Reviews with content warning for Racism - Felix Ever After

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

120 reviews

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

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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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riley_v29's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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davegrohlsgf_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

5.0

after reading so many sad and serious books, i needed to read something happy, and felix ever after is exactly the type of book i was looking for. the amount of love i have for this book, for all of the main characters, is indescribable. i absolutely loved the representation, and i actually feel like crying because i've finished this book.

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nglidk's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful

4.5

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josie24601's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

3.5

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7bookrats's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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diana_raquel's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring 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

4.0

*4.5 stars*

"It's easier to accept hurt and pain, sometimes, than love and acceptance."

Look at me! I'm late for the party! Again! Honestly, because of the hype that this book got when it let's try". Turns out I really liked this book. It has really good character development (especially when it comes to issues of identity). True, sometimes, Felix came across as a little whiny to me (look, I understand that a lot that happened in the book was horrible, and for the most part I was on team "Felix", but there were instances when I was rolling my eyes because I don't have patience for "teen/ schoolyard bullshit"), but I still was rooting for him and I really liked his development as a character because that development felt realistic and measured, not rushed.

Another thing that I really appreciated was the pacing. Things were not rushed and everything fell into place at the right time, giving time to the characters to digest everything good and bad that happened. It also gave time to the readers to get to know the major characters. Also, I couldn't figure out who was the one to outed Felix, and that's a thing that I liked about books that involved mysteries because it gets me engaged in the book.

I think that the only thing a little more negative that I have to say is that I don't agree with the end. Look, this has nothing to do with the book itself because the end actually makes a lot of sense

Spoiler

(but, I'm a sucker for the "enemies to lovers" trope and, because of that, I would prefer that Felix ended up with Declan instead of Ezra)

, it just that the trope used its not my kind of trope. It's more of a "me thing" than a "book thing".

Overall, I really recommend this book. It's a solid story about discovering your identity, perfect for every lover of "YA" literature.

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e_reader's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring 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

I loved this book! The characters felt so real and believable to me, which is sometimes hard to come by as a high schooler reading books written by people that were in high school 10 years ago. Felix is sometimes clueless, but in an endearing, human way. I think it’s a fine line between that, and making them irritatingly obtuse—but Kacen nailed it here. It’s clear they’re speaking from their own life through Felix, but I never got the sense that they were projecting so much so that Felix couldn’t be separated from them. That is, Kacen drew upon his own experiences but Felix was still distinct as a character. Also, maybe it’s a small thing but the way Instagram is used feels authentic. That’s easy to mess up, but everything there made sense.

Overall, I really enjoyed the window into the life of a Black, trans, and queer art student in NYC at a preppy high school.

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saaraah's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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