Staff Pick: Winger

A teen at boarding school grapples with life, love, and rugby in a heartbreakingly funny novel. Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.

With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like things have fallen apart.

Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking. I decided to pick up this book because none of my librarian or bookish friends would shut up about how much they loved it.  Luckily, they were right, and I found one of my favorite protagonists I've ever read about.

Ryan Dean West is trying to survive boarding school - sometimes he's crude, sometimes he's sweet, and other times his choices are laugh out loud absurd.  As I was reading, there were definitely moments where I was reminded of my time in college.  Because this is Andrew Smith, Winger is also filled with tight, well-written prose and an ending that will make a lot of readers cry.  Immediately after finishing this story, I wanted to pick up everything else Smith has ever written.

If you'd like to check out Winger, you can place a hold on it in our online catalog with your library card number and PIN by clicking here.

-Liz