Announcing the Winner of March Sadness

We have a winner! There were many strong contenders, but there was one book that cleared every round with a trail of broken hearts and rose to the top on a tidal wave of tears.

But before we reveal the winner, here is some behind-the-scenes commentary on the competition:

While we’re really impressed with how the March Sadness bracket turned out, we can’t say it matched our expectations. The EL staff filled out our own brackets, and we failed abysmally. From nearly everyone guessing that A Little Life would sweep the left side of the bracket, to being (pessimistically) certain The Fault in Our Stars would be the runaway winner, our showings were frankly embarrassing. Out of a maximum 57 points, our winning bracket (belonging to former intern, Kyla Walker—congrats, Kyla!) scored a measly 26 points. And our lowest score, by our lovely Managing Editor, Wynter Miller (sorry to call you out, Wynter), was only 12. And I, the author of this article, who by all means should be the best at guessing given that I run our social media accounts, clocked in at a (frankly embarrassing) 17 points. I thought I knew you all well, dear followers, and I’m ashamed to say I clearly do not. My hubris got the better of me. Is this what fantasy sports feels like? If so, I don’t think I like it. But… I will be playing again next year anyway. Which kind of seems to be the entire vibe of sports? Maybe we’re onto something here.

Here is the winner of March Sadness:

For those following along at home, here’s how the bracket played out:

Thanks for playing and following along! Join us again next year for another (possibly also rhyming but definitely not sports-related) March Madness bracket.