Monday, May 4, 2020

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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.

















Do you like cookie cakes?
Let us know in the comments!

30 comments:

  1. Sydney sounds like a great character. And I'm all for a book that can make me laugh. As I've been loving ya contemporary lately, I'll add this to my list.

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    1. Sydney owned me. The snark was so strong with that one. I was really happy with how things turned out for her. I always love seeing an underdog come out on top

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  2. The similarity between her and her father as mentioned in the blurb brings a different POV to the book from what I was expecting. This sounds so good -- and Sydney pretty complex.

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    1. She kind of felt like they were all losers, but Sydney finally found her niche. She found a great set of friends, and this talent for orating. It was fun to watch her become more confident.

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  3. Yum those cookies! It sounds like an interesting read and you know I love a good sarcastic heroine. I can see why she's so angry too!

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    1. I was totally wanting a cookie cake, when I read this book. Syd was fantastic! She wielded her snark like a weapon, but it was really a form of self protection. She had a lot of big issues to work through, and she had been avoiding that for so long. I was happy she dealt with those things, and was able to move forward with her own life.

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  4. great post. the story sounds interesting and those cookies....MMMMMM
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. Such a great book, and yes, fresh baked cookies are my kryptonite.

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  5. From the summary, it sounds like this would be a heavier book. I'm glad you had ended up having so much fun with it.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. Not the lightest topics, but handled in such a way, that they don't bog down the story. They are explored, but offset with a lot of humor

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  6. I'm so happy to hear this one was a hit for you! I love the sound of Sydney. Any book that can get me to laugh while reading is a winner for me!

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    1. I totally jibed with Syd's brand of humor, and it kept coming and coming. Sometimes, I welcome over the top characters and antics, because they let me leave the real world behind for a while. Lots of laughs in this one

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  7. Sydney sounds amazing and Im a sucker for the snarky characters.

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    1. She was the queen of snark, and she didn't pretend she wasn't either, which I loved.

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  8. Mmmmm, cookie cakes. Sydney sounds like my kind of character. I love some snarky goodness. I also like that this made you laugh so much and that it also tackled some more serious topics. Sounds like a nicely balanced story.

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    1. It was very much in line with my kind of humor, so I loved it

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  9. I am all about books that make me laugh lately. I'll definitely have to check this one out!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. Same. I love a good funny book. I know humor is one of those things, where one size does not fit all, but if you like snarky wit, I think you would enjoy this book

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  10. This sounds really cute! I still need to read Amy and Craig, what am I doing with my life!? Also those cookies cracked me up hahah. And now I really wish I had one of my own!

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    1. Amy and Craig was great, and even though we are told it's not that kind of love story, I still held out hope. Yeah, I ended up in tears, but I really enjoyed seeing Craig work through his "stuff", and Amy did too. Fresh baked chocolate chip will always be a grab for me. But only baked. The packaged ones don't do it for me. And, not frosting on my cookie cake either. It makes it too sweet.

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  11. Sounds like an author I should read. I do love books that make me laugh.

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    1. He has a sense of humor I enjoy. If you like sarcasm and snark, you might enjoy this book

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  12. It is definitely a complicated situation when a parent is in jail. Often I see that the parent is mistakenly put in jail but I appreciate when the author takes the time to deal with all the emotions that come along with a parent actually being guilty of the crimes and how this affects the child. I think that would be the most interesting and important aspect to me. I recently read a book about a daughter whose parents split up, and she finds out that it is because the parent she was idealising actually cheated... and that comes with a whole range of emotions too...

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    1. It's always tough, when a parent falls from grace. Oddly enough, every teen experiences that point, when they finally see their parents as fallible humans. Dad going to jail or a parent cheating is a harsh wake up, but it's a normal developmental milestone.

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  13. This book looks so, so good! Your review especially convinced me. I always wanted to be on a debate team growing up but my schools never had one. I guess it's more of a US thing? The fact that this book has tons of laugh moments is perfect!

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    1. My school was really small, so we didn't have a lot "frills", including debate team. I think I would have been good at it, had I had the opportunity. I am not sure if it's just a US thing - good question.

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  14. I just love books that can make me laugh and those cookie cakes are the best, Sam!

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    1. I can be snarky, and I am fluent in sarcasm, so this one really spoke to me

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  15. This book sounds fun but what sounds even more fun? Those cookie cakes and the ones you found on google? Love them. They put a smile right on my face so now I feel like I need to check out this book for those cookies. That's a legit reason to get a book, right?

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    1. I think you have to have a certain sense of humor to appreciate Sydney, but I loved her, and when she took over the cookie cakes, that was just fantastic. If you jibe with the humor and are looking to laugh, it's a very good reason to get a book

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