May the Best Man Win is a 2021 young adult novel by ZR Ellor. It follows the rivalry between trans boy Jeremy Harkiss and his ex, football star Lukas Rivers, as they compete to be Homecoming King.
May the Best Man Win contains examples of:
- Big Brother Bully: Lukas's older brother Jason constantly mocked and insulted him for being autistic. When he was killed by a drunk driver last May, a part of Lukas was mad at him for it because they would never have the chance to figure their relationship out.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Jeremy and Lukas have been best friends since fifth grade. They dated for the first three years of high school before Jeremy dumped Lukas just before he came out as trans. They get back together after Lukas realizes he's gay.
- Closet Key: Lukas realizes he's gay when he becomes attracted to Jason's old friend Terry Gould. They make out in the woods behind the school. Terry later steals thousands of dollars from the school so he can buy a plane ticket to be with his boyfriend in California, but the experience helps Lukas realize that he's really attracted to Jeremy, not just the girl he thought he was.
- Does Not Like Men: Jeremy's mom has had almost nothing but bad experiences with men. Jeremy's dad left her, and her last boyfriend yelled at her and hit six-year-old Jeremy. When Jeremy comes out as trans, she has trouble accepting him partly because she sees masculinity as toxic.
- Dumb Struck: Lukas sometimes loses the ability to talk when he's emotionally exhausted. All he can do is smile politely and nod while he waits for his speech to return.
- Exiled to the Couch: Lukas finds out his parents' marriage is falling apart when he comes home late to find his dad sleeping on the couch.
- Flipping the Bird: Sol flips Lukas off for making a campaign video for himself that featured footage of pre-transition Jeremy.
- Glorified Sperm Donor: Jeremy's dad left when his mom got pregnant. On one of the school's costume days, he dresses as a sperm cell, and explains that he's dressing as his father, "or at least his biggest contribution to my life."
- Held Back in School: Lukas had to repeat fourth grade. It may have been for the better, because he was the biggest kid in freshman year and easily got onto the varsity football team.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Jeremy wants to be seen as just a regular boy rather than as a trans boy.
- Picky Eater: During all of third grade, Lukas wouldn't eat anything without sriracha mayo on it.
- The Unfavorite: When Lukas was in elementary and middle school, his family lavished praise on Jason, who was popular and well-behaved and got good grades. Lukas was the problem child who acted out in school and was bullied by classmates. Even now that Lukas is a popular football player, his family still sees him as inferior. He thinks that if he'd died instead of Jason, everyone would have already moved on.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Lukas hopes that if he becomes Homecoming King and gets accepted into a top college, he can finally earn his parents' pride and save their marriage.
- Wrong-Name Outburst: During a Rivers family dinner where all the adults are slightly drunk, Lukas tells his parents he might get into Stanford if he becomes Homecoming King. His mom says, "I'm proud of you, Jas-" before she catches herself.
- Yaoi Fangirl: Jeremy used to see himself as one. He obsessively watched yaoi anime and read Slash Fic and gay romance novels, and dreamed he was one of the boys from the stories. At first he thought he was just a straight girl fetishizing gay men. It took a long time for him to realize that the reason he liked reading about gay boys so much was because he was one.
