Wren Martin Ruins it All

By: Jamie Steinberg

Wren Martin has not had it easy his first three years of high school, but things are about to turn around for him. He is now Student Council President (sure, on a technicality) at Rapture High and has plans for fixing up the auditorium stage. Unfortunately for his classmates, that means the dissolution of the annual Valentine’s Day dance. In his eyes, it is a drain on the school’s resources and is exceptionally hard to navigate socially, especially when you are asexual. Add into the mix his nemesis is now Vice President of the Student Council and actively trying to make this dance continue by any means necessary. Wren Martin Ruins it All is sort of a misnomer as he doesn’t ruin EVERYTHING, but he sure does his best to make his own life a little more difficult. Despite the self-sabotage, this book is worth the read to find out if Wren can manage redemption.

Wren Martin can certainly hold a grudge. In the seventh grade Leo Reyes dropped a book on his head and he has never forgiven him. Not to mention the fact that Leo seems TOO perfect, which only seems to add to Wren’s perspective that Leo is the worst person. Much to Wren’s dismay, Leo is now his VP so that means they will be working closely together. Plus, Leo has come up with a great solution to Wren’s budget problem – see if they can get Buddy, the new anonymous “not a dating” app, on board as a sponsor. Wren finds this task impossible, so he agrees to let Leo take a stab at convincing them…which ends up totally backfiring on his master plan. With the app on board, Wren decides he might as well try out the app – for research, of course (don’t tell his bestie Ryan). To Wren’s surprise, he actually makes a friend and may have even developed (GASP!) feelings for his new buddy…Wren is asexual so he thought dating wasn’t worth the hassle, but could he have been wrong?

Author Amanda DeWitt does a wonderful job at investing the reader in Wren’s development. You’ll start off finding him a little off putting, but once you dive into where his walls come from you will certainly understand him better. In fact, you might just find yourself wanting Wren to open his heart AND his mind. Every high school experience is far from smooth, but this book spins the typical drama on its head and adds a modern twist. It also reminds readers that there is no such thing as perfect and even people who may seem to be without faults could be hiding something that weighs heavily on their hearts.

Readers of Wren Martin Ruins it All will fall for the oddball and flailing teen that is Wren Martin. I picture Kurt Hummel from “Glee” meets Victor from “Love Victor.” Page after page you will follow along on his Wren fights his inner demons and you will certainly want to find out if he is willing to change his mind about the dance, Leo and where his future lies.