Winger by Andrew Smith

For you US folks, Happy Fourth of July!

For you citizens of earth who also read books, I have an urgent directive for you:

Read Winger by Andrew Smith.

It made me laugh and it broke my heart. It’s a young adult novel about a 14 year old boy named Ryan Dean. He plays Rugby at a prep school in the Northwest.

The book is full of illustrations and–I’m going to stop. You need to go into this one as blind as possible. An absolute joy.

When people ask “Why should I read?” I’m going to start shoving this book into their faces and say, “I defy you to read this and then come back and tell me it was a waste of your time.”

And then–if they still say it was a waste of their time, I’m going to give them another one of Andrew’s books and say, “Try again and please be less insane.”