Center for Teaching & Learning

In Winger by Andrew Smith, Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at Pine Mountain Academy, who has no trouble in class. This novel is about his complicated social life. He goes through love, betrayals, and much more, all while dealing with the corruption of his roommate, Chas Becker, who is constantly ruining his relationship with his crush, Annie Altman.

But those are not the only characters in Winger, there are more people like Chas on Ryan Dean’s rugby team that get him to try stuff like alcohol—one of them being Kevin—which makes Annie very angry with him. There are people like JP, who was his friend but betrayed him by inviting Annie to dances, parties, and more. And there are people like Megan who has a crush on Ryan Dean and tries to sabotage his relationship. Ryan Dean’s social life is all-out warfare.

But my personal favorite part of this book is how Smith developed a deep theme of the importance of Ryan Dean’s relationships, but at the same time, kept the novel light-hearted by adding humor wherever he could. For example, Ryan Dean says,

“I’m sorry for what I did, Chas. I apologize. A guy should never have to go through the kind of crap I did to you, I know you’re probably still going to kill me but at least I got that off my chest.”

Then I put out my hand for him, and he shook it.

“You have guts, winger. But I still hate you.”

Fair enough.

“I hate you to Chas,” I said, and smiled.

There are a lot of other hilarious parts in the book that are much more funny than this one, but they may not be appropriate for this book review. This is an ages 14+ book and is not for younger kids because of mature humor and themes.

With that out of the way, another conflict Smith included in his novel was to put Ryan Dean in a complicated setting and place. He lives in Opportunity Hall, or O-Hall for short, which is the place where the “Bad Kids” go. He got in there for stealing a teacher's phone, but the issue isn't that he is there, it’s that actual bad kids are there, like Chas and Kevin. So he is also facing the corruption of these kids’ attempts to further ruin his social life.

Overall, this book is great for a reader who would like to see drama from a boy’s eyes, or wants a deep theme but also to have a good laugh. This book is a ten out of ten, and there is a sequel, Stand Off which continues on to Ryan Dean’s senior year and is even funnier than the first. I hope you enjoy these two books!

Jackson

Simon & Schuster, 439 Pages