Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - May the Best Man Win

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May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor

21 reviews

paskendus's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I am very glad I went into this book knowing that both main characters are a bit annoying. I guess one can expect that from teenagers.
It was an interesting read in a way, especially seeing teenagers showing anger and even being spiteful as a self preservation technique, but my oh my how they did not communicate. With each other or the adults. And the adults were... passive at best, so all around people just trying to survive on assumptions.
The writing felt repetitive at times and overly dramatic for my taste. I also did not feel a lot while reading the book, I got what the author wanted me to feel, but I just didn't. Characters made correct, good conclusions after something happening but I just did not see how they got there, that may be on me and lack of investment. I also think it was preachy and very on the nose at times.
And honestly I did not like the ending after all the messy things that happened everyone should have gotten some therapy to work through at least some of their personal stuff before being all lovie dovie. Or I at least would have loved to see the resolving their problems more.

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darkmattersoybean's review

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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angietheace's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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longlost's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This. This sure was a book.

I really wanted to like this book. Autistic rep AND queer rep ?? All I want in life. Unfortunately I just could not vibe with the book or its characters.

Lukas and Jeremy's relationship was not enjoyable to read about during most points of the book. It came off as TOO mean-spirited so so often and I genuinely don't see why

they ended up getting back together.

Jeremy treated Lukas like shit, and while I understand that

Jeremy was hurt by Lukas's comment on the day they broke up he also uses it as an excuse to vilify Lukas when like. There is no reasonable way he could have known how to respond to Jeremy at that point. Also he KNOWS Lukas is autistic and therefore has trouble w/ social shit, and yet it never occurs to him to say "hey, I broke up with you because of that comment you made, not because you somehow did a bunch of things wrong in our three years of dating" which we see Lukas is worried about from the chapters in his POV.

Naomi and Sol were fun however. I liked them.

I DID enjoy the queer power message in this book, and while I didn't enjoy the shitty school system it also reflects reality unfortunately so. I wish I could have liked this book more because I'm 100% behind Jeremy's fight to change the Code so that the harassment he's facing is Actually Acknowledged but I couldn't stand the main plot of fighting over the Homecoming crown even if I could sympathize with both character's motivations. The actions they took against each other just felt too mean-spirited.

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reading_ray's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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alyxinthestars's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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lish_reads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

“I need to be bigger than my anger, but I’m only five foot two.”

This book is messy, imperfect, complicated, and important.

Jeremy Harkiss, cheer captain and student body president, publicly announced his transition before the school year started and wants to take his senior year by storm, school administration and transphobic bullies be damned. Lukas Rivers, Jeremey’s ex, wants to be crowned Homecoming King, get accepted to an Ivy League, and heal the rift his older brother’s death left in his family.

As the two go head-to-head competing for their prestigious private school’s Homecoming Court, tempers flare, and our two main characters and their friends are, well, teenagers, grappling for a place in a world that expects something specific of each and every one of them, no matter their own desires or opinions on the matter. Jeremy, Lukas, their friends, rivals, and enemies, are all figuring out how to be themselves in the wake of what society, their school, and their families expect of them, and at times these expectations are suffocating. The ways these characters choose to fight back against injustice (actual or perceived) aren’t always the best choices available to them, but each choice is authentically made by the character in question. This book is not a cute rom-com, despite the effervescent cover and synopsis, though I was rooting for Jeremy and Lukas’s possible reconciliation, even when I wanted to sit them down and shake some sense into them both, older-sister style.

In addition to their battle for a Homecoming crown, Jeremy struggles transphobia amongst his peers and the adults in his life, as well as with his masculinity and what American society dictates as acceptable forms of masculinity. Lukas, secretly living with an autism diagnosis he’s only ever told Jeremy about, struggles to pass his AP Bio class in the face of an ableist teacher, and the student body struggles with a Cresswell administration that cares more for appearances of progressiveness than actual change. There’s a lot of social commentary packed into this book, and some of it is handled better than the rest. But I think Ellor’s main goal — to show that trans characters don’t have to be perfect paragons of virtue, but can be real and imperfect and flawed — was met. I felt for Jeremy in every single sentence, even when he was being an asshole and hurting people he was supposed to care about, and especially when he knew he was making a bad choice and just didn’t know how to make a better one. These characters are only 14-18 and all very privileged, struggling with gaining real-life experience and dealing with the consequences of their actions for possibly the first times in their lives — they’re going to make a wrong decision sometimes, and even experience whole seasons of their lives defined by their bad choices.

I do wish there was a little more resolution in the end — some of the plot points were wrapped up quickly and without the attention I thought they deserved, and I thought a few characters got off a little too easily for my taste — but I enjoyed the place we leave both Jeremy and Lukas.

All in all, I think MAY THE BEST MAN WIN is a strong debut in the queer contemporary YA genre. If you get the chance, give the audiobook a try — narrator Avi Roque brought distinct voices and layers of personality to each and every character, making the audiobook a joy to listen to.

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c95newman's review

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Jeremy is head cheerleader, student body president, and a recently out trans man. His ex boyfriend Lukas is captain of the football team and homecoming committee chairman. After a summer of changes and new challenges they both want to prove their worth by becoming homecoming king. The race for homecoming king starts an explosive rivalry and chaos ensues.

I loved this book. In the beginning both Jeremy and Lukas are self destructive assholes. But all their self destructive tendencies come from a place of fear, of loneliness, and of insecurity. They feel so real, human, and authenticly teenaged.

Representation is really important and this book thrived in that area. There were aisian characters, nuerodivergent characters, and non binary characters. And lots of characters go on journeys of accepting themselves or someone else in a way that feels natural.

The big themes of the book was masculinity and what it means to be a man, and found family. The discussions around Jeremy and his struggles with toxic masculinity really resonated with my fears as a trans man. And the found family dynamics are so key to any queer story.

And outside of it being exciting to read a trans story, this story was just so captivating! Its a drama filled with missed connections, high school angst and passionate moments. Its everything you could ever want from a drama.

I think that May the best Man Win was everything I wanted from a transmasc drama. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good redemption arc, anyone who is trans, and anyone who loves a trans person in any capacity. 5/5 stars.

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seawarrior's review

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challenging emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

To begin with, this book isn't a fluffy romantic comedy. If that's the type of story you're set on reading you may not be able to appreciate it. This was a difficult book to read at times, yet as a trans autistic man, I felt like I saw myself in both Jeremy and Lukas' perspectives and experiences.

Both boys could be horrible throughout the story. I spent most of it angry with Jeremy in particular. However, I did see my own angry, terrified, newly transitioning teenage self reflected in his rage and self destructive views. Anger is a key theme throughout the book; Jeremy takes it out on others, while Lukas turns it against himself.

It's not exactly rewarding to see the ugliest parts of transitioning into a boy transcribed into words, but I do feel it's important. It's rare to find stories that tackle the grief and the rage that trying to find yourself again as a self-made man can inspire. Walking the line between rejecting toxic masculinity from your personhood and protecting yourself from the wrath those who embrace it feel towards you can feel like an everlosing war, especially when trapped in environments with hateful men who are never held accountable. At the same time, we risk losing formerly close relationships with cisgender women who struggle to understand us as both a male and as someone who's experienced similar gender-based violence all our lives. Finding community again in these circumstances can be rough, but it is possible once we learn to let our anger evaporate and trust that our loved ones will protect us once we part with the armor that rage provides. I feel relieved to find a story that embraces these difficult issues as a part of it while still reminding the reader that our lives aren't as hopeless as they can sometimes feel.

I was also excited to find out that Lukas was autistic. His own struggles with wanting to control how people viewed him felt really relatable to me too. Yet I didn't feel he was able to have his tangled emotions and self-hatred resolved as much as Jeremy did, which was disappointing.

It would have been nice to see him find community with more neurodivergent people the way Jeremy eventually did with other queer students.

I wouldn't have minded reading a much longer book for this to have happened. I really loved Lukas and following his journey of self discovery.

Overall, this story was one I really loved. It presents itself less as puzzle piece that fits exactly in place to validate the reader and more like a series of ever-shifting mechanisms that shy away from snapping together so simply. I don't think that's necessarily a flaw. These characters hold a lot of meaning for me and I expect them to stick with me for a long time. If their author ever wants to continue their story, I would be delighted to re-enter their world.

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nickoliver's review

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challenging emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I kinda need to sit with this for a while. I can understand why people didn't like it, because the characters say and do very frustrating things. But I also kind of understood why they acted the way they did? Idk, a bit conflicted. It's probably somewhere between a 3 and 4 stars for me.

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