May the Best Man Win

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There is 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. On top of that, this book has a great, diverse cast of secondary characters, some absolutely mischievous shenanigans and authentic and relatable autism representation. Sara and Felix concoct a scheme to convince Olivia to fall in love with Jasper Dale instead of the wealthy Edwin Clark. Since my freshman year, I’ve watched glittering seniors in formal wear sweep onto the football field during the Homecoming halftime, crowned by Principal Meehan as the crowd cheered them on. I’ve dreamed of ascending that same stage in glory, on my boyfriend’s arm, all of Cresswell chanting my name. Only now it’s the king’s crown I’m after—and it still hovers before me, bright and shiny as a spotlight. Hetty continues to express her controlling nature over Olivia and her distaste for the socially awkward Jasper Dale. In one scene, Hetty proclaims, "all this photographic prancing around. It will be your undoing Olivia, believe me. Jasper's photographs complement Olivia's articles nicely as they continue their partnership at the Chronicle.

There I go, talking in the past tense. So let’s pretend for a second that we’ll see new episodes of FNL one day and look at what’s going on in this one: Why “ironically”, then? Well, by its name and history this anthology claims a certain sameness. Begun by the late David Marcus and subsequently guest edited by Joseph O’Connor, Kevin Barry, Deirdre Madden and now Lucy Caldwell, New Irish Short Stories has become something of an idée fixe in the Irish literary scene. Yet editors have always pushed against its definition. “New” didn’t necessarily mean young, nor did it mean best. “Short” was as short as a piece of string, and “story”, well, as Kevin Barry observed: “these writers are up to all sorts”. And then the zinger: “Irish”. That false determiner of “us”. What exactly was it getting at? A trans boy enters a throw-down battle for the title of Homecoming King with the boy he dumped last summer in ZR Ellor’s contemporary YA debut. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the 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. Hence the tongue waggling and headstands. I’m going to draw attention no matter what. I’d rather my fellow classmates see me as a class clown and glory hog than just “a guy who switched genders senior year.”when i started reading this book, i noticed it switches from very light-hearted to very, very dark in a matter of seconds. in example, at some point there's a pretty serious conversation and then there's a comparison with a chihuahua. normally this doesn't really bother me, but with this book the balance between light/dark just felt...off. When these boys take things too far and have to face the lingering butterflies they can't deny AND with the dance being canceled. While they finally face their hurt and emotions? Or will everything burn? Exiled to the Couch: Lukas finds out his parents' marriage is falling apart when he comes home late to find his dad sleeping on the couch. The Unfavorite: When Lukas was in elementary and middle school, his family lavished praise on Jason, who was popular and well-behaved and got good grades. Lukas was the problem child who acted out in school and was bullied by classmates. Even now that Lukas is a popular football player, his family still sees him as inferior. He thinks that if he'd died instead of Jason, everyone would have already moved on. This is my first time seeing a feminine trans boy in a book, and I relate so much of his inner struggle with that. The fear of people doubting who he is and using his femininity against him. And his mom, seeing his feminine parts as signs of detransitioning,,,, ow,,, that was too relatable. This is something I’m still working to overcome, just a few days ago I was told I needed to take off my nail polish to be taken seriously. And now Im working up to wearing skirts out and piercing my ears. Neither Jeremy’s, nor mines, gayness and femininity negates our maleness.

Yeah, Jeremy, aren’t you supposed to be cheer captain?” Debbie says, fluttering her lashes and pulling out her own set of pearls. “We agreed we’d all wear pink today.”

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It’s books like these that make me so incredibly thankful for the #ReadWithPride series because I kind of want to stand on a skyscraper somewhere and throw copies of this book at people down below, urging them to read it (or be pummelled by it which, incidentally, was what happened to my feelings while reading this). Really, May the Best Man Win was nothing like what I expected and dare I say, I might even love it more because of that fact. From the cover and synopsis, you’d think this is a fun queer rom-com about ex-lovers who find themselves fighting for the same homecoming king crown after one of them transitions over the summer. And it is that, but it’s also so much more. Umm why are all my most anticipated reads disappointments this year? 2021 is by far the most disappointing year in terms of new releases, arcs, and just finding a good book in general. TW: Transphobia, dead naming, misogyny, bullying, attempted sexual assault, harassment, violence, homophobia, ableism This is a book I can tell is gonna be divisive. Because Jeremy is such an unlikable character. Which is why he’s the trans character we need. Jeremy reminds me so much of me in high school, and so many other trans teens I’ve met. He’s angry, selfish, and dramatic. He struggles heavily with internalized transphobia and toxic masculinity. Hes so raw and realistic, and his struggles reflect how life often is for trans teens. He’s scared and vulnerable, and often takes that out on the people around him. When I came out I lashed out, I was selfish, I ruined all my relationships. Coming out is often traumatic and for teens going through that, it leaves them angry and scared. Jeremy is so realistic and I love it. Glorified Sperm Donor: Jeremy's dad left when his mom got pregnant. On one of the school's costume days, he dresses as a sperm cell, and explains that he's dressing as his father, "or at least his biggest contribution to my life."

The story really looks at how Jeremy has had to distance himself from all things "feminine"—not just clothing and make-up, but even "feminine" behaviors and attitudes such as softness, empathy, generosity, and openness—just to be awarded the badge of "manhood" on cis men's terms. And it's not that he necessarily wants to disconnect himself from those things, but he feels like he's not allowed to have them or express them, because that opens the door to people invalidating his identity. And no, that shouldn't be the case, but that's the way it is. So he adopts a lot of aggression and even violence because he thinks if he can't get people to see him as a man, maybe he can get them to fear him as a man, because he thinks fear is a shortcut to respect. We get a man internet dating in a direct provision hostel, a country where the babies are all replaced by letters, a lesbian with a Muslim girlfriend going home to a Belfast family that is “more complicated than Peshawar”. Irish life is flown at from many angles. Something other

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I’m sure no one will notice,” she says. Like it’s no big deal, a faux pas as small as showing up to a party in the same dress as the host. Sara and Felix attempt to prevent Edwin's plans by seeking the help of Peg Bowen. The alleged witch of Avonlea concocts a love potion that will force Olivia to become betrothed to the first unmarried man she sees. Their plan fails however, when Olivia drinks the potion and greets Felix at the door of Rose Cottage, rather than Jasper.

That being said, it took me quite a while to get my footing in this story. It felt like the book didn’t quite know what it wanted to be in the first third—e.g. quirky, politically activist, social commentary, a true love story—and it took a while for different plot threads to weave together. But as everything eventually moved clearer in one direction and Jeremy and Lukas actually started talking beyond trading snarks and glares, I could not put this book down before knowing what would happen during homecoming and who would be crowned king. lukas confronts jeremy with pictures of him pre-transitioning in front of the entire school. why? because lukas was in those pictures too and only after jeremy is pissed at him he realises what he did. i don't know about you but 1) how can you not notice that and 2) how can you ever forgive a person for doing that...i can't speak on this too much since i'm a ciswoman but it felt really, really off. Just you promise me Sara, when your turn comes around, you won't get all bamboozled by this love business." --Hetty King And perhaps a work like this is not for readers at all, but writers. Why not, when there’s so many on this island of ours; when, as Kevin Barry points out in the introduction to his edition: “at any given moment […]there are ten thousand maniacs battering their laptops with caffeinated fingers”.

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Just because she’s letting me transition doesn’t mean she sees me as her son. And while she still gets final say on all my medical decisions, I’m too scared to threaten the fragile balance between us. I already fought one uphill battle getting here. Does Not Like Men: Jeremy's mom has had almost nothing but bad experiences with men. Jeremy's dad left her, and her last boyfriend yelled at her and hit six-year-old Jeremy. When Jeremy comes out as trans, she has trouble accepting him partly because she sees masculinity as toxic. Flipping the Bird: Sol flips Lukas off for making a campaign video for himself that featured footage of pre-transition Jeremy. there are a few things i just didn't like, but there are also lines and events i thought were straight up problematic. let's start with the more personal things though: