I received a free ARC of this book as a part of the YALLWest 2021 Sweeps Must Read YA giveaway.
DNF at 30%. Based on the cover artwork, marketing, and blurb, I was expecting this book to be a second-chance romcom between a trans boy and his ex-boyfriend vying for the Homecoming King crown. While these elements are present in the book, this is far from a lighthearted rom-com. The culture at this uber-rich DC school left me scratching my head. You’re telling me that students are members of the 1% and powerful alumni have created a $30k budget just for homecoming…but they go to Party City to buy the crowns for the Homecoming Court…positions that are so powerful that becoming the Homecoming King your senior year will LITERALLY get you into an Ivy League??

Queer characters, particularly queer teenage characters, should be allowed to be messy and imperfect. That being said, I made it a third of the way through the book without meeting a character I could truly enjoy reading about. All of the side characters exist as plot devices for Jeremy and Lukas rather than as diverse characters in their own right. Lukas is an interesting and sympathetic character, particularly as he struggles against the ghost of his older brother and the extreme ableism he experiences from hiding his autism, but doesn’t get much time to shine. Jeremy is downright intolerable and treats everyone around him like they are disposable – and the few times he recognized it didn’t stop me from gritting my teeth every time he appeared on the page.

Through flashbacks, we learn about the disintegration of Jeremy and Lukas’ four-year-long relationship: Jeremy breaks up with Lukas IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE FUNERAL OF LUKAS’ OLDER BROTHER WHO WAS KILLED BY A DRUNK DRIVER. Having just come out as trans to his mother within the same week, AND NOT HAVING COME OUT YET TO LUKAS, Jeremy gets upset that Lukas misgenders and deadnames him and breaks up with him. To reiterate: Lukas did not know at this point that Jeremy was trans because JEREMY HADN’T TOLD HIM YET. Instead of telling him, Jeremy breaks up with him and throws a milkshake at him…and doesn’t tell Lukas why…and then when Lukas confronts him about it AFTER JEREMY IS ALREADY OUT TO THE ENTIRE STUDENT BODY:

…JEREMY STILL DOESN’T TELL HIM WHY HE BROKE UP WITH HIM AND SAYS "I don't owe you my reasons. I don't owe you anything. I'm not your girlfriend, and I never was."

You may not have ever been his girlfriend, Jeremy, but you owe him some basic human decency. At this point, I checked out because there was no way I wanted to see these two get back together for any reason.

Content warnings: death of a sibling, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, slurs, misgendering, deadnaming, toxic relationship with parents, bullying, physical assault, discussion of/references to past sexual harassment/assault, racism

3.5 stars, rounded up. Most important thing to know about this book is that it is not a romcom. I think the kind of framing around it of dating to exes to enemies to lovers made me think that, and it was not something that was explicitly used as marketing language, but I want to clarify for anyone else who might have made the same inference based on the tropes and the cover. Which is so interesting, because some of my favourite adult romances have illustrated covers and that's never been an indication to me that they're "just fluff" and devoid of serious things. In fact, kind of the opposite..

Boy howdy, this book was tough. There is A LOT of trauma represented here. And also, a really important look at identity and how messy and shitty teenagers are, and about internalized and socialized gender roles, and communication, and community. Jeremy and Lukas are both in their senior year at what essentially seems to be a prep school. There's lots of alumni-backed money specifically for Homecoming, and the whole book centers around the lead-up to the big game/dance. They used to date. Jeremy came out as trans recently, he breaks up with Lukas in a pretty drastic way (on the day of Lukas' brother's funeral) for reasons that are unclear to Lukas, now they're mortal enemies and are competing for the role of Homecoming King. Even before they were dating, they had been best friends for a really long time, so they have a lot of the same friends, and there's approximately a metric shit-ton of drama that ensues. Lukas is also grappling with being autistic but not wanting anyone at school to know about that, so rather than ask for accommodations for his disability, he decides to cheat. (I've seen some criticisms that the autism rep only comes up with relevance to Lukas' schoolwork, but it's pretty obvious to me that a big part of the miscommunications that happen are people expecting Lukas to pick up on social cues that he has trouble reading, and them getting upset when he doesn't get it. So that criticism doesn't really hold water to me, but I'm also not an autistic reviewer, so I can't speak 100% to that.)

If you are a person who needs to like the main characters to enjoy a book, I would think twice about this one. Then again, if you are a person who doesn't remember what it was like to be in high school...I mean, I don't know anyone who was perfectly likeable in high school. Though I have not been a trans boy in high school, I have been a post-trauma kid in high school, imagining that I should hurt other people before they have a chance to hurt me. I found that so relatable. I ALSO was the kid who covered immense sadness with anger because anger is an easier, more familiar emotion to deal with. Was Jeremy truly terrible to people who he claimed were friends? Yes. Is there really a satisfactory resolution to that, or a true reckoning for Jeremy about how incredibly self-centered he is? Not really. But one of the most interesting aspects of this book to me was the kind of overcorrection that Jeremy feels he has to do to convince everyone that he's a boy, which feels like the root of so much of his hurtful behavior. Imagining how it must feel to have something that feels so obvious to you be something you need to convince people of, that you have to constantly defend...I understand where the overcorrection comes from. So in order to make sure that people see him as a guy, Jeremy adopts some aspects of toxic masculinity, telling himself he has to do certain things because "that's what a guy would do" AND to distance himself from anything that might be seen as "feminine" because there's always the risk that people will think that he's not serious about being trans. Ellor mirrors that with a class assignment where Jeremy has to create a persuasive speech about a particular hot topic, and his is trans rights. Yikes. That was so devastating to read, honestly, that any trans person but a teenager especially has to spend their brain power worrying about that stuff rather than just being an idiot kid.

There were a couple of things that brought it down a star(ish) in my mind. I think the ending resolved too quickly for my tastes, and there were a number of things that didn't really get wrapped up as a result. The treatment of the "side characters" felt pretty crummy, they really only exist as vehicles for Jeremy and Lukas and not as people in their own right (though I would love to read a book about whatever's going on with Sol and Naomi), and I didn't love that. It could have been a really great opportunity for found family and queer community, and I think that Ellor was trying to elicit that feel, but since it wasn't the A (or B or C) plot, it didn't really develop in the way that I would have liked to see. Lukas' realization that he's not straight was less an epiphany and more of a throwaway, which felt strange to me, but I suppose that's how it might be for some folks when they're realizing their sexuality (though it wasn't for me) and it's true that there were about a fafillion other things happening in his life. I do think there was, like, one thing too many for me here, but overall, I'm glad to have read it and I can already tell it's one that I'm going to be thinking about it often.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Children's Publishing Group/Roaring Brook Press for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really didn't enjoy this book, I wanted too but I just hated it. The main characters are Jeremy and Lukas. They used to date until Jeremy dumped Lukas so he could come out as trans without being rejected by him. Once Jeremy starts his transition he struggles with proving he is man enough and in doing so he starts treating all his friends like crap. I understand how he would struggle with finding himself and feeling like he had to prove himself, however Jeremy is self loathing, spiteful, and has major anger issues that he never does anything to try and fix. At one point he admits he has anger issues and that maybe he should try to be less angry but then nothing ever happens to show him changing to be a better person. He treats everyone like an enemy no matter how much they try to help him, he hurts his friends over and over and it's all just okay. Lukas struggles with autism, which I think the author could have done something really good here but they didn't. His autism is used to just explain away his actions and is never dealt with. His teacher is allowed to deny him the technology he uses to help learn and that isn't dealt with either. Lukas does something that hurts a friend who gets in trouble because of it. When he does admit to it, it's all but swept under the rug because the principal screwed up too and doesn't want that getting out. There are no consequences for literally anybody in this book. Including the bully and the principal who ignores the bullying.

In my opinion, the book was portrayed as something lighthearted and a little romantic. This is not the case at all. There are a lot of hard hitting themes in here. Such as; bullying, parental separation, homophobia, transphopia, ableism, assault, death and more. I feel like this book could have been a lighthearted story and left out the heavy situations or it could have been dark and hard hitting with all the difficult themes in it. However, I don't think the way it is mashed into one works at all.

Unfortunately, I can't recommend this book to anyone.

I initially started out with the audiobook and had to switch over to a digital copy. I was able to make more progress this way, but I wasn't able to finish the book due to unlikable characters. Normally I don't mind unlikable characters, but the ones in this story were next level. The way Jeremy treated Naomi made me so upset. The way he broke up with Lukas made my skin crawl. Lukas wasn't as bad as Jeremy, but he had some suspect moments as well. There is also a line saying all lesiban's are TERF"S and I did some research and found that to be problematic. Stereotyping a whole group of people is never right in my eyes. So, I won't be continuing with this story.

I was so excited for this book and it definitely did not disappoint! I absolutely devoured this messy, chaotic story and cannot wait to read it again and am so excited for readers to pick it up!

This book follows Jeremy Harkiss, cheer captain and student body president, who refuses to let coming out as trans ruin his senior year. Jeremy decides the best way to prove himself a man and stand up to the bigots is to run for Homecoming King. Even if that means challenging his ex-boyfriend, Lukas Rivers, football star and head of the Homecoming Committee. Lukas is just trying to find order in his life after his older brother’s funeral and the ensuing breakup with Jeremy. But when Jeremy threatens to steal his crown, Lukas kick starts a plot to sabotage Jeremy’s campaign.

I loved every minute of this story and the fact that the characters are given the space to make mistakes and really feel things. The characters in this book hurt each other and themselves and push each other away and lash out and really act like teenagers even when it's messy and chaotic and not always logical.

Jeremy was such a fun character to read because you're getting the front he puts up for others as well as himself but also the little glimpses into the core truth. To see the walls come down and realizations start to take place over the course of the book and the sheer growth of his character was just, ugh, words honestly can't do it justice. It's honestly a great depiction of growing pains and learning to communicate your needs and balancing that with others and also just managing expectations because people are flawed and are going to make mistakes.

But it's important to know that this is rivals to lovers and it's not just cutesy banter but straight up sabotage and manipulation and digging into the most vulnerable parts and the secrets and fears they've shared with each other being turned into the worst kind of weapons. But there is love and a connection there that can never be severed because they were friends long before they were anything else and that doesn't just go away.

I HIGHLY recommend this book to pretty much anyone and I absolutely can't wait for whatever Ellor does next!

CW // transphobia, misogyny, sexual assault, death of a family member (off page), ableism, cheating

Messy teens getting to be messy? Trans main character? Exes who become enemies and rivals to lovers? All of my boxes were checked, checked, checked with this one.

May the Best Man Win tells the story of Jeremy, a trans boy who is newly out at his high school and campaigning for homecoming king… against his ex-boyfriend Lukas who he dumped before coming out and starting to transition. Both are desperate to win the crown, to show their families and friends that they’re worthy of the title, the recognition, and the love.

One of the best things about this is, as previously stated, messy teens getting to be messy. Jeremy especially has a lot of anger that he’s working through and, more often than not, he takes this anger out on his friends. He can be selfish and ruthless and is often accused of thinking only about himself. Watching him work through this and start to change how he treats people was so refreshing and realistic to actual high school friendships. I have never known a group of friends not to fight, not to throw around harsh and angry words when external forces are at play. High school is the wild world of hormones and watching these teens have hard experiences with each other and facing consequences for their words and actions was a breath of fresh air. Not every story needs to have a perfect main character. The flaws are what make them realistic.

When it comes to high school-set YA books, I always think about how much I would have loved the book as a teen and how much I needed it. This one is up there right on top. I think this book will be more than helpful to teens who find it. It will be monumental. Z.R. Ellor has written something that will resonate and I can't wait to see what's next.

5 stars.

OH MY GOODNESS. This was my most anticipated book of the year and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I absolutely adored Jeremy and Lukas's dynamic and I was hooked from the very first line. I'm SO glad I got to read it early. 5/5 WOULD RECCOMEND.

“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?”

So this was not entirely what I anticipated.

Based off the blurb and that darling cover, I was anticipating something more on the spectrum of rom-commy pranks and whatnot.

Instead, I got something a little more realistic, a lot more heartbreaking, and much more hopeful.

Jeremy Harkiss definitely suffers from Napoleon Syndrome, as he’s a Type A with a drive to always prove himself over and over and over. Part of this is because he’s trans and feels he must be more manly and successful than everyone else in order to be accepted as a boy, and part of this is because he is an obnoxious, self-centered teen like…well, a lot of teens. Also, his name is Jeremy, and I have literally never met a Jeremy I liked. Sorry kid.

Lukas, on the other hand, was someone who was just as driven, but suffered heavily from second child syndrome, made doubly horrific because his Golden Brother died in a really tragic way the previous May and because he felt his parents were stuck with the defective son (Lukas is autistic and really internalized that by trying to be Perfect in every way). His storyline was heartbreaking and my heart just shown for him, as he’s struggling to keep everything together, fix everything broken even if it’s out of his control, and is reeling from his (abusive) brother’s death and Jeremy’s sudden breakup with him (he dumped Lukas in a diner after Golden Boy’s funeral…and threw a strawberry milkshake in his face—there’s a good reason for this, but a lot of it was Jeremy learning to process his dysphoria and unintentional misgendering from others in a healthier way).

A lot of this book deals with what comes next, and how to prepare for it. What comes after high school? How do you position yourself to get into a fantastic school and set yourself up for your heart’s desires (even if you don’t exactly know what they are yet)? How do you recover from a breakup? How do you publicly transition during your senior year? How do you grief after your brother’s death? How do you get up, after failing horribly?

I gave this four stars because it was good, although pretty heavy.

However, I loved that we got a really realistic lovers to enemies to lovers, as both Jeremy and Lukas had a lot of ground to cover to get to that point. There are also so many queer characters, and both leads grow so much as human beings, as they learned to dismantle the walls they had built around each other and open themselves up to love, hope and life.

And the ending has a fabulous twist!

Please note that there are some serious trigger warnings in this one, particularly: transphobia, homophobia, grooming, ableism and ableist language (the r-word is used), death of a sibling, child abuse, bullying.

3.5/4 stars

Jeremy, a trans guy, is cheer captain and in the running for homecoming king at his prestigious private high school. He's running against his ex, Lucas, football player and all-around nice guy. But they didn't end on the best of terms last summer... Jeremy dumped Lucas the day of Lucas's older brother's funeral. Plus, there's lots of family drama: at Lucas's house it's all about how his brother's death is tearing about his parents' marriage and at Jeremy's house it's all about how Jeremy's single mom isn't the most accepting of Jeremy's transition. So there's lots of angst, lots of self-assessment, lots of hormones, and lots of teenage tunnel-vision on winning homecoming king.

What I liked about this book:
- I like that while this book is a *trans* book, it's also *not* a trans book. Jeremy's trans-ness is definitely a big part of the story, but it's also just a general teen story: two guys are battling it out for homecoming king.
- I loved the character of Sol!
- I loved how/who the winner of homecoming king is.

What I disliked about this book:
- I disliked that the audiobook is voice-acted by the same person for both the Jeremy chapters and the Lucas chapters. When a book has multiple narrators, it is easiest to parse it when they are voice-acted by different actors.
- Jeremy is a massive asshole. That's just his personality.
- I felt super bad for Naomi. She constantly gets the bum end of the story throughout this book.

Diverse/LGBTQIA+ reads:
- Lucas is autistic.
- Jeremy is trans (female to male) and there is a lot of discussion about what not being a good ally looks like so as to show readers how to be a good ally.
- Sol is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.
- Lucas goes from straight to questioning to gay.

I read this book in physical form and honestly I gave it a higher review at the time but upon a reread via this audiobook I am going to go back and change it. I'm not sure how I didn't notice how problematic this book was while reading it but I couldn't not see it this time.
This was obviously meant to be your classic YA romance only with a much more diverse cast of characters. Ellor did a good job in that aspect. The characters were diverse(ish) and the plot followed the basic YA romance formula but otherwise this book felt very very problematic.
The first problem was the main characters where absolutely horrible. I didn't like them at all! Jeremy in particular was a major problem. His toxic masculinity was so annoying and gross in so so many places. I honestly could have let it go but it was not addressed nearly as much as it should have been! It drove me crazy the whole book and i was just waiting and waiting for it to be properly addressed but it never was!
Secondly the major relationship. They were so toxic! They were supposed to be cute and the arguing was meant to be because they were "in love" but it just all felt so so toxic. I in no way wanted them to be together because all I could see was an absolute disaster!
This really was just to problematic for me. Maybe I am misunderstanding something as I am not trans and I am a lesbian but I hope this amount of toxic masculine isn't needed for a book about gay men....
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early review copy.

CWs: sibling death; ableism and internal ableism; misgendering, deadnaming, and transphobia; homophobia; bullying; racism; references to sexual harassment/assault; references to abusive parents and divorce; underage drinking; infidelity; graphic physical assault

This book is not a rom-com. It's a story about two hurt, twisted, angry rivals projecting all of their pain, rage, and deep-seated need for affirmation onto their school's race for homecoming king. It's intense, and the stakes are higher than I've ever seen in a story like this. If You Should See Me in a Crown had an evil twin on the polar opposite side of the emotional spectrum and then had a baby with The Witch King, you would have this book.

I think this is a really important addition to the YA contemporary canon, especially as a piece of trans fiction, but I can already tell that it's going to be polarizing and get a bad rap for having "unlikeable" characters. It's definitely one of those narrative car crashes you can't look away from, and I think I kind of loved it. With that said, I'm still processing what that means.

As I said, May the Best Man Win is a story that centers two angry, grieving, messy teenagers who don't know where to place their rage and their frustration when it feels like the world is taking away their control, and so they project all of that onto each other, especially when they already have a challenging history as exes. Each of them knows the other person "can take" their ugliness and their anger, so they pour all of it into this homecoming race. Is it healthy? No. Does it set a "good example"? No. But it does make sense.

And when I say that they're truly battling it out for Homecoming King, I don't mean some light sabotage, spying, or shenanigans. I mean they are actively trying to hurt one another and hurt each other's chances, and they do things that could potentially harm themselves and other people, both physically and emotionally. There are times when they definitely cross the moral line, and it's purely because there is so much at stake for each of them. It is an ugly battle between two ruthless, unforgiving exes, and truth be told, that take-no-prisoners approach was one of the biggest draws of the story for me, because the book is not attempting to romanticize or sanctify either character, which is something we rarely see especially in queer YA fiction.

Jeremy is a really fascinating character to me, because he is so terrified and isolated, and a lot of his fear and anger stems from the fact that he's afraid no one will truly love him while seeing him for his transness. He's also grieving, in a way, because he's mourning the life he was never allowed to have until coming out and transitioning, and also the femininity and feminine spaces that he's had to give up in the process of transitioning. Above all, the story does such job of commenting on how transmasc people, specifically, are in danger of adopting toxic masculinity as a means to shield ourselves and "successfully" pass, if our goal is to pass.

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.

So there's a lot tied up for him in this competition, because he sees winning the crown as getting his classmates and the school administration to not only see him as a man, but like him as a man enough to vote for him, and to see him as a man who deserves to *win* and not merely exist. There's equally as much tied up in the homecoming race for Lukas, who is grieving the loss of his brother and wanting to prove to his family that he can secure a future for himself as a queer Autistic person, since winning Homecoming King pretty much guarantees an acceptance to an Ivy League school. Not only that, but his family is falling apart because of his brother's death, and his parents are on the verge of divorce. So he's also trying to prove that he can be a source of pride and happiness for him just like his brother was.

When you take all of those layers into consideration, you realize it's a lot. It's dark, it's fucked up, and it's not right to put all that on the shoulders of two teenage boys. And yet, that is exactly what the world does. This story understands that we don't simply arrive at realizations, we come into to them, we bring our baggage into them along the way, and how we come into the decisions we make is just as important as the decisions themselves. And, in truth, the process of coming into ourselves and our choices is not always palatable, neat, or clear-cut, and that's okay.

This story touches on so many valid issues and dangers that transmasculine people face, more than I can possibly address in this review. But it's also about what comes next after the breaking point, why it can feel so scary and impossible to ask for love, and how to use anger and action in productive ways. The main thing I took issue with is the pace of the romance, because that switch from rivalry to second chance romance felt a bit underdeveloped in the space given. And, by extension, I wasn't fully satisfied with the ending note either, which felt a little incongruous with the tone of the story and the characters.

With that said, I haven't stopped thinking about this book since I finished it, and I think it's going to be such a gift and a necessary offering to young trans readers.

4.5/5 stars

Thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy of this to review! It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting, but not in a bad way! Just much heavier than I was expected. But there are a lot of great issues discussed in here, and it has a lot of other great things going for it!

Let’s start with the good things! This book has a great cast of diverse characters (even if the main characters aren’t the most likeable, more on that below). I especially liked Sol; they were a great foil to Jeremy and Lukas and often a voice of reason. Ellor also captured the elite high school feel, down to the homecoming competition and the feel of the book. It felt authentic and gave the characters a great backdrop.

Ellor also focused a lot on character growth, and man, did these characters have so much room to grow. Jeremy was very angry for most of the book, internalizing a lot of toxic masculinity traits that are sometimes hard to read. I do think he changed by the end of the book, even if he still has a long way to go. He’s still just a teenager! Lukas is also angry, though not as fiery as Jeremy. They both have hurt feelings that could definitely use therapy, and maybe they’ll get it in the future!

Now, the negatives. One of my main complaints is the pacing. A lot of parts felt dragged out, while the ending felt a bit rushed to me. Especially the reconciliation between Jeremy and Lukas. I specifically wanted that aspect of the plot to be…slower? It’s scrunched into the last quarter of the book and I wanted more of them working out their problems. With each other and their friends.

Also, I absolutely loathed the AP Bio teacher. She deliberately makes tests that students can’t pass and I hate teachers like that. Like, how is any student learning anything? And she was so unwilling to work with Lukas when he said he needed his laptop to take notes. Lukas is autistic, and even though he hadn’t really informed the school, she still should have been willing to work with him. That’s what teachers do.

I’m not sure that I can comment on the authenticity of the representation of Lukas’s autism, so I would seek out own voices reviews for that. But al in all, even if this wasn’t the rom-com I was expecting, this is a strong debut and I can’t wait to read more from ZR Ellor in the future.

DNF at 33%. I wanted to like this book so badly but the characters are just SO unlikeable. I was really excited for this one, it has trans rep AND autism rep and it sounded like it was right up my street. However, Jeremy is a really horrible character, he's awful to everyone and seem intent on destroying all of his relationships. The way he broke up with Lukas was so cruel, and I knew then that there was no way he could ever become likeable in my eyes. Lukas isn't as unlikeable as Jeremy, but he's still not great. I did sympathise with both MCs at times for different reasons, but I didn't care enough to carry on reading their story.

Also, I didn't get far enough into the book to read this line, but there is a lesbophobic line about lesbians being TERFs. You can find the quote easily enough in goodreads reviews. I think it's unfair to put such a sweeping generalisation about a whole group of people in a book without thinking about the ramifications.

Overall, I just couldn't bring myself to care about the characters or continue reading the book because both of the MCs are deeply unlikeable, and that's just not enjoyable for me at all. When I read a book, I want to love the characters and escape into their world. This book might work for some people, but it didn't work for me.

I received this book from the publisher/tour company in exchange of an honest review.... sadly... I couldn't finish this one. I mean, I loved the plot, I loved Lukas/Lucas, I liked that Lukas/Lucas had autism (and he was at points quite relatable and I am happy to see a person with autism who isn't like Sheldon for once as that is how autism often gets shown), I love the whole Homecoming thing (something we don't have in our country so I love books about it and seeing how crazy things can get. All those things were great. All those things would be a reason for me to give this book a 4 stars.
HOWEVER, Jeremy just ruined it all for me. Constantly judging people, making weird remarks (like calling someone a fuckhead, or saying things that he wouldn't tell the cheerleading team about the girl who is lesbian but then also remarking that no one talks to him anyway), making comments about cis people while seriously dude, people don't hate you for you being trans, they hate you because you are a fucking dick who plays with everyone and don't care if it hurts someone. I mean, Jeremy is just a horrible person. I am sorry if that is harsh, but it is the truth. If Jeremy was just a character in the book and we would see him at times I would have probably read on. But he is a main character and his POV just wasn't my cup of tea, with each page I just wanted to yeet my ereader to the wall. Jeremy needs to face reality and maybe just be there for his friends and be kind, instead of using them and then being shocked people are angry.

A huge thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Roaring Brook Press for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review on Netgalley.

Although this book has a super bright and cute cover, don’t let this book fool you. “May the Best Man Win” is not your average exes to enemies to lovers and contains a deep commentary on coming out as trans, dealing with people from your past and what it means to face your feelings head on.

Z. R. Ellor’s debut novel centers around exes, Jeremy and Lukas. Jeremy is a transitioning cheerleader who just wants to be taken seriously. Lukas is dealing with the aftermath of his older brother’s death that has left his family in shambles, despite him not being the greatest brother. Bitter from their break up, the two end up competing for the title of homecoming king which forces them to take a look at themselves, the school around them and the relationship that came to an abrupt and bitter end.

“May the Best Man Win” tackles a lot of issues that strikes a chord with readers from almost any background. Jeremy faces a lot of pushback and blatant transphobia that at first made me uncomfortable and angry. But as I read it, I realized that was one of the major points of Jeremey’s character. This book does not sugarcoat the transphobia and low-key attacks that trans people likely deal with on a normal basis. In addition to transphobia, the book relays a number of messages about college admissions and high school hype that high schoolers, seniors especially, can resonate with. In addition to Jeremey’s story, Lukas’s story with his family is one readers can sympathize with.

Both boys face a number of struggles that all come back to fitting in and being seen as equal. This message has stuck around the longest after having finished it and becomes clearer the longer readers sit with the book. But with every good message, there are bound to be some not so great qualities of a book and this one definitely has a few.

Although I can look back on the book and see what it was doing, the reading experience is at times exhausting and frustrating to say the least. As readers learn about Jeremy and Lukas’s relationship in the past, frustration towards both of them (though Jeremey in particular) grows and they become unlikable main characters. Jeremey’s motives are never fully explained either as he constantly reflects on how upset he was at his actions and the decisions he made.

And perhaps the biggest struggle I had with the book was that I could not, for the life of me, keep the characters straight in my head. Common friends among both of them shop up and flip sides as to who they’re mad at, that for the first 57% of the book I was wondering which character was which. This is topped by the fact they talk about the other so much that it gets lost as to whose perspective the chapter is in.

Despite these struggles, the book manages to pull itself together at the end for a fitting and semi-relieving ending.

The Verdict

“May the Best Man Win” shows that Ellor has potential in this genre. Though his debut novel does a wonderful job at tackling bigger issues revolving around higher education and their attitudes towards the LGBT+ community, it is equally met with unlikable characters and a complicated reading experience. Overall, this book is good and worth a read through, but be prepared for a more intense reading experience than the cover may lead you on to believe.

Final rating: 3.5/5 stars

There was a lot I really liked about this book.
First off, the correct terminology and representation of the trans but also LGBTQIA+ community. For that reason alone I believe people will like it.
Second, Jeremy is a character who is easy to connect to. I worried I wouldn’t connect to a trans story but honestly, I have a new appreciation for what each person might go through during transition.
What I didn’t like about the story was actually just the main plot. I did not care enough about homecoming and who was voted in. I liked everything else about the story but found myself bored with the pettiness and stupid things they would do to each other.
All in all it was an eye opening read for the trans information but I couldn’t connect with the story.

I want to start by saying that the way this book was marketed from the cover, synopsis, and where I saw it pushed made me think it was a contemporary teen rom-com with a trans main character. It was not at all. This was a much darker, heavier book than I expected. Death of a sibling, internalized ableism, and intense transphobia doesn’t make a strong basis for a rom-com. I was reading this during a two-week break between college semesters and honestly, I wanted a light, fluffy, read and thought that this book would be that for me but it definitely was not.

I also found myself unable to root for either main character because they were both just awful humans who seemed to enjoy sabotaging and destroying everything they touched. I found myself constantly questioning why Jeremy didn’t just wait the year to come out start transitioning after waiting this long, and just give himself a fresh start in college. His indignant response to being bullied for being trans was a bit laughable because coming out as a senior when you’re the cheerleading captain and expecting no resistance/transphobia seemed like a stretch. His assumption that Sol’s life was somehow amazing and wonderful even though they were out as non-binary but his sucked as a trans guy seemed like willful ignorance and thinking that because Sol wasn’t as popular and therefore less visible, that Sol’s life was allegedly better than his when it’s likely that Sol’s life is worse with no one fearing bullying them because of their popularity.

How Lukas’s autism was addressed and his refusal to utilize resources that would have made his life easier rubbed me the wrong way as a disabled student who has used accommodations since elementary school without it being a big deal. If Lukas’s autism was severe enough to bother getting diagnosed, the most likely reason to even bother getting an official diagnosis is to get accommodations in school.

As a current college kid and a recent high school grad, I can confidently say that the idea that homecoming king/queen just get to automatically go to Ivy League schools because the alumni are rich and have connections is fake, at this point your application has to have something extremely unique and impressive to even be waitlisted. The idea that students wouldn’t be using technology to take notes in school is also laughable. Recently technology has become more and more of a natural part of the classroom and I have been using it without issue in the classroom for at least six years currently.

#NetGalley #MayTheBestManWin
I thank NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review :)
All I have to say is this....everyone pick this book up when releases.
You absolutely will not be disappointed 🙌🏼

3.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

May the Best Man Win excited me due to its fun premise, evoking similar vibes to other queer books I liked, such as You Should See Me in a Crown or The Henna Wars. And even if there was a suggestion that one or both leads would be a bit messy, why shouldn’t they be?

And on their own, the characters are indeed a strong point. Jeremy has recently come out as trans, and I really felt for him as he experienced lack of acceptance and worse from family and peers. From his mother who would always see him as a daughter to the classmates who either misgender him at worst or struggle with their perception of him now that he’s transitioned. Even though he’s not perfect and he makes messed-up choices himself, I could empathize with his worldview and reasoning for doing what he did.

I also liked Lukas. I liked the nuance to him trying to negotiate his feelings around Jeremy and his gender identity, especially as the two of them were in a relationship prior to Jeremy’s transition. The statement that he still saw Jeremy as the same person, despite having transitioned, was reassuring. He’s also dealing with his own issues of grief at the loss of his brother and the fact that he’s also different from others due to being autistic also makes him a compelling character.

But when it came to their interactions with each other and even some of the other characters (like Lukas dating a girl he and Jeremy both know and then kissing someone else), I found myself a bit turned off. And the fact that they basically spend most of the book making assumptions about each other (including when Jeremy gets jealous of the aforementioned kissing, due to the guy looking like him, except that he’s cis). It comes together at the end, but even though I understand the point to an extent (they’re teens, they’re not going to act like “rational” adults!) I still wanted more communication and less drama.

I did enjoy this book, although with caveats, due to the drama and the heavier themes not hinted at by the peppy rom-com branding. I do think a lot of readers will enjoy this, especially those looking for more trans rep in YA fiction.

Overall, this was an ok book. I’m part of the LGBTQ community, but there were times the language did become preachy and used buzzwords that took away from the story. It may be that I’m older than the targeted audience, but I found it hard to relate to the characters. I’m still not out to many people, so I understand the fear and discomfort, but I also found the behavior of some of the characters frustrating. Teens are learning as they grow, so I wasn’t surprised that the characters were selfish, and by the end they had learned and grew, but there were many times I was annoyed with how the characters interacted with each other. I liked LGBTQ coming of age novels from when I was a teen and from the past few years more so than this novel. I did like the overall concept and inclusivity in this book. I think it’s a good look into what it’s like to be trans or gay. It’s important for kids to know to have empathy for LGBTQ or other communities. There are plenty of teens that will enjoy this novel.