Bibliographical Information
Title: Winger
Author: Andrew Smith
Genre: Young adult
Publication Date: May 2013
Number of Pages: 440
Synopsis
Ryan
Dean West is a “winger” for his school’s rugby team. He is also a 14-year-old
junior who is younger than his teammates, his friends, and his crush, who
thinks of him as just a friend. The book covers his immature junior year in its
ups and downs through the recollections of Ryan Dean at a unspecified later
date. Like many 14-year-olds, Ryan Dean is pervy when it comes to the opposite
sex, but has excellent insight when it comes to his friend’s homosexuality and
the hostility between his teammates off the field. While the book starts off
much more lighthearted than Dead Poets
Society, the book takes a dramatic turn in its last 50 pages. With its
amazing pacing and wonderful drawings throughout, Winger feels like a diary of a college aged man looking back at his
youth. And that’s a great thing.
Characteristics of Young Adult Fiction
Winger features numerous several
characteristics of young adult fiction.
·
Winger reflects the words
and thoughts of teenaged boys, which makes it approachable to that group of
readers.
·
It
deals with contemporary issues that teens face on a daily basis, including peer
pressure, bullying, sex, sexual identity, the loss of old friends, and the
beginnings of new friendships.
·
It
displays a range of emotions that teens experience, partially due to puberty.
·
Rather
than being watered down, Winger has
fully realized characters who seem real with their problems and personal
histories.
·
Like
most histories, Howe’s book features incredible maps and illustrations.
Read-a-likes
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Spud by John Van de Ruit
Lucky Fools by Coert Voorhees
The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time
Indian
by Sherman Alexie
Noggin by John Corey Whaley
"Pervy"......love that you described it in this way.
ReplyDeleteQuoting the teens in my young adult book club. They loved this book with only a few exceptions.
DeleteI remember ordering this book and liking the synopsis but I think you made it sound even better. I always struggle with recommending books like Looking for Alaska and even Part-Time Indian because of the sexual content, especially with the parent standing right there. Usually I WILL recommend the book but I will mention that it is high on sexual innuendo or sexual content. Usually that piques the teens interest and sometimes the parent's cool and other times the parent just puts the book back on the shelf. I also try to identify a 'typical' audience age when doing RA for teens because the area covers usually 6th/7th grade through 12th and a LOT happens between 6th and 12th grade emotionally, physically, and socially!
ReplyDeleteThis book is definitely not meant for a 6th or 7th grade audience. I would only recommend this book for 9th and up, and maybe 8th graders whom I know and know what they read.
DeleteI have never heard of this book before but it does sound good from what you have said about it. The one thing that really piqued my interest is the mention of drawings and illustrations in the book. I love when young adult and even adult books have that added element. It makes it more appealing for teens, but it also just adds something extra. It is not something you run across a lot either. I have only read two or three books with the added illustrations, and each time it helps to bring something extra to the story. There was one book called, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" that I read that had illustrations and they really helped me to get inside of the narrators head and bring the story to life.
ReplyDelete