War and Speech // my inner speech kid is thriving

Me going into this book: In what world is speech and debate cool? Seriously where? Show me because I want to go.

After starting it: Wait, nevermind. They are all pricks.

I’m a major theater nerd and in addition to that I’m also on my school’s speech team. So imagine my excitement when I found a book about speech. Spoiler alert: I was pretty excited. My speech kid flag was flying so high. Humorous Interpretation is my event so I was bubbling with excitement when a character was doing it too. Ok, let’s actually hop into the review now.

Book: War and Speech

Author: Don Zolidis

Published May 5th 2020 by Disney-Hyperion

Format: physical book

trigger warnings

death of a loved one, grief

At Eaganville School for the Arts, Speech and Debate is king. The varsity members of the squad are treated like heroes, and the coach, the irascible Joey Sparks, might as well be a god. But when new girl Sydney Williams, a perennial loser, joins the team, she has only one goal in mind: To infiltrate the team in an elaborate conspiracy and tear them apart from the inside out (from Goodreads).

Wow okay, Sydney does not mess around with the teenage angst or the self depreciation. I feel you girl. She puts up with exactly no one’s shenanigans and I respect that. But she is going to be eaten alive by the speech tigers of hell if she does not get a filter. I feel like it went a bit too far at times and became borderline annoying.

Oh! And the emotional journey. *claps in appreciation* Sydney starts to prioritize herself and she realizes that without the help of a love interest.

I wish I could peel Logan out of the book and then punch him. *growls* After I learned how to properly punch, obviously. Literally, shut up. The fact that he has the audacity to say some of those things.

Thank goodness Sydney didn’t fall for one of the speech jerks. I swear this entire book would have been ruined if she did. I honestly didn’t need the romance at all.

I did love the cookies. Giant cookies with snarky messages? Yes, please! (more on funny cookies here: Books That Make Me Hungry.) Also, communication through cookies is the most adorable way to get back together. I see some of the chemistry, but not THAT much. I’m pretty neutral towards the relationship. Honestly could have gone without it.

Alright, this is getting pretty long, so I will wrap it up. The writing is fresh, the characters are dynamic, and SPEECH!!! It was definitely a fun read that I’d recommend to someone looking for a light read.