May the Best Man Win

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Ok, so I was deceived by the cover. This is NO romcom! This book needs a trigger warning so here it is: transphobia, grief, homophobia, ableism, sexism, discrimination, bullying, blood (minor), divorce, drugs, sexual assault, homelessness, mental illness, physical assault. It's not really spoilery but I put it under a spoiler tag.

Anyway. Based off the cover and synopsis this seems like exes from enemies to possible lovers but there’s not really any romance. I don’t care if there’s romance or not necessarily but I thought that that was such a great idea. I wanted a light hearted rom-com with trans rep!! Plus, Lukas is autistic and coping with grief so there was representation there too. TW: ableism, transphobia, homophobia, bullying, deadnaming, misgendering, violence, death of a siblingIn particular, I loved how Ellor tied these complex and messy feelings the characters are feeling to the queer and neurodivergent experience, respectively. In Jeremy’s case, the pure wrath that he feels comes from constantly being disrespected as a man and feeling the need to prove his masculinity through not only achieving, but prototypical ideas that link violence to it. As for Lukas, his need to prove himself comes primarily from how other people view him being autistic combined with the death of his very successful older brother whom he had a complex but mostly negative relationship with. I also very much appreciated the fact that despite how messy and sometimes problematic these characters were, there was either always a narrative admonishing and/or correction of the problematic behavior or a delicate line about subjects such as a person’s gender, sexual identity, and more that was never crossed. and then!! there’s this bit where a character is explaining what terfs are to the mc (?? pretty sure all trans people know what a terf is but ok) and says that most of them are lesbians . and honestly i wasn’t that surprised because unfortunately there’s been a fair few books out lately with invalidating comments towards lesbians like that, equating us to being transphobes (transphobia is a cis person problem not a lesbian problem) Exes Jeremy and Lukas have a lot on the line with the Homecoming king title. For Lukas, it means stepping out of his late brother's shadow and earning a sure acceptance into one of the ivy leagues that would finally make his parent's proud. For Jeremy, it means everyone has finally accepted what he's always known: he is a guy, and he's not gonna let his pseudo-progressive school and some transphobic classmates stand in his way. But before he came out, Jeremy used to be Lukas's girlfriend, and Lukas never understood why he ended things. Competition heats up as the two vie for the crown, and neither of them seem to care who they hurt in the process. But Caldwell seems to burst open the notion of Irishness completely, interrogating, first, her own “complicated relationship” with the place she’s from, then setting out her wish to portray the “fresh narratives, perspectives and multiplicities that are coming from immigration to a place so long and persistently defined by emigration.” Don’t let the cover deceive you, this book is not a cute, lighthearted romance. It’s messy and can be brutal at times, but some of the representation was so important in this book that I feel people should give this one a shot if it sounds interesting. I’m very torn on how to rate this book because I have a love hate relationship with it, but my star rating reflects how much I genuinely enjoyed it.

After both Edwin and Jasper propose to Olivia, they discover that a young boy, Teddy Armstrong, has fallen into a well. When the two bachelor's approach the well, Edwin refuses to put himself in harms way to save the boy. Jasper, proving he's the better man, helps Teddy from the well.Sol was probably my favorite character which probably says something since they were just a side character mainly used to advance Jeremy and Lukas' developement. They are a nonbinary latinx person, (like me) so that probably helps. I would've loved to hear more about them. While we're on the topic of characters that deserved better we should probably talk about Naomi as well. She's an Asian girl that barely got any "screen" time. She, sadly, was also used as a way to develop Lukas and Jeremy more. As I said, May the Best Man Win is a story that centers two angry, grieving, messy teenagers who don't know where to place their rage and their frustration when it feels like the world is taking away their control, and so they project all of that onto each other, especially when they already have a challenging history as exes. Each of them knows the other person "can take" their ugliness and their anger, so they pour all of it into this homecoming race. Is it healthy? No. Does it set a "good example"? No. But it does make sense. Jeremy Harkiss is a cheer captain, student body president, and an overall role model for many people. He came out as transgender, which was a hard decision overall but with his all-star-ex-boyfriend Lukas running for the title of Homecoming King that he has worked so hard to get, he has had enough. He won't let anything get in his way between him and his crown. with a concept like this one, i never thought i would have to say this, but...may the best man win is perhaps the worst and most infuriating book i've ever read. This was more of a character-driven book although the plot was very interesting and fun, I can really see it was the characters that pushed the author! For me the writing was standard. So I don't really have anything to say on that note. Apart from my love and hate for the characters so let's move on!

Characters: The supporting cast was great (namely Sol and Naomi), but I often found it a little hard to root for the two heroes, especially Jeremy. I can't exactly say that I didn't like either of them, because at the end of the day, they're really just teens making mistakes (and hopefully learning from them), but both Jeremy (and Lukas) did some things that were a bit hard for me to reconcile with. Jeremy's character was raw and intense and just so...angry. But I also understood where that anger was coming from, and it did give him a lot of room to grow, even if I found it hard to sympathize with him sometimes. And Lukas was far from perfect too, though I did enjoy his character arc. E-ARC generously provided by Macmillan Children's Publishing Group through Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much the dialogue felt so unrealistic and dramatic to the point where i was frowning at the book. also, other things just didn't make sense, like how lukas was blamed for something jeremy was a part of, while he was all okay... Please try to look presidential, Jeremy. Keep your tongue in your mouth,” Hannah Kim says from behind the camera lens. “This is for our senior class yearbook. Like, your grandkids will be cleaning this out of your attic when you die.” But what if I yell and she says something that hurts worse than this stupid wardrobe malfunction? Grandma had ugly views on gender. She hated that Mom wasn’t married when she had me, and made it clear that she didn’t want me repeating my mother’s “mistakes.” I was supposed to be a good girl, in pearls and cardigans, no drinking, no smoking, no sex before marriage. Her beliefs still nip at my heels like her ancient, bad-tempered Chihuahua. Telling me every step I take away from being that perfect girl is one in the wrong direction.He shrugs. But as I try to slide past him, he gives up on the glitter and puts a hand on my arm. “Hey. Are you okay?” he asks. And then I remember my blotchy red face and the cursed garment bag I’m holding. His voice is genuine and warm. Concerned. And I hate it. Because who the hell gets concerned about the feelings of their exes, especially after how mean I was to him? He probably just sees me as a hysterical girl he needs to calm down. what i can actually talk about is the way jeremy threatened to tell the entire school lukas is autistic when he damn well knows lukas isn't ready for that yet. if you didn't know, i myself am autistic and i was in no way okay with this. not because i think being autistic is something someone should hide or be ashamed for, BUT it should always be your own choice to tell that. your choice to decide when, where, how, and even if. jeremy just crossed too many lines here and i would never forgive someone for even thinking of threatening with something like that... We get a man internet dating in a direct provision hostel, a country where the babies are all replaced by letters, a lesbian with a Muslim girlfriend going home to a Belfast family that is “more complicated than Peshawar”. Irish life is flown at from many angles. Something other

This book had been on my TBR since I first heard of it, so I’m glad that I mostly enjoyed it. It wasn’t without flaws, but I found that there were important conversations about what it’s like to be transgender in this book and the story as a whole was really entertaining. I also loved all the fun pop culture references throughout this book. Was there ever any worse advice than write what you know?” asked Kit de Waal last year. The self-described “middle-aged woman” who “visits Tesco and tends to her garden” writes about no such character in her work. Inhabiting “other lives”, exploring “the full range of our imagination and ability” are far more interesting and worthy. i did write a proper review of this a couple of months to update the jaded one below but i have no idea where it ended up and Maybe i will write another proper one someday but this book is 1 star for me and that is enough for now

When Joseph O’Connor edited, he poked at the idea a little. “If you’re Irish enough to qualify for the Republic of Ireland football team, under the one-grandparent rule, or to cheer for it, even ironically, when it’s playing against our friends in England, you’re eligible for a seat on the squad bus.” This work will shake you up a little. It will be like going to a “Foreign Movies No Subtitles group”, as two of Yan Ge’s characters do, or, as one of Lisa McInerney’s characters does, dating Gérard Depardieu without speaking any French. You might be expected to recalibrate your balance, to learn and relearn. Which is what’s great about it. You will gain something, if you hop aboard, look around; as the great American short story writer Lorrie Moore said, “see what can be done”. Niamh Donnelly Exiled to the Couch: Lukas finds out his parents' marriage is falling apart when he comes home late to find his dad sleeping on the couch. Why “ironically”, then? Well, by its name and history this anthology claims a certain sameness. Begun by the late David Marcus and subsequently guest edited by Joseph O’Connor, Kevin Barry, Deirdre Madden and now Lucy Caldwell, New Irish Short Stories has become something of an idée fixe in the Irish literary scene. Yet editors have always pushed against its definition. “New” didn’t necessarily mean young, nor did it mean best. “Short” was as short as a piece of string, and “story”, well, as Kevin Barry observed: “these writers are up to all sorts”. And then the zinger: “Irish”. That false determiner of “us”. What exactly was it getting at? stars. Don’t let the cover fool you: May the Best Man Win is a complicated and masterfully written queer YA masterpiece that contains just as much bite as it does romance. As a seasoned reader of YA starring teens of the LGBTQ+ community, upon seeing the cover of this book I thought I knew exactly what this story was going to be: another decently written, cute romance between two boys going from rivals to lovers with an equally adorable, illustrated pastel cover. I was completely wrong. This book did contain a swoonworthy m|m romance, but it is a story that is about so much more. Z.R. Ellor has written a multilayered narrative examining academic pressure, toxic masculinity, privilege, and the ways in which institutions of power uphold those with it at the expense of marginalized communities. Above all, he has written a story that centers queer teens and gives them the space to be messy and at times, downright unlikable.