Winner Take All

by Laurie DeVore

Is winning really everything? High school senior Nell Becker certainly thinks so, especially if it means beating the richest, most infuriating, popular guy in school-Jackson Hart.

When Jackson inexplicably starts flirting with her, Nell is sucked into a whirlwind romance with the guy she least expects, and the things that used to matter-like perfect scores and volleyball-fall by the wayside. Nell is letting go for the first time ever, and it feels good.

Except Jackson is hiding an explosive secret, one that may prove their relationship was a game all along.

This YA contemporary will keep readers glued to the page with Laurie Devore's signature blend of compulsive writing, edgy romance, and tough-as-nails characters.

• ISBN10: 1250082889
• ISBN13: 9781250082886
• Publish Date: 30 January 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 27 April 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[readingwithwrin]

“Sometimes it’s just nice to have someone around who doesn’t expect anything from you.”
See reviews first on myblog

We have two teenagers Nell and Jackson, who are pushed and expected to be the best at everything they do in order to succeed in life.
Nell has to try extremely hard at everything she does when it comes to school and sports. Then we have Jackson who is a party boy who seems to be naturally good at everything.
Both of them always end up being 1 and 2 with Nell being just behind Jackson, and that rivalry is starting to cause problems at home for her. This is because of her mom being the principal at school, and wanting her to be number one and constantly pushing for better results.

Overall I did find myself enjoying this book. Are both Nell and Jackson morally grey characters? Yes. But they are also realistic when it comes to how much pressure is being put on some young people to be the best, and how they will do almost anything to get there.
Their relationship is obsessive and toxic on so many levels. Due to how they switch their focus from school/sports to each other and just completely focus on that instead to some extent.

“That doesn’t sound like love. That sounds dangerous.”

I was not expecting the twist towards the end that ended up making all hell break loose between them. So that part really threw me but also showed how rocky they were in all areas of their lives because of how much pressure was put on them.
Winner Takes All covers the social pressures teenagers are put on them and the consequences of having to always be the best.

Devore did an amazing job with this book, and I can’t wait to see what her next book ends up being about.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

This was a dark read, as expected, but it wasn't the story I was expecting. This was solidly Nell's story in my opinion. It was a tale of girl, who had been broken by the standards imposed by society, the pressure to achieve, and the demands of her overbearing mother.

•Pro: I found myself fully engrossed by this book. I found myself wanting to read just one more chapter, because I had to see where this was all going.

•Pro: I think people are going to find Nell unlikable, however there was something about the way Devore wrote her that made me share her pain and disappointments. I don't know if it was me relating to her as a woman, but as off-putting as she was, I wanted things to work out for her. Nell also experienced a lot of growth and was a different, wiser girl at the end of the book.

•Pro: This book takes on a lot of different topics broken families, class structure, but the one that resonated the most with me her exploration of gender inequality. Having graduated from engineering school and worked in IT, I just was able to related to what Nell was feeling.

•Pro: Devore also discusses the double standard that exists in society. Because Nell was driven and had goals she hoped to achieve, she was viewed as intense, in a negative way, whereas the boys were encouraged to go for what they wanted. Because Nell initiated sexual encounters, she was a slut, but you know, boys will be boys. I just found myself nodding my head in agreement often.

•Con: I was happy with the ending, but not totally satisfied. I still have some questions, but I think it was decent.

•Pro: I was a fan of the setting. Devore let us see some of the South Carolina beauty, and I always love seeing how the other half lives.

•Pro: The power politics were mind-blowing. This is not part of my nature, so watching it play out between Jackson and Nell was highly enlightening for me. Sometimes, it made me a little sad, but like a good train wreck, I could not look away.

•Pro: Go ahead, hate me, but I ended up liking Jackson. He evolved a lot over the course of the story, and there was good under all that damage. I also loved Nell's dad and her friends, Taylor and Lia. It was good to see she had someone in her corner.

•Pro: There was something about the romance that worked for me. It was obsessive and a little over the top, but there were these seemingly genuine moments shared between the two.

Overall: A provoking look at what can happen when the pressure to succeed pushes one girl past her limits.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

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