Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

45359713

Release Date: May 5, 2020

Page Count: 368 pages

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

From Stonewall and Lambda Award–winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.

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.

Review

Beautiful and heartbreaking. This book is really well written and the writing just flows. It was so good and I couldn’t put it down.

We STAN Leah!! I love the main characters but she’s my favourite! Ezra’s friendship with Felix is beautiful. He is one of the most supportive and understanding characters I’ve ever read. Most of the characters are queer and a lot of them are POC, and it just makes me feel so happy.

Felix’s character development is another favourite. He is flawed but he is relatable and he learns and grows.

I didn’t read the blurb and so I didn’t know about the love triangle. It surprised me because I haven’t read that trope in such a long time. It just makes me sad because one person always ends up unhappy. At one point I thought it was going to be poly.(Wish it was though) My ship is still endgame!! Damn but Felix is so oblivious!

Felix Ever After is an incredible book. Art and self love and hope. Will recommend this to everyone, especially if you are Black, queer and trans. It’s a fucking masterpiece.

CW: homophobia, transphobia, deadnaming, racism, parental abuse and neglect, frequent drug and alcohol use