‘May the Best Man Win’ the 16th Round of Reading for Social Justice

The UWT and CEI have brought Real Literature, a peer-based reading club to have open conversations and spread awareness on experiences in the community.

The 16th round of Reading Lit for social justice presents “May the Best Man Win” by Z.R. Ello. The Real Literature Book Club was co-founded by Nedralani Logotala and Alaina Bull in 2018,  and intends to create a space for conversation about social justice issues that are not always discussed. 

“For each quarter we try to pick a book that features characters and themes pertaining to social justice issues and minority groups. Winter quarter is usually a hard time of the year for folks, so we wanted to pick a book that dealt with social justice issues that we haven’t covered before in other quarters while also being a lighter read,” said Layne Gonzales, co-facilitator of the group since summer of 2022. 

The young adult (YA) novel follows the story of a trans teen boy who’s competing for homecoming king alongside the boy he had previously broken up with. The YA novel explores bigotry and outdated school administrations while sharing a queer romance.  

“Sometimes during the discussion, folks share how they are connecting with the characters in the book and talk about their personal lives and it’s really cool to see folks open up over time and become more connected to Real Lit as a community,” said Gonzales. 

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to join the conversation and speak about their own experiences to create an inclusive and safe space. The author Z. R. Ello will be joining the literature group March 9, 12:30-1:30 p.m. via Zoom to continue a greater conversation with the community.

The literature book club meets every Thursday from 12:30-1:30 via Zoom. Although sessions began January 5, it’s not too late to sign up and catch up, free copies of the book are available in the Tioga library front desk. 
To register visit: https://tinyurl.com/BestManWin