Jason Conrad's Reviews > Teacher of the Year

I don’t know where to begin. This book was phenomenal. The plot and story were well-paced and purposeful. The conflicts and hurdles were realistic. The variety of emotions I felt was extensive. Not only is this a marvelous book, but it is a marvelous DEBUT book.

The characters were so likeable. I loved Marvin. He was a wonderful protagonist. He also had great taste in music, and I loved the way he coped with songs in his mind. He was dedicated, compassionate, and lion-hearted. But also imperfect, conflicted, flawed. He was human. The book was told from his POV, and it was a fantastic, accurate portrayal of the realities of living with severe anxiety and trauma.

Olan was the perfect love interest. In addition to being a great father, he was also thoughtful, empathetic, and resilient.

The chemistry between Marvin and Olan was so incredibly strong and undeniable – their interactions were the highlights of the book. Watching them grow together and fall for one another was an absolute delight that had my heart swelling with happiness.

On the flipside, witnessing them work through their trauma and move forward on their life journeys together while not being co-dependent was a joy to watch unfold. There was so much emotional depth to both their relationships and their relationships with the other characters.

The book managed to seamlessly blend humor, wit, seriousness, romance, difficult topics, and spice (lots of spice). The balance between those elements was done just right, with nothing overpowering anything.

At its core, Teacher of the Year was more than those elements as well. It is a reminder of how important teachers and educators are, especially queer ones. We are living in a country where states think it’s acceptable to make illegal the mere mention of anything queer / LGBTQ. Hateful, spiteful, and evil people throw around words like “groomer” and “indoctrinate” (which, let’s be honest – some of those people can’t even properly give the correct definition of those words if asked). Queer kids are being attacked and can only do so much to stand up for themselves.

Teacher of the Year is a proclamation that queer educators exist, are here, and are not going anywhere. And furthermore, they’re here to protect queer students whose existence is being challenged. They’re here to protect every single kid who walks through their classroom door. They are here to fight the good fight and create safe environments for children to grow, learn, and develop into who they truly are. And in this book, we got a shining example of a teacher like that. We all deserve teachers, educators, and professors like Marvin.

I need to thank M.A. Wardell for sending me an advance copy that I got to read a few days before release. I am so glad this book is out in the world and I hope it finds its way into the hands of people who need it. It is one of the easiest 5-star ratings I have ever given.