Blog Tour: War and Speech - Don Zolidis

War and Speech
Don Zolidis
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Little Brown
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Not everyone can be a winner...

Sydney Williams knows this better than anyone. After her white-collar- criminal dad is sent to prison, Sydney fails almost all of her classes and moves into a dingy apartment with her mom, who can barely support them with her minimum-wage job at the mall.

A new school promises a fresh start. Except Eaganville isn’t exactly like other high schools. It's ruled with an iron fist by a speech team that embodies the most extreme winner-takes-all philosophy.

Sydney is befriended by a group of fellow misfits, each of whom has been personally victimized by the speech team. It turns out Sydney is the perfect plant to take down the speech team from within.

With the help of her co-conspirators, Sydney throws herself into making Nationals in speech, where she will be poised to topple the corrupt regime. But what happens when Sydney realizes she actually has a shot at . . . winning? Sydney lost everything because of her dad’s obsession with being on top. Winning at speech might just be her ticket out of a life of loserdom. Can she really walk away from that?

REVIEW

When Sydney's dad was sent to prison, she became someone everyone avoided. After relocating from their McMansion to a less than desirable apartment, she found herself with the possibility of escaping her past failures, and perhaps, finally being a winner at something.

I know many people were interested in this book, because it held the promise of featuring speech and debate, but I honestly wanted to read it, because Zolidis wrote it. Last year, I read his YA debut, The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig, and it was hilarious. I was hoping for more of that, and I definitely did get that, as the book often had me releasing peals of laughter.

One of the main reasons I enjoyed this book so much was Sydney. She was snarky and sarcastic, and I just loved her sense of humor. From her observations of the world around her to her irreverent cookie cake messages, the girl kept me in stitches. She also managed to find a quirky bunch of friends, who were perfect foils for her. All of them brought their A-game when bantering, and there were times I thought I could listen to them volley all day.

One of the big plots of the book was the conspiracy to take down the all powerful Speech and Debate team. That's right. Sydney transferred to a school, where the BMOCs were orators and debaters. That whole idea made me love the school, until I met the people on the debate team. It was quite a toxic environment. The shocking part was how much Syd grew to enjoy S&D. The bad part was her inner battle to stick with the plan or fully adopt the team and its culture. Regardless, it was amazing to see that spark lit in her, see her believe in herself, and watch her confidence grow.

Sydney was also struggling with her anger towards her parents for all the fallout due to her father's crimes, but at the same time,  still loving them. She felt betrayed by her parents. Her father lied, her mother was moving on, and Sydney was still trying to work her way through all these changes. Regardless, they were her parents, and she created so many beautiful memories with them, which could not be erased.

This book was just a treat to read. I laughed and laughed, while also enjoying the way Zolidis explored many different themes. It was packed with fully fleshed out characters, who were complex and interesting, and I found myself completely carried away in all the drama Eaganville. 

* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

I briefly mentioned the cookie cakes in my review. Sydney's cookies became something I looked forward to. I was inspired to google "funny cookie cakes", and this is what I found.

GIVEAWAY

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Don Zolidis grew up in Wisconsin, went to college in Minnesota, and is mostly known for being a really funny playwright. For the past five years, he’s been the most-produced playwright in American schools. His more than one hundred published plays have been performed tens of thousands of times, and have appeared in sixty-four different countries. He currently splits his time between New York and Texas, and has two adorable boys who will someday read this book and have a lot of questions. He aspires to owning a dog. His first novel was The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig.

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