Wow. Let's just say, I was not expecting that ending. But this was an incredible read about a normal, hilarious guy, and the weird situations he gets himself into.

Ryan Dean West, or Winger as he's known to his rugby teammates, is a fourteen year old junior at Pine Mountain boarding school. He's a self-proclaimed skinny-ass loser and is desperately in love with his best friend, Annie, who's undoubtedly out of his league.

But this year, he's ready to change his loser status. He's going to suck it up, in all areas his life, while he tries to not be killed by his new roommate in the delinquent's dorm, Chas Becker. This is a novel about rugby, relationships and friends, and how one moment can change your entire view on life.

This book was so good. It was basically as good as I could have hoped for--not an ounce of disappointment over here. But, what I wasn't expecting, was the tragedy at the end of the novel. I should have known something was going to happen from the quotes on the back by A.S. King and the description on the dust jacket, but I just didn't expect my heart to break so incredibly; for the tragedy to be what it was. Needless to say, I cried and wanted to throw the book on the ground.

I thought Ryan Dean West was an awesome character. He was hilarious and selfish and passionate and insecure and just a great narrator. The story is written in past tense, so the character obviously knows how everything is going to pan out, but the narration itself didn't leave any hints, which I really liked. He just did his thing and wrote about it. He was selfish, a lot of the time, but I found myself not caring because it made him even more genuine.

My only real complaint about the book was the length. It could have been at least a hundred pages shorter. There were scenes here and there that could have been cut and it would have made the book a little better.

Overall, I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it to anyone. It was poignant and memorable and so damn funny. Ryan Dean West is a character I will never forget.