Winger by Andrew Smith

Ideal for 9th-10th graders

Rating: 9/10

This is one of my favorite books. Ryan Dean is in his junior year at fourteen years old living away at boarding school. He is trying to balance his social life with his school life plus on top of it all his sports life. When the unspeakable happens Ryan Dean must hold together and make the right choices. Also read the sequel Stand Off.

Mature audiences.

Winger by Andrew Smith Book trailer

"Winger broke my heart, like any great book should. Andrew Smith is a brave and talented storyteller who blows me away every time. Readers will love Ryan Dean West. This book is powerful, sweet and heart-wrenching." (A. S. King, Printz Honor-winning author of Please Excuse Vera Dietz)

"Winger is one of the most honest and beautifully raw novels I've read in a long time. Ryan Dean is a true original." (Matt de la Peña, author of Mexican WhiteBoy and We Were Here)