I am so excited to get a chance to be a part of this book tour hosted by Turn the Page Tours. Make sure you check out the rest of the posts that are a part of this tour by looking at the schedule for the tour found here. 

Author Information

Z. R. Ellor (he/him) is the author of MAY THE BEST MAN WIN and the forthcoming adult fantasy SILK FIRE (written as Zabé Ellor.) He holds a BA in English Lit and biology from Cornell University. When not writing, he can be found running, playing video games, and hunting the best brunch deals in Washington D.C.. Find him online at https://zrellorbooks.com/

Book Description

TITLE: May the Best Man Win

AUTHOR: Z.R. Ellor

PUBLISHER: Roaring Brook Press

RELEASE DATE: May 18th, 2021

GENRE(S): YOUNG ADULT FICTION–Contemporary, Romance

BUY LINK: https://bookshop.org/a/11727/9781250625120

SYNOPSIS:

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.

Jeremy Harkiss, cheer captain and student body president, won’t let coming out as a transgender boy ruin his senior year. Instead of bowing to the bigots and outdated school administration, Jeremy decides to make some noise—and how better than by challenging his all-star ex-boyfriend, Lukas for the title of Homecoming King?

Lukas Rivers, football star and head of the Homecoming Committee, is just trying to find order in his life after his older brother’s funeral and the loss long-term girlfriend—who turned out to be a boy. But when Jeremy threatens to break his heart and steal his crown, Lukas kick starts a plot to sabotage Jeremy’s campaign.

When both boys take their rivalry too far, the dance is on the verge of being canceled. To save Homecoming, they’ll have to face the hurt they’re both hiding—and the lingering butterflies they can’t deny.

Giveaway

Up for grabs, we have ONE (1) copy of May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor. This giveaway is open to US residents only and will run from May 16th to May 23rd at 12 AM CST. No giveaway accounts allowed.

ENTER HERE

Review

Thoughts and Themes: The minute that I saw this book had Trans rep and Autistic rep, I knew I had to read it.

Once I started reading there were too many moments in which I put the book down because of how angry I was with the characters. It took me a little bit to really get into this story and not be so angry with the characters. I had to give them time to grow on me and also to understand why they acted the way that they did. Once I understood them a little more and gave them permission to be messy because they were teenagers, and also just learning about who they are.

There were quite a few things that I really enjoyed that occur over halfway through the book, so if you’re struggling with the first half, I highly suggest continuing until over halfway point. I liked as Lukas and Jeremy talk to each other rather than just trying to one up each other. I also really like a lot of the activities that take place in the week leading up to homecoming. I also really enjoyed the outcomes for the homecoming court and thought that was a great unexpected twist.

Characters: In this story there are two main characters and you get introduced to others in the interactions that these characters have. Through the interactions in the story, you get to meet some of the main character’s friends, family members, and bullies.

At the beginning of the story, I really wasn’t having it with Jeremy. Jeremy was pushing all of his friends away and being an ass to anyone who tried to get close to him. It wasn’t until over halfway through the book that I felt for Jeremy and started to understand why he would push the others away. I thought that Jeremy read as realistic and I did appreciate that especially as he is trying to figure out how his trans identity affects him and his relationships with others.

Lukas was a character that I liked from the beginning of the story yet there were times in which I was angry with him as well. I felt bad for Lukas as he has to hide that he’s Autistic while at school and feels that his Autism keeps him from being the child his parents want. I would have liked to see there have been more character development when it came to Lukas being Autistic and there have been more positivity around this rather than it feeling like it was just a side trait.

Something that I do like is how Lukas and Jeremy’s competition with each other and the way that they treat each other, really shows a lot of their insecurities. I thought it was great to see how their insecurities played out, and also to see how they dealt with those insecurities. I also really liked how others were involved in this story and thought that the main side characters really added a lot.

I really enjoyed reading about Sol, a nonbinary Latinx computer nerd who is a sophomore. I really liked what they brought to the story and how they taught Jeremy the importance of having a LGBTQ+ community, and how his Trans identity is important to who he is.

Writing Style: The story is told in dual perspective through the point of view of Lukas and Jeremy. I really liked getting to see both of their sides to the story and all of the events that take place. I liked how we go back and forth between both of these characters as it gives you a full picture of the events that occur between them. I think having both of the perspectives shown allows you to not take sides even when you are really angry at either of them.