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A review by short_circuit
May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
i was so excited to read about a trans male main character and an autistic main character, being both of those things myself. unfortunately i was disappointed very quickly. the main characters are so, SO annoying. jeremy is overly dramatic and a terrible friend. lukas is far too fixated on jeremy's "betrayal" when he came out.
there is so much misgendering and ableism in this book; i was genuinely shocked by this. a few examples: one of the supporting characters makes a very lesbophobic remark. several characters say ableist things to lukas, the autistic character, including the r slur. WAY TOO MANY characters say or do transphobic things to jeremy, including lukas showing his pre-transition photos to people out of spite.WHAT THE FUCK. i can't even finish this review, i'm so angry again.
the one positive thing i can say is that, to my recollection, we never read jeremy's deadname. he's still deadnamed, because of fucking course he is, but the reader never sees it actually written.
2 stars, one for Sol and one for a good book cover. i dunno, maybe i'm just too old to be reading YA lit.
there is so much misgendering and ableism in this book; i was genuinely shocked by this. a few examples: one of the supporting characters makes a very lesbophobic remark. several characters say ableist things to lukas, the autistic character, including the r slur. WAY TOO MANY characters say or do transphobic things to jeremy, including lukas showing his pre-transition photos to people out of spite.WHAT THE FUCK. i can't even finish this review, i'm so angry again.
the one positive thing i can say is that, to my recollection, we never read jeremy's deadname. he's still deadnamed, because of fucking course he is, but the reader never sees it actually written.
2 stars, one for Sol and one for a good book cover. i dunno, maybe i'm just too old to be reading YA lit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, and Toxic friendship
the deadnaming is off-page or otherwise blocked out. if i remember correctly we never read jeremy's deadname.
the death also happens off-page: lukas' brother was killed prior to the events of the story. it is talked about in flashbacks.