Reviews with content warning for Racism - Felix Ever After

Firstly: I knew this was going somewhere when it referenced Avatar The Last Airbender, Mulan and BTS on the same page.
Secondly, I loved this. The characters are vibrant (please protect Ezra and Leah at all costs) and their development is amazing, the plot is tense and fun and heartwarming and unexpected and most importantly it covers so many important topics with such an exceptional sensibility.

Content Warnings

solaria's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

Major spoilers ahead!!

Before I begin, I'd like to preface this by saying the book is leaps and bounds ahead in terms of its diversity in comparison to other books out there. I particularly loved how it didn't shy away from discussing problems within the queer community, such as white privilege and inter-community transphobia which often isn't talked about in queer fiction, or, even in the queer community at large. The author did a decent job at exploring Felix's internal dialogue when experiencing identity crisis and trying to figure out his gender identity, and it is definitely one of the best parts of the book.

Now onto my problems with the book:

1) Plot devices / macguffun quest — The whole "grandequeen69" sub-plot was SOOOO unnecessary and really added nothing to the story. Realistically, Felix would've blocked the account as soon as he saw it. Instead, he continues to engage with the account and get hurt by it, which makes this part of the story particularly frustrating to read especially when he continually brings up wanting to block the account but doesn't every single time. I felt like screaming JUST BLOCK IT ALREADY at him. It also made Leah only important for this macguffun quest of finding out who was behind the account and the gallery (until the end of the novel where she becomes more involved, but still just feels like a character that was added to further the relationship between Felix and Ezra). Additionally, when the person responsible for all the transphobic comments and actions that Felix endured revealed...it was really anticlimactic? The clues are laid out blatantly with no real mystery or twist, and by that point of the novel I had completely got over my desire to know who was responsible for it about the gallery and just wanted the book to stop trying to bring it up.

2) The whole story is TOLD — The book is told from Felix's first person perspective, but I can't think of a single example where Felix SHOWS us anything that's happening aside from basic descriptions of the events occurring around him. This leads to a very one-dimensional and uninteresting landscape of his world, the people and the problems within it. As a reader I like digging out information about the world I'm exploring and painting a picture of what's happening in my head, but in this book it was very hard to do that because Felix gives us all the information we need in which leaves no room for exploration or interpretation. The only time he does do this is when describing his own or other characters art, which is nice but I wish the book didn't just blatantly tell everything as it was. Sometimes I felt like there was too much dialogue between characters to cover up for the fact that the plot and otherwise descriptions of the world weren't that interesting.

3) Editing choices? — Especially when the book was showing us the characters texting, I don't know why some of the text conversations were repeated like we didn't just read them a chapter ago? Not sure if anyone else picked up on this but it bugged me a little.

4) Felix isn't a compelling lead character — Throughout the book, I thought Felix got rewarded a lot for being an asshole. An example of this was his dismissal of Ezra, his struggles and his passions (especially in the first half of the book I noticed). I thought that he was very lucky that Ezra was such a good friend that stuck around. Felix himself would even realise he was an asshole, but it felt like there were never any repercussions and the conflict would disappear. There was continous cycles of this: Felix would make an offhanded or unnecessary comment about someone or something, the person affected gets upset or angry, Felix has an internal dilemma about saying what he said, and then nothing comes of it. Rinse and repeat. It made Felix a quite frustrating narrator because he would start to gain some self-awareness and then immediately let go of it because he was never really reprimanded for, putting it simply, being a dick sometimes. The only compelling part about him was his exploration and struggle in figuring out his identity.

5) Corny dialogue — The Harry potter references made me cringe so badly. Why why why. A lot of the slang and conversations felt really out of touch.

6) The parents — The exploration of Felix and his mother's relationship or lack thereof was also a bit underwhelming. His father kept popping in and out of the story randomly, I wish the author would've utilized him more as a character. I felt like there could've been a lot better exploration of with Felix's parents and the impact they've had on him. Felix's father felt like a character in a teen drama where they just do not exist outside of the home.

7) Felix and Ezra — Likewise, I didn't think the romance between Felix and Ezra was particularly compelling. There were no signs throughout the novel up until Ezra's confession that Felix had any feelings for Ezra and didn't see him as more than a best friend, which is why them ending up together by the end of the book caught me off guard. It felt forced and I thought a more thoughtful ending could've been utilized to solidify Felix realising that forming his identity and figuring out his place in the world isn't easy and his journey isn't over yet instead of throwing him into a relationship for the sake of it.

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o_alioth's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

khiwords's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Right off the bat, Felix was very relatable. He was at times selfish, thoughtless, and a bit rash. He also wasn't very practical.

Like wanting to get into Brown but not putting into the amount of work, he logically should have been putting in.

But honestly I'm not gonna judge him too harshly for that because it's obvious that subconsciously he wasn't really set on that goal anyway. Not to mention, he's human and we aren't always logical in the ways that we technically should be.

I did like how Callender allowed Felix to make mistakes without making him too unlikable. Like he was a very genuine person throughout his mistakes and when he realized that

Declan wasn't the person who posted the gallery

he let it go pretty quickly. Sometimes authors make the characters act in dumb ways despite it very obviously being the wrong thing just for drama so I liked that Felix had enough self-awareness that he went back and forth between doing the wrong thing and owning up when he was wrong.

Not to mention, I too want to fall in love in order to feel something and want to feel deserving of love.

Ezra was a babe throughout the entire thing. Even with his minor flaws, he was pretty chill. Love that for him.

Now one of my issues with the book is the writing. Someone on booktok called it 'diary-like' and I'd have to agree. Like some points did feel more telling than showing to me. Some of the transitions weren't really smooth in terms of emotions. Like I would have loved to get into the ache a bit more. But it wasn't to the point where the book is unbearable.

HATED all the Harry Potter references. As someone who is gen-z and has had a very intense Harry Potter phase, I can guarantee you no one makes that many Harry Potter references. As the likelihood of the majority of a gen-z friend group being huge Potterheads is unrealistic. Even so, it was just doing too much. But I heard that Callenender is taking out the references because JK Rowling is a TERF. So thank the little mercies.

Some of the book felt unrealistic to me. Like it was just done for the convenience of the plot.

No fucking way did Felix just happen to see Ezra across the street during the Pride Parade and everything stops just for them to have their moment. Nope, would not happen. And the way that the school worked just felt weird to me. Like kids just smoking blatantly in the parking lot. Around the corner in the park sure but on school property??? Idgaf how rich the school is, shit doesn't make any sense.

Despite those grievances, I'd def reread this book. Not like instantly but if I wanted to have a pick me up or get out of a reading slump, this would be the book to read. What really made me look past the flaws was the overall message. I like the concept of letting go of people who hurt us. It was realistic that some things just go unresolved.

I'm looking at you, Felix's deadbeat mom

I also liked that

Declan didn't forgive Felix. The fact that they actually acknowledged they were bad for each other was so fucking satisfying. Like, let's look at it realistically. They both wanted the Brown spot, and only one of them could get it. How would they handle the fact that one of them lost while their relationship still being relatively new? Answer: Very badly. Not to mention, Ezra did treat Felix like shit for three years for no valid reason. Like I understood why he did it but I wouldn't be able to let it go fully. I'd be just a bit suspicious that he'd slip up and be mean. Lastly, any relationship that starts with catfishing, regardless of the reason why, is just a no. Like, stop. Also, why would you, a transguy, want to date someone who you, just a month ago, thought was the transphobic asshole who outed you??? So yeah, Callender gets props for the wonderful bout of emotional maturity that was the awkward bedroom scene.

Also, the rep was really fucking good. It didn't feel forced. They were just queer kids of color being kids. None of them fell into stereotypes. Like even the worst characters

fucking Marisol and Austin

had hints of complexity. Which doesn't change my opinion of them but makes me appreciate Callender for displaying people doing bad things while also still being people. Like sometimes the "bad guys" in the story can be exaggerated to the point of being cartoonish which takes away from the actual pain of the main character. I didn't feel that in this story.

There's also the romance aspect.

I know some people felt it was a bit rushed which I can see with Declan falling for Felix but at the same time I kind of get it. Like Declan's a really lonely guy, so it's not unbelievable that he'd fall fast and hard for someone who made him feel less lonely. I wanted Ezra to be the one Felix ended up with since chapter one, so I don't think their relationship was too rushed. Like I was picking up the signals since the mf beginning. Do wish we got to see more cute times and that Felix liking him back was hinted at earlier but I'll take what i can get tbh.

Finally, the scene of

Felix kicking Declan's chair out from under him was fucking hilarious.

Content Warnings

alexvb's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This book is was missing just one thing: Poly. Multiple times throughout the story I was like: This better be poly. This is perfect for poly. If this doesn't end in poly I'll be so mad. It felt so heavily hinted at that I was convinced it was going to happen! And then it didn't... very sad about that. We need MORE poly in books, I'm just saying!

Also, the way the romance to came together at the end without any real in depth look or discussion between the characters was another thing I felt was missing.

Also, the fall out of Declan and Felix's relationship - happening literally within a day -, especially with Declan auto assuming sex (but he respectfully stops!) and the link between the old man at the beginning being his grandad < a bit too cheesy for me. I really wish Declan and Felix had properly talked about it and tried to work on it. Because they clearly like each other -- which is why I thought we'd be getting POLY!! -- they just need to properly talk about the catfishing, and working through their history of misunderstandings, and figuring out how to communicate first as friends again. But it pretty much got completely thrown away (even though it's a major part of the book) within a chapter. Such a shame. I am asking once again for poly.

Besides that, pretty much PERFECT!

Good Points:

I cried multiple times!
I enjoyed seeing Felix learn to grow and love himself and check stuff out.
I really really liked how we don't know his deadname. We're never told it which is how it should be. Because that's not Felix. That's not who he is. Felix is Felix.
I love how his friends wouldn't stand for bs such a racism and transphobia.
Sure Felix annoyed me a few times but he's just being a teen right? Jumping to conclusions or getting angry at stuff before properly thinking things through or considering the other person's POV -- especially with his dad. I was annoyed at Felix for being annoyed at his dad -- I understand WHY he was annoyed at his dad but I could also see dad's POV and what he's going through.
An example where Felix annoyed me was when his dad starts opening up and yes he brings up Felix using the pill because yes he can still get pregnant, but Felix flies off the handle with it. He gives his dad such a hard time. And it hurt to see to be honest.

But teens... so dramatic at time *hehe*

While I could see teens being teens, I could also see points of the story that felt a little too adult-sounding. Like when they pointed out pretty quickly that Felix projecting and they ask if he's worthy of love. I get it. But at the same time, are 17 year olds really that observant and mature? I certainly wasn't! Maybe teens have changed a lot over the last 10 years since I've been one but I feel like they kids were a little too mature to notice this stuff and point it out. I totally see standing up for your friends and pointing out racism and transphobia as a teen but spotting someone who is projecting was a little too unrealistic for me. But like I said, maybe teens have changed in the last decade.

Note to myself: I figured out who the culprit was about 40% into the book.

More Good Points:

I enjoyed this book so much! Honestly, the complaints I do have are so minute and really don't matter and they don't discredit how much I was into this book. I was so sucked in, it took me an afternoon to read completely. I could not put it down! Amazing! So Good!

Content Warnings

kessekirsche's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

davidbythebay's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4 5 Stars. I really enjoyed this book. Not only was it from a unique perspective, it was also committed to being honest and frank. One of the greatest things I think this book does I'd contribute to and foster conversation about gender identity and sexual orientation. Filled with wonderful insight and a few new-to-me terms, it was a fun story despite the transphobia, homophobia, and racism. It was amazing to have an intersectional look at a character. Felix is trans, queer, and black. It's a perspective we don't get very often at all.

My drawbacks were the pacing was a little slow at times and I really didn't like how with each new direct message (DM) on Instagram we began at the beginning of the conversation to see the new message. It just took the wind out of the sails for me. But it didn't happen very often, so that's good. Another quibble is how I know Felix is 17 and all, but damn can he come across a little immature and amazingly single minded. From the fixation on every new possible transphobic suspect to how he can hyper focus on how his dad won't use his name, Felix just comes across as though he is immature masquerading as mature. With his dad, he never once considers the changes his dad has gone through and has to go through. Another gripe is how quickly turns happen with explosive emotional moments and then they seem to disappear - like with (no spoilers!) finding out someone you thought you knew is actually a transphobe and yet it just seems like they are still around in the background with other friends of yours.

Overall, however, it was an interesting take on a suspenseful mystery mixed with a little MM romance love triangle sort of thing, mixed with a self exploration of identity. Just plain identity in all its iterations. I really recommend this to anyone who has felt lost, anyone in the LGBTQ community, or anyone who wants to know what it's like being queer in our "enlightened" age.

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