Ryan Dean West (known as Ryan Dean, West, or Winger) is like an amalgamation of Holden Caulfield, Scott Pilgrim, and Arnold Spirit. He is also greater than the sum of his literary parts. He's SUCH a fourteen-year-old boy, in that he is sweet, sarcastic, and crass all at once. The book itself is laugh-out-loud funny and that stands alone without the brilliance of Sam Bosma's illustrations. Not a whole lot actually happens in the book--Ryan Dean goes to his weird, specialized private school and plays rugby and loves/lusts after his best friend. All of the non-happenings lead to an ending that feels like a punch to the gut for the sheer happen-ness of it. Yes, I just made up the word "happen-ness." Deal with it. Anyhow, I'm a little bit in awe of Winger.