Because I spent 10 days focused on knitting the “Kiss Me, Hardy” Pullover, I now have a giant stack of library books and a great dilemma. Which do I read first? Since I am mostly a logical person, I have sorted them by due date and Winger by Andrew Smith, rose to the top.
Ryan Dean West is a 14-year-old ruby-playing junior at a private school. He plays rugby and has bait of a potty mouth. We meet him at the beginning of the story, as two football players are attempting to dunk his head in a toilet. I’d heard a bit of a buzz about this book, so although it began with typical teenage boy dialogue and hijinx, I suspected it would be worth reading. Ryan Dean is really likable and I couldn’t put the book down. Andrew Smith lets us see into the mind of a teenage boy. What’s there is disgusting, funny and sensitive. Like all of us, Ryan Dean is trying to fit in and figure out the world, It is rare that I laugh out loud and cry at a book, but I did both with this one. By the end, all could say was “WOW”!
I don’t want to give too many details & spoil it, but you should read this one. It reminded me of Spud by John Van de Ruit,
which came out 5 or 6 years ago, and which left me feeling the same way. If you haven’t read that one, it is also worth your while.
booksandbassets 