Winger by Andrew Smith (2014)

Ryan Dean’s (yes, that’s his first name) life is not going according to plan. He’s 14 and starting his junior year, which means absolutely no one sees him as more than a little kid, including his best friend Annie, who he is hopelessly in love with. To make matters worse, he’s trapped around his peers 24/7, going to a prestigious boarding school right outside of Portland, Oregon (!!). After violating the key guidelines of his school last year, he is placed in Opportunity Hall, which is basically the place you avoid at all costs. Not only do they basically treat the students like 3-year-olds and have boarding rooms that resemble cages, only the most “out of control” students live there. So, in general, Ryan Dean already has a pretty good reason to dread the upcoming year, but that still doesn’t prepare him for what is coming up. But, then again, nothing could’ve prepared him for the beautiful and frightening catastrophe that happens next.

You know when you were little and you really liked Diary of A Wimpy Kid? Well, Winger  is basically a more sophisticated version of that. While that sounds like it would be really bad, it working out wonderfully. Ryan Dean had a hilarious voice, which translated into his many drawings, diagrams, and charts throughout his story. Also, can we talk about how this took place in Oregon?! Like seriously, how many book have you read that takes place in Oregon? I was also really impressed with how interesting the plot was. Going into this, I thought (and maybe you would to) that just hearing about a rich kid’s experience at boarding school would be really boring, but it really wasn’t. There was always something ridiculous going on in Ryan Dean’s life, whether it was conspiring against Opportunity Hall’s girls counselor (because he truly believed she was a witch), or sneaking out in the middle of the night to get Halloween costumes and pick up a crazy man on the way back. Still, above the hilarity and craziness of this book, my favorite aspect was how Andrew Smith managed to weave in major social issues into the plot. I never realized how important the little problems in Ryan Dean’s life were until the very end, when it was almost too late.

Telling a story that can resonate with anyone. Winger represents the life and death of our generation.

5 Stars