A hopeful and insightful novel that shows the true depth of emotions within characters and the hope they can feel amidst their struggle.

Link to review: https://readingtoescapepre.wixsite.com/website-2/post/may-the-best-man-win

Unfortunately, I had a difficult time reading this book. I wasn't able to enjoy the story much due to almost always feeling frustrated and irritated with the actions of all the characters in the books. If the characters were less reckless and more willing to Thank you to Morgan Rath and MacMillan for sending me the Netgalley ebook link to review.

Disclaimer: All thoughts and options are my own. I am not a transgender or autistic reviewer. Please seek out reviews from those that are for more accurate thoughts on the representation.

TW + CW: Sibling death, external and internal ableism, misgendering, deadnaming and transphobia, homophobia, bullying, racism, broken bones, sexual assault and harassment, discussion of abusive parents in divorce, underage drinking, cheating on significant others, cheating on assignments, multiple physical assaults, blackmailing, stealing, death of a family member, arson, toxic relationships, grief, parental neglect
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Unfortunately, I found it difficult to enjoy this book to its full extent and found the main reason for this is the characters. This is an example of a book not being very strong due to the disappointing development of the characters.

First, there was Jeremy. Jeremy is the transgender character that is going through their transition and the reactions of the people around them. Understandably so, many of those reactions are negative or still unsure how they feel about the situation because they have yet to fully adjust. However, I felt that some of the actions were little over the top. Jeremy was very closed off to both the reader and the other characters. I found it difficult to really care for him or believe any of the reasoning behind their actions because they never gave anyone else a reason to. They were always upset for others not wanting them, believing them, or seeing them as a man and yet they never really gave each person the chance (equal) to do so. I understand that going through a transition you’ll want people to recognize you as you are, but I feel like the understanding should also comes from Jeremy, that for some people it will take a little bit more time to adjust even if it’s from the people closest to you.

The next character we have is Lucas. Lucas is a difficult character for me to talk about because I felt like he was the character that I was most confused on. Lucas goes through somewhat of a transition of being angry from this break up to realizing that maybe they are still have feelings for Jeremy and maybe they’re not the most straight. While that may seem like a great plot line for a character, I felt the way that this was executed did not go very well especially since a lot of interactions between Jeremy and Lukas were revengeful in nature. Instead, it felt more like bad blood between exes fueling them to compete against each other. The realization that they still love each other felt a little late into the book and was hard to believe after what they’ve done to each other.

Then we have the side characters. The side characters really just side characters. I thought majority of the side characters were there just to have extra plot devices or to help prop up with the main characters. Naomi and Sol (Latinx nonbinary) are perfect examples of this because they weren’t in the book unless they were needed for something involving Jeremy or Lukas. They also often used to say the things that were supposedly happening between Jeremy and Lucas, instead of it being shown that these were happening between Jeremy and Lucas. For example, in one paragraph Naomi states that she sees how in love they are and how they stare at each other. I felt like I did not see that from the characters it was more “ugh Lukas/Jeremy is in presence.” There were also quite a few characters that had a toxic relationship with the main character making their friendship hard to believe.

Some of the characters felt like they were added just for the author to include some diversity. For example, there was both an Asian girl and a Latinx person but neither of them had any representation or anything else other than that physical description. This also happened with one of the characters that is autistic (Lukas). There was a lack of representation about autism. Again, it felt more told to you rather than shown and there wasn’t very much progress or anything that showed that the character has grown with it. For example, they were struggling in school and were unable to use their preferred notetaking method. I expected to see something happen with that like maybe more push back or a change in school policy for disabled students. Instead, the issue was mentioned a few times and then forgotten about. I was hoping the addition of all these representations would mean that I would get to read and learn about these characters but instead I was just told that they exist and never heard about them again.

A few of the characters were introduced at certain points of the story and then we’re gone as soon as they were not needed. Some of the plot lines dropped off at some points and felt forgotten about.

Overall, this book is very character driven but all of the characters were unfortunately disappointing or lacking in some way.

Oh this book was so good! I honestly thought it was going to be complicated to follow along, but it wasn’t. There’s Lukas, a popular boy and football player. He is dealing with his brother’s death and the breakup with his girlfriend. Jeremy is the cheer captain and former girlfriend of Lukas, who has come out as transgender. Both are dealing with their own issues and both want to be homecoming king. This was a really good and important read. Even with a heavy subject matter, the writer did a good job making this a fun and light read. I really enjoyed both Lukas and Jeremy and I loved how these two boys ended up finding their way back to each other.

This is a really hard book for me to review. I read this over a month ago and it has taken me this long to even scratch the surface of what I want to say. I'll start by saying that while I did enjoy this book, I definitely didn't like it quite as much as I expected to and I think that falls on the way this book was marketed. It was marketed as a queer, fun, second-chance, enemies-to-lovers romance, and while it does have some of those elements, it is MUCH heavier of a story than I went in expecting. This book deals very, very heavily with transphobia and the way our main character Jeremy responds to the transphobia he faces. I think that if I had gone into this knowing that it had a heavier tone than the synopsis and cover would suggest, I wouldn't have been quite as thrown off by the way everything went down. With all that being said, I think if you adjust your expectations, this could be a book that you will really love. I personally listened to it on audio and thought the narration was fantastic, so if you are interested in this one, I recommend heeding the list of content warnings and going the audio route.

CW: transphobia (including misgendering + deadnaming), homophobia, death of a loved one, bullying, ableism, use of r-slur, sexual and physical assault

4.5 out of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed May the Best Many Win by ZR Ellor. Going into this story, I was jaded by one of my last trans YA reads and had checked my expectations at the door. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Jeremy, flaws and all. He isn't a perfectly moral character, by any stretch of the imagination, and I appreciated his self-reflections of the flaws he acknowledges. He felt like an authentic teenager with typical teenager drama paired with the unique challenges of being trans.

Another unexpected aspect was that the main plot of the story isn't romance. Sure, there is a love interest or two, and some back history between Jeremy and his ex that made for extra drama and tension. However, the majority of the story focused on Jeremy, his transition, and the reactions of family, friends, schoolmates, and random people he happened to come into contact with. There are some surprising, maybe even shocking, responses that realistically put into perspective the challenges transpeople face everyday. Jeremey finds he can't assume everyone understands or accepts his authentic self.

Jeremy is brash at times, unapologetically asserting his gender and pronouns when--intentionally or not, maliciously or not--someone misgenders him. He is also selfish and self-absorbed in the ways you'd expect from a high school senior whose goals are the center of his world.

I enjoyed the diverse cast of characters that fleshed out the story. I think such diversity is important for YA books, to show young people that straight, cis, and white aren't the ultimate traits.

***Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.***

I love this one!! Jeremy and Lukas were both really great characters who were both so complex and had a lot going on their lives. Honestly, this book and the characters actions had me stressed like 95% of the book because I knew that things would go badly but I was so interested in what they were doing and why they did it. I loved watching both Jeremy and Lukas really find who they wanted to be. This book is a really great coming of age story with really great representation. Jeremy, Lukas, and all of their friends were so fun and made this book event better.

Really well written ya romcom that also deals with a trans teen, as well as one with autism. The characters didn’t always make the best decisions, but it made them feel like realistic teenagers and I really found myself rooting for them.

My only dislike in this book was that there were so many plot threads and some of them didn’t get resolved, for instance the teacher who was very strict in her class, that plot point dropped off. It was a good way of illustrating Lucas’ struggle with autism, but it felt unresolved.

All in all, really enjoyed the book and looking forward to what Ellor does next

I was honestly hoping for something more fun because, at the end of the day, Jeremy is just a jerk and doesn't redeem himself. I can get over an unlikeable character if they end up acknowledging their awful actions. That doesn't happen here and it just sours the entire book.

An amazing story about love and how it changes and forms over time. Also really loved the discussions and representation that happened in this book.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

It was a huge struggle to like Jeremy’s character practically throughout the entire book. He was really self-centered and oblivious. He even acknowledges at one point about how he knows he isn’t a fair person. He doesn’t think about how his friends feel about the stuff they are dealing with bc he’s so focused on himself. He also abuses his relationships to obtain what he wants-like using the queer support group. I was a little worried when he mentioned having a knife hidden to protect himself against another student. Not the kind of message to send to teens struggling with transitions and bullies in today’s society. My heart constantly followed Lukas. I really wanted the best for him throughout.

Other than that it’s a really cute story.

“What cis people don’t get is that it’s not the wrong clothes, the wrong name, the wrong pronoun. It’s the strangling feeling, like you’ve been buried alive and struggling to breathe, like you don’t exist. That the most important part of you is invisible and thus, unreal. If people don’t see me as a boy, then they don’t see me at all.”

MAY THE BEST MAN WIN is a messy, intense, and heart-filled exes-to-rivals-to-lovers queer romance about figuring out who you are and fighting for what you deserve. Jeremy and Lukas, who broke up last summer, are both determined to win Homecoming King for different reasons: Jeremy to externally affirm his identity as a trans guy and Lukas to succeed in the wake of his high-achieving brother’s death. As the competition gets more intense, they both have to decide how far they’ll go to win - and what they’re willing to risk for love.

I think the best way to describe it is to focus on the characters, my favorite aspect of the book. Jeremy is portrayed with such nuance: passionate, ambitious, selfish, empathetic, hot-headed, vulnerable. Sometimes when the weight of dysphoria and rejection and transphobia and fear are coming down too hard, he lashes out. Because of how he’s been treated in the past, he pushes people away by alienating them, preemptively making others dislike him for his actions, instead of facing the horrifying rejection and hurt from his closest family and friends not accepting, understanding, or seeing him. “Anger is safe. Maybe it’s the last refuge anyone should escape to, but it’s a refuge all the same.”

I loved this representation because it wrestles with what it’s like to deal with unending fuckery that’s outside of your control and figure out how to cope the best you can, and also work to be a better person even when it’s hard to get past everything you’re dealing with. Jeremy is also wrestling with the intersection of cissexim and our society’s rigid gender binary: he wants to be perceived as the guy that he is and also wanting to be the flashy and glittering gay boy that he is (without being labeled “girly”). He’s trans, and gay, and that’s big part of his experience and the novel; and he’s also like any teen coming into their identity, and what it means to be loved when you don’t always love yourself. I’ve read a lot of reviews that describe him as unlikeable, and that’s missing the point entirely. Ellor has gifted us with a complex character who feels deep down that he is unlikeable - “The real me isn’t safe for liking” - and his journey is to learn how to love himself, against a world that won’t.

A few other thoughts:
- Lukas is also a fantastic character. He’s dealing with the loss of his brother, trying to hold his family together by pushing himself to meet exacting standards, processing his breakup with Jeremy, and figuring out his sexuality in the wake of Jeremy’s transition and his continued feelings for him. Lukas is autistic and it’s a big part of his experience - from figuring out how to ask for accommodations he needs in class to the extra effort he sometimes has to put in to understand certain social cues and convey what he means to others.
- The exes to rivals to lovers romance is a strong thread throughout the novel; I love a romance between characters with a history together, and it makes it even more meaningful that it’s woven with significant character development for both Jeremy and Lukas.
- At times this book felt chaotic to me. I think some of that is just the rapid ups-and-downs of high school when you’re dealing with everything that these characters are dealing with, and some of it felt like jumpy plotting and decisions/feelings that weren’t well motivated in the text. Also, sometimes the tone switches quickly from very serious to humorous in a way that didn’t always land for me.
- Other positive rep: side nonbinary, asexual, polyamorous, sapphic, and other achillean characters.

A couple of other quotes I loved:
- “Queer identities aren’t binary states. There’s no such thing as “imposter queers” because there’s no one right way to be queer.”
- “Gender is stupid. It’s like one of those dystopian novels where everyone’s assigned to a group at birth and you just have to accept that? Like, how bizarre is that from the outside?”

Content warnings: transphobia, dead naming, misgendering, homophobia, bullying, physical violence, gender dysphoria, death of a family member, ableism, attempted sexual assault, domestic violence, suicidal ideation

I think this book could've been an amazing 5stars if there was less juvenile behavior. Jeremy for me was just not enough to keep me interested. I loved the world and even the side characters. Overall I think a lot of people will thoroughly enjoy this story and find it easy to connect with.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 so I'm very disappointed. The cover, the summary, everything about this sounded amazing. Angry gays? Rivals to lovers? Second chance romance? AND a trans main character? I wanted to love this so much but I just couldn't.

I had many problems with this book but first off, the characters. Specifically the main ones. As a transmat (and non-binary) person I was really excited to meet 𝗝𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘀, our main character. He's definitely my least favorite mc that I've read about in a while. Most of what happens with Jeremy throughout the book is just him messing up his relationships. He has huge anger issues which never get better throughout the novel. Jeremy definitely has a right to be selfish but there's definitely so much development that he should've gotten.

There is an autistic rep in this book which I was excited about but it was very poorly executed. Lukas faces systemic inequalities in his classes and I hated the fact that nothing happened about it. There really wasn't much purpose for it there if it wasn't going to be fleshed out properly.

Jeremy and Lukas were both very unenjoyable characters. They both had good personality traits but the bad definitely overweighted them. Their friends are constantly mistreated and it was so frustrating. It was tiring to see them just give out a simple apology and suddenly everything was fixed. The friends honestly deserved better.

Sol was probably my favorite character which probably says something since they were just a side character mainly used to advance Jeremy and Lukas' development. They are a nonbinary latinx person, (like me) so that probably helps. I would've loved to hear more about them. While we're on the topic of characters that deserved better we should probably talk about Naomi as well. She's an Asian girl that barely got any "screen" time. She, sadly, was also used as a way to develop Lukas and Jeremy more.

Overall I wouldn't recommend this book. I had to push myself to even try and finish it in the first place.

Lastly please note that this book isn't a rom-com.

CW: Homophobia, transphobia, misgendering, deadname use (off-page) ableism, bullying, assault, sexual harassment, use of the f and r slur, and death of a family member.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

The book could have been really better only if

• Jeremy was less selfish and self-centered, again being trans does not gives you right to be mean to your friends, and he was exactly that.
• the side characters had a bit more depth then just pushing the story for the main leads.
• uneven pace of the book, at sometimes it was fast and sometimes it was dragging, which really did kill the momentum of reading.
• Jeremy was not a character to look forward to but talking about Lukas, he was also not a very interesting character, not a character you'll root for.

I received a copy in exchange for a guest post with the author on my blog. Thank you to Turn the Page Tours, and Macmillan Childrens Publishing Group!

First of all, my biggest hugs to the main characters of this book – Jeremy and Lukas. They have been through so much I just don’t know what to say. There was something about this book which connected with me so much, in so many different ways – it was kind of those dramas which are so bloody messy and emotional and it feels like everything is wrong but after finishing it, it is healing.

There are a lot of trigger warnings to this book and I will mention them below. It is important to take an account of them before you start reading the book because honestly it might be really heart wrenching in a few places. I would like to start with talking about the plot – and oh boy, it was just really amazing. I really liked how well the writing style blended with the plot and characters. Jeremy is trying so damn hard to represent himself in the best way he can and while the recognition of his true self and identity is so very pleasing, the constant struggle, transphobia and toxic masculinity he has to put up with to make sure everyone believes he is a boy was something I could partially relate too. I haven’t been that vocal about my gender identity yet because I don’t know whether people will accept me, and whether I will have to conduct myself in a certain way so as to make people realize and known about my gender and sexual identity. It is a struggle when people have to try to fit in the stereotypical mindset that people have with gender. And what ached me the most was the transphobia he faced from his mother because he did not deserve any of it.

And I don’t even know what to say about Lukas – I really don’t know what to say about him. He took up so many things, put in so many efforts to prove he wasn’t a failure to those people who did not realize the potential and fire he had in him. It sickens me how mental illness, and especially autism, are seen as a defect which needs to be fixed. And if one cannot fix it, the person with autism is ‘assumed’ to be a good for nothing. Not to mention how he was struggling with his brother’s death and trying to sort out his feelings.

To come back to the plot from where I started earlier, let me tell you this one thing. The book doesn’t fit in the typical trope and workings of a rom-com. Damn me if that was true. This book was brutal, mainly because it pained me to see how the two of them were constantly hurting each other in the beginning like their life dependent on it. It was filled with anger, pain, hurt and angst on so many levels – at times I honestly wanted to dive into the universe and shake their heads and scream to stop sabotaging each other like this. But, the book did have a second chance romance for which I was kind of glad but at the same time worried. Glad because the two of them sorted out their feelings and became honest to themselves and worried because I was trying to process whether this would turn to be a toxic relationship or not. But from what I could see of the past and the present, it was meant to be.

Another thing about this book was the constant mention of the cut throat competition of getting into the ‘Ivy Leagues’ college or frankly any well reputed college to prove your worth. And oh boy, it struck home on so many different levels – I was trying not to pay attention to it. But it pains me to think we still aren’t over this assumption and the book very well represented that. All in all, I really liked this book and ommmmmmgggggg! I just wanna squish Jeremy and Lukas in a tight hug <3.

*Trigger Warnings: Ableism, Transphobia, Misgendering, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Bullying, Death of sibling, Racism, Abusive Parents, Divorce, internal Ableism, References to sexual assault/harassment, infidelity, physical assault.

This is not a romcom, this is an intense story about trauma and oppression and the pressures of being in high school especially as a marginalized teenager who feels like they have to prove themselves due to their identity. I thought the autistic rep was great and realistic and Jeremy’s need to prove himself also made sense to me. I really thought these were authentic, messy teenagers and I think if you are going into this looking for a fluffy, romcom story that is not what this is.

Jeremy is a transgender, gay teen who just transitioned the summer between junior and senior year. Right before he confessed his truth to his mom, he had a very public breakup with his long-term boyfriend, Lukas. Now, to prove his masculinity, Jeremy is taking on the task of becoming home coming king. Of course, this means facing off with Lukas, who has his own reasons for becoming homecoming king.

I liked this book, lots of heavy moments and eye opening scenes. There was representation involving the LGBTQIA+ community and autism. It had moments of humour, but also moments of intense pain and sadness.

Jeremy's character jumped off the page, continuously trying to assert himself, to prove himself, to be what he believes a boy needs to be, often times at expense of his own happiness. His fear of being deadnamed, misgendered, his body dysphoria, makes him avoid the things he loves that society deems to be for girls. His identity is weaponized against him and his school does little to protect him from bullying. You could feel his rage, especially through the audiobook. It was easy to understand why he pushed others away, and his inability to love himself because of his dysphoria means he feels no one else can love him.

Lukas was such a sweet, troubled character. He has been made to feel ashamed of his autism and tries his hardest to hide it from everyone (except for Jeremy); he feels this way because his parents always preferred his "perfect" older brother, who bullied Lukas, and who recently died. Jeremy broke up with Lukas at the funeral, and since that day Lukas has been slowly falling apart. He feels he needs to be perfect in order to heal the rift in his family, which is affecting his health and his mental health. So many times I wanted to slap the adults in his vicinity who did nothing to help him. His parents were awful, yes they had lost a son, but they were completely ignoring their other son, who is clearly suffering and at his breaking point.

This is another one of those novels where a lot of things could have been avoided if the two mains communicated with each other. There was also a bit of repetition, which I found distracting. I would also love one young adult book where there could be at least one adult who notices and tries to help, or where parents aren't completely inept. I understand that there are a lot of bad parents, but what about the good ones? Where are they?

An interesting, deep, emotional story written in dual perspective (my favourite). Being in both characters heads created empathy for both Jeremy and Lukas. Their chemistry was intense and their relationship was so supportive and beautiful. I liked that Lukas understood Jeremy, even after everything between them had imploded. Jeremy tries to distance himself from Lukas, but he cannot seem to break their tether and notices when Lukas is floundering.

Was not able to read before the publish date, my library has purchased several copies of this book and it seems to be doing well.

This book tells the story of Jeremy, the student body president and cheer captain at a private school, who comes out as a trans boy shortly before the start of his senior year. Wanting to make the most of his senior year, Jeremy mounts a campaign for Homecoming King against the football team's start player and chair of the Homecoming Committee, Lukas, who happens to be his ex-boyfriend. As Jeremy and Lukas each pursue the Homecoming crown with single-minded focus, the race turns increasingly nasty, with their friends, their school works, their future, and even the dance itself as collateral damage.

I thought this was an engaging story -- taking some familiar tropes and both following them and turning them on their head at different points. The main characters are complex and not always easy to root for, but that made the story feel realistic and ultimately more interesting.

Recommended!