Blaine for the Win, by Robbie Couch, narrated by Michael Couch

[Ulysses]

Robbie Couch's story, no surprise, has the Simon & Schuster blessing, and well deserves it. A winning story that is more about self-discovery than about romance, but all about the emotional challenges of being a teenager - something any reader should remember, whatever their age.

Blaine Bowers' story and his world is brought to vivid life by Michael Crouch's spot-on reading of the text. Blaine is an irritating teenager, in spite of being generally good-natured and affectionate. It is the wise young man who emerges from the trauma that capture's the reader's heart.

There is no huge loss here, no life-altering disaster--except from Blaine's perspective. For all that, there is a startling amount of pain, and a wonderful supportive cast of family and friends (and even school administrators) to ease that pain and help guide Blaine forward. The plot matters a lot, and is more complicated than I would have expected. It is winsome and winning and true.