Smith, A. (2013). Winger. NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 14-year-old Ryan Dean West is the protagonist in Winger. In the novel, Ryan Dean deals with his dorm of troublemakers, his roommate who just so happens to be the rugby team bully, and his love for his best friend, Annie. The novel ends with Ryan Dean getting together with Annie and befriends Chas after and Ryan’s first best friend, Joey, is beaten to death by Casey and Nick. Ryan comes to the conclusion that everything he’d been through was a “reinventing” of himself. I believe the intended audience for Winger might be for ages 12 and up. Recommendations for follow up reading include In the Path of Falling Objects by Andrew Smith, More Than This by Patrick Ness, and If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan. I think a lesson that might come from reading Winger is anyone who can associate with Ryan Dean, whether it be his struggle with love interests, or his trouble with bullies. Winger meets the physical developmental criteria because Ryan is forced to socialize with students who are physically older than him. Although he is fourteen, Ryan Dean sees himself as just as good for 16-year-old Annie. Winger also meets the social developmental criteria because Ryan Dean, being only fourteen in classes with student who are two years older than him, struggles throughout the novel with maturing from a boy into a man. So, Ryan Dean attempts to identify with his troublemaking dorm mates to help him become a man, but finds himself being challenged by his female love interests.
