A review by betweentheshelves
May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor

emotional tense 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

4.5

 Thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy of this to review! It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting, but not in a bad way! Just much heavier than I was expected. But there are a lot of great issues discussed in here, and it has a lot of other great things going for it!

Let’s start with the good things! This book has a great cast of diverse characters (even if the main characters aren’t the most likeable, more on that below). I especially liked Sol; they were a great foil to Jeremy and Lukas and often a voice of reason. Ellor also captured the elite high school feel, down to the homecoming competition and the feel of the book. It felt authentic and gave the characters a great backdrop.

Ellor also focused a lot on character growth, and man, did these characters have so much room to grow. Jeremy was very angry for most of the book, internalizing a lot of toxic masculinity traits that are sometimes hard to read. I do think he changed by the end of the book, even if he still has a long way to go. He’s still just a teenager! Lukas is also angry, though not as fiery as Jeremy. They both have hurt feelings that could definitely use therapy, and maybe they’ll get it in the future!

Now, the negatives. One of my main complaints is the pacing. A lot of parts felt dragged out, while the ending felt a bit rushed to me. Especially the reconciliation between Jeremy and Lukas. I specifically wanted that aspect of the plot to be…slower? It’s scrunched into the last quarter of the book and I wanted more of them working out their problems. With each other and their friends.

Also, I absolutely loathed the AP Bio teacher. She deliberately makes tests that students can’t pass and I hate teachers like that. Like, how is any student learning anything? And she was so unwilling to work with Lukas when he said he needed his laptop to take notes. Lukas is autistic, and even though he hadn’t really informed the school, she still should have been willing to work with him. That’s what teachers do.

I’m not sure that I can comment on the authenticity of the representation of Lukas’s autism, so I would seek out own voices reviews for that. But al in all, even if this wasn’t the rom-com I was expecting, this is a strong debut and I can’t wait to read more from ZR Ellor in the future. 
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That 100% wasn't what I was expecting based on the cover and the description. There is A LOT to unpack here, so stay tuned for a full review to come next week!
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