Name: Stand-Off
ISBN: 9781481418300

Andrew Smith

Now a senior at Pine Mountain Academy, fifteen-year-old Ryan Dean West becomes captain of the rugby team, shares his dormitory room with a twelve-year-old prodigy, Sam Abernathy, and through the course of the year learns to appreciate things he has tried to resist, including change.

Stand-Off

Smith Andrew

jess

This is more of a 4.5 book. Not as good as Winger, but the emotional impact of Winger is hard to duplicate in the sequel. Poor Ryan Dean. Stand-Off discusses the aftermath of a tragedy, and it doesn't make light of what happened, but it's not heavy either - there's tons of humor. There's also tons of Andrew Smith humor, which is balls. Balls. All the time. Do teenage boys really think about their balls this much? Ryan Dean's voice remains authentic and entertaining, with laugh-out-loud humor (or maybe I am just immature). He's growing up, though, which is nice. 

Part of the half star off was the revelation that (view spoiler)[Joey was in love with Ryan Dean (hide spoiler)], which I thought was kind of unnecessary because it would not have changed much if they had just been friends. 

I didn't think that Winger needed a sequel, but it's nice to know that Ryan Dean is going to be okay. A few people have pointed out in reviews that in Winger the one LGBT kid was used as a plot device for the straight guy. (view spoiler)[I'm glad Smith included more LGBT people this time around; back then I wasn't aware how bad that was and while it doesn't take away my enjoyment of Winger I do wince thinking about it. (hide spoiler)]

Sarahi Flores

Ryan Dean is someone anyone can relate when they are feeling like they hitting rock bottom. I wish I can be more specific but I don't want to ruin the story. It made me laugh and they were some chapters that got me crying. Let's just say Ryan Dean is someone you'll want to be friends with.

Emi Gilmore 

Andrew Smith just has this way of hiding important issues under sarcasm and wit, that by the time you finally have to put down his book because there is nothing left to read, you realize that the 400 pages you just read were more than a story, but a life lesson on change and depression and growing up.