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A review by multenis
May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor
1.0
There have been books that have made me angrier due to their unlikable characters, and there have been books that have been written worse than this one, and yet... I can't even find a word to describe this book or how it made me feel. Disappointed? Furious?
What's a word one could use in a situation where a representation of themselves (hello, hi, an AFAB very much questioning their gender and struggling with body dysmorphia while also struggling to understand a recent development disability diagnosis) is vilified so much and without showing any redeeming qualities?
I wanted to cheer seeing characters that I could relate to. I wanted to feel seen and understood, and welcomed. And I would have, if not for the main characters being absolutely inhumane pieces of shit, and their friends somehow still supporting them to showcase wokeness.
It's utterly devastating to see a representation of your personal struggles laced with so much negativity. These are not flawed characters on their journey to rediscovering and bettering themselves, no. These are characters that start out bad and end up bad, somehow fucking everyone and everything up in their way, and still ending up with a happy ever after.
And now I have to go and have a long and hard discussion with myself to make sure I don't see myself in these characters, because I don't want to be as terrible as they are, and I don't want to hurt people like they did, and you better hope, Mr. Ellor, that my brain doesn't connect all these fears of being a horrible person with my disability and queerness, you better fucking hope...
What's a word one could use in a situation where a representation of themselves (hello, hi, an AFAB very much questioning their gender and struggling with body dysmorphia while also struggling to understand a recent development disability diagnosis) is vilified so much and without showing any redeeming qualities?
I wanted to cheer seeing characters that I could relate to. I wanted to feel seen and understood, and welcomed. And I would have, if not for the main characters being absolutely inhumane pieces of shit, and their friends somehow still supporting them to showcase wokeness.
It's utterly devastating to see a representation of your personal struggles laced with so much negativity. These are not flawed characters on their journey to rediscovering and bettering themselves, no. These are characters that start out bad and end up bad, somehow fucking everyone and everything up in their way, and still ending up with a happy ever after.
And now I have to go and have a long and hard discussion with myself to make sure I don't see myself in these characters, because I don't want to be as terrible as they are, and I don't want to hurt people like they did, and you better hope, Mr. Ellor, that my brain doesn't connect all these fears of being a horrible person with my disability and queerness, you better fucking hope...