War and Speech
War and Speech by Don Zolidis, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on April 6, 2021, is a young adult fiction novel that explores the challenges faced by a teen girl navigating a new school environment. After her father’s imprisonment due to white-collar crimes, Sydney Williams finds herself struggling academically and living in a less-than-ideal situation with her mother. At Eaganville High, she encounters a speech team that epitomizes a cutthroat culture, prompting her to join forces with fellow misfits to undermine their dominance.
In this story, Sydney’s journey unfolds as she becomes an unexpected contender in the speech competition, driven by a desire to dismantle the elitist team from within. The narrative delves into themes of friendship, family dynamics, and social issues, including poverty and the pressures of school life. As Sydney grapples with her ambitions and the allure of winning, she must confront the implications of her choices and what it truly means to succeed. With 448 pages, this edition offers a humorous yet poignant look at the complexities of adolescence and the quest for identity amidst societal expectations.
Official synopsis Publisher
Mean Girls meets the debate team in this fish-out-of-water story about a teen girl determined to sabotage the elitist speech team at her new school.
Not everyone can be a winner… and 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?
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