It’s his last year at Pine Mountain, and Ryan Dean should be focused on his future, but instead, he’s haunted by his past. His rugby coach expects him to fill the roles once played by his lost friend, Joey, as the rugby team’s stand-off and new captain. And somehow he’s stuck rooming with twelve-year-old freshman Sam Abernathy, a cooking whiz with extreme claustrophobia and a serious crush on Annie Altman—aka Ryan Dean’s girlfriend, for now, anyway.
Genre:
Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages:
416 pages
Part of a Series?:
2nd book in the Winger series
Release Date:
September 8th, 2015
You Can Find the Book At:
GoodReads Summary:
Ryan Dean West is back to his boarding school antics in this bitingly funny sequel to Winger, which Publishers Weekly called “alternately hilarious and painful, awkward and enlightening” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
It’s his last year at Pine Mountain, and Ryan Dean should be focused on his future, but instead, he’s haunted by his past. His rugby coach expects him to fill the roles once played by his lost friend, Joey, as the rugby team’s stand-off and new captain. And somehow he’s stuck rooming with twelve-year-old freshman Sam Abernathy, a cooking whiz with extreme claustrophobia and a serious crush on Annie Altman—aka Ryan Dean’s girlfriend, for now, anyway.
Equally distressing, Ryan Dean’s doodles and drawings don’t offer the relief they used to. He’s convinced N.A.T.E. (the Next Accidental Terrible Experience) is lurking around every corner—and then he runs into Joey’s younger brother Nico, who makes Ryan Dean feel paranoid that he’s avoiding him. Will Ryan Dean ever regain his sanity?
My Review:
I can’t believe that it has taken me so long to review this novel! I literally picked this up ON release day and READ it on that day and I still haven’t reviewed it. So much disappointment in myself right now.
But I’m here now! Reviewing. Talking. Doing my thing. You know, the whole point of this blog haha.
Straight up…Andrew Smith writes another amazing novel. Seriously. I spent so much of this book just laughing my ass off. The character Ryan Dean…he’s just amazing. I love everything about him because he seems SO damn real. Sometimes I forget that he’s not real. The way he narrates the story, and tells you what is going on in his life feels like a text message from your best friend and you alternately want to laugh and also punch in the face at the same.
I love that we see some of the same people from the previous book like Annie and those guys but I also absolutely love the new ones we meet too. Even the smaller ones from the last book that become more important, more prominent were great too. Sam Abernathy? I can’t…I can’t even begin to explain how much I absolutely adore him and how much it made me laugh when Sam drove Ryan Dean insane.
But I also love how Andrew Smith is able to write such a great, amazing, funny book about something so serious. Ryan Dean is going through some serious stuff in this book. Dealing with Joey’s death from the previous book and taking his place on the rugby team, and being afraid of losing his friends, of not being able to talk to Joey’s brother, of losing Annie, all of that..it felt so real and raw and while you’re laughing, you’re also incredibly emotional as hell and the fact that Andrew can do that, just blows my mind. There’s also the fact that Andrew writes panic attacks so well…when Ryan Dean wakes up, paralyzed in bed, having a hard time breathing…it hurt. As someone who struggles with that, its a visceral feeling to read a scene written so well like that.
Straight up, another amazing book by Andrew Smith. I could go on and on and I’m, like, the unofficial president of the unofficial Andrew Smith fan club and I love everything he does and Winger is one of my favorite books ever, and I was very excited for this book and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest.
Plus Andrew said that we are getting more books, with Sam Abernathy, so I’m just stoked on life ;)
Rating:
5 out of 5 Stars
