie won't make you swoon to the max, but can put a smile upon your face and warm your heart. Annie and Ryan Dean's relationship is SO typical, but Andrew Smith DOESN'T make it typical. Let me elaborate: They have the "whole book until the couple gets together and the readers keep yelling: PLEASE GET TOGETHER" type of relationship, but the characters reacting to it, LITERALLY are the readers. I found this an intriguing comparison!

As the story progresses, so does Ryan Dean's journey of tragedy, love, and quirky adventures. WINGER acts like a WING to get you out of any reading slump. The characters, plot, and wit were a heartwarming addition to the well written story. The squeal, Stand Off, will be on my "Most Anticipated Books of 2015" without a doubt. It's a heart wrenching tragedy that makes you feel broken, but complete at the same time.   

5/5 STARS