"Felix Love has never been in love - and, yes, he's painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it's like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What's worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he's one marginalization too many - Black, queer, and transgender - to ever get his own happily-ever-after.When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages - after publicly posting Felix's deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned - Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn't count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi-love triangle...But, as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve"
Oh my god, this book. So many emotions. I've wanted to read this for quite some time, and once I picked it up, it didn't take me long to finish. The synopsis does a pretty good job of breaking things down - Felix is taking summer art classes at school, and an anonymous asshole targets him with their disgusting transphobia. While he navigates the fallout and ensuing emotions, he's also dealing with cruel comments from an ex, another student being a dick for seemingly no reason, and on top of these interpersonal struggles, he desperately needs to finish (ahem...start...) his portfolio for college applications. It's a lot for a seventeen-year-old to deal with, but fortunately he has a very supportive best friend to keep him moving forward. Which brings me to...
The characters. Whom I loved. Felix is a little uncertain, a little insecure, but ultimately unapologetically true to himself. Ezra, the aforementioned best friend, is lovely and wonderful and Felix's fiercest supporter. And Kacen Callender does an amazing job developing Felix's high school friend group. His situation, with one close friend and then a group of people he hung out with by extension but didn't know quite as well or feel as comfortable with, felt very familiar to me, and I loved the way each member of the group's personality and voice developed a little more as the story went on. Finally, there were some amazing examples of people not being what they seemed, which I really appreciated. So often in YA, an antagonist can become a little one-dimensional or a frustrating parent is just a frustrating parent. I appreciated that there was some added depth and nuance to some of the characters that Felix didn't initially mesh well with.
And finally, the plot and writing style. This book is not a light read. There are some difficult situations tackled, and the genuine emotion and openness throughout Felix's experiences is incredible. In the acknowledgements, it says that this book was deeply personal, and I feel that in every page. I aspire to create something as honest and raw as Kacen Callender has - everything felt so real. I feel like Felix is someone I could have gone to school with and become friends with, and I'm so happy that this book exists. Felix's story is beautiful.
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