Stand-Off

Starred review from July 13, 2015
In this thoroughly enjoyable sequel to 2013’s Winger, 15-year-old Ryan Dean West, now a senior at Pine Mountain, is still recovering from the death of his friend Joey, which has left him with nightmares and a recurring sense of dread (personified, in his artwork, as a ghoul dubbed “NATE,” the “Next Accidental Terrible Experience”). Ryan Dean’s rugby coach wants him to step up as captain of the team, a responsibility he isn’t sure he has earned, and he has been saddled with a claustrophobic 12-year-old genius freshman as a roommate. Ryan Dean has to overcome his fears of the future and of letting anyone get too close all while bonding with his rambunctious teammates, trying to have some time alone with his girlfriend, and getting to know Joey’s younger brother, Nico. Ryan Dean’s voice remains engaging, honest, and idiosyncratic (a page-long internal monologue follows his discovery of two teammates in a compromising situation). Smith capably expands on Ryan Dean’s coming-of-age and path to emotional recovery, chronicled through his crude comics and growing maturity. Ages 12–up. Author’s agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

Starred review from July 15, 2015
Fifteen-year-old Ryan Dean West, who skipped two grades in school, returns for his senior year at an Oregon boarding school in this follow-up to Winger (2013). During his junior year, Ryan Dean started a relationship with kind, smart, beautiful Annie and endured the horrific loss of his rugby teammate and best friend, Joey, after he was murdered for being gay. Coming back to Pine Mountain Academy after the summer, he finds, much to his dismay, that he's been assigned to a tiny dorm room with a 12-year-old adorably earnest freshman, Sam, and the gradual, wonderfully weird (and grudging, on Ryan Dean's part) friendship that develops between the two is at once poignant and hilarious. He also grapples with shattering anxiety attacks, and though his love of drawing comics persists, a shadowy figure he calls Nate (an acronym for the Next Accidental Terrible Experience) continually rears his head in them now, which troubles Annie, who thinks he should talk to a psychologist. Intense rugby scenes transcend exposition, and Ryan Dean's brainy, self-deprecating wit shines, as when he muses after being jolted to the ground during practice about an imagined ice cream flavor called Failure-Pain Swirl. Bosma contributes Ryan Dean's spot illustrations, comic strips, and charts, and occasional footnotes further add to the narrative fun A brave, wickedly funny novel about grief and finding a way to live with it, with sweetly realistic first sexual experiences. (Fiction. 14-18)

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Starred review from August 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-In this sequel to Winger (S. & S., 2013), Ryan Dean West's senior year at Pine Mountain Academy is off to a rough start. Still grieving over friend Joey's death, he's saddled with Sam, a 12-year-old freshman roommate he dismisses as a "larva in soccer pajamas." Adding to the pressure, his rugby coach wants him to take Joey's position on the field and as team captain. Resulting panic attacks and visions of a Grim Reaper-esque guy he names Nate (Next Acciden+al Terrible Experience) make Ryan Dean aware he needs help, but he can't bring himself to ask for it. Hot girlfriend Annie offers sex and parental-sounding advice, but two male relationships finally help Ryan Dean open his heart again. Sam is able to see the pain behind Ryan Dean's facade due to his own past trauma. Bound by their mutual grief, Joey's brother Nico and Ryan Dean begin a fragile friendship. The novel's heavy issues are tempered by Ryan Dean's wickedly funny ruminations and good-natured male crudeness. An ingeniously conceived subplot provides teens with a practical lesson on sexual consent. Readers are left with the reassurance that no one can be expected to handle their problems alone. VERDICT The novel succeeds not only as an emotionally satisfying sequel but as a hopeful, honest account of coping with a devastating loss.-Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 Make no mistake about it, Ryan Dean Westverbal volcano and now 15-year-old senioris fighting with ghosts in this follow-up to Winger (2013). First and foremost is Nate ( Next Accidental Terrible Experience ), an amorphous specter who appears in the prep-school student's comics (and in the novel in hand) as well as in panic-inducing nightmares. Then there's Ryan Dean's new roommate, a 12-year-old freshman whose bubbly innocence brings on a slew of insecurities related to his own past. Finally, there is Nico, brother of his dead friend and fellow rugby teammate, Joey. It is Nico's cold shoulder that seems most to annoy Ryan Deanwhich is to say he's pretty much flummoxed by grief. With help from other teammates and his girlfriend, though, the teen starts to move on. Despite lots of tantalizing plot turns left only half explored, Smith has created a consistently interesting character whose singular sense of humor grows on readers. Plus, he nails the rough-and-tumble sport of rugby. This sequel won't disappoint fans. Anticipate the need for plenty of copies.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Winger proved wildly popular with teens, so its sequel is sure to be a hot item. Smith's critical success with Grasshopper Jungle and 100 Sideways Miles will also drive demand.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)