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annagwritesandreads 's review for:

May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor
4.0
adventurous emotional reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Description: Jeremy is ready to be Homecoming King. While Jeremy thought they'd be homecoming queen, once Jeremy realizes their true self, he runs to it in full force and wants the entire school on board with him. Jeremy's biggest competition? His ex of 3 years: Lukas. Lukas has autism but no one knows except Jeremy. As Lukas explores his place in his family after the loss of his brother, Lukas believes winning homecoming king would solve all of his problems. However, the two can't both be king and find themselves attempting to sabotage each other. Who will come out on top, who gets hurt along the way, and who truly discovers themselves in this novel?

The star loss: There are two reasons that went into the loss of a star for this book
1) I am unsure of the autism representation and I am unsure how accurate it is based on multiple other Goodreads reviews. 
2) The end got a bit out of the YA realism world and into some fantastical elements that didn't align with the rest of the book.

All the goodies:
- As a former high school teacher, I thought Jeremy and Lukas could easily be students in my class.
- The side characters (minus Philip of course) have my heart.
- Fast paced, engaging with multiple storylines to follow.
- A raw, honest reflection happens for Jeremy and Lukas when they have their introspective moments that I loved.
- The general story idea of competing for homecoming king was fun and balanced with the serious moments of self-discovery.

Overall: If you can handle the snarky teen characters, you should enjoy the book!