Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

42 reviews

a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0


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candearangotobon's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

My jaw was dropped several times.

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bookish_afrolatina's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

Since I couldn't get a hold of the print copy in time for this read-a-thon, I ended up listening to it on audiobook via the Libby app, which was great!

I really enjoyed this story despite this anxiety that catfishing give me šŸ˜‚. Felix is a sweet kid who has been through some shit & I'm glad he had the space to explore the complexities of it. I was a little bit surprised at the amount of cannabis use throughout the book, but it's not like I can say whether or not that's authentic as I'm not a teenager & I don't live in NYC. The best part about this book for me, aside from Felix's friendship with Ezra, was the depiction of a person questioning who they really are & realizing that this may be a lifelong journey instead of arriving at an identity destination.

ā—content warningā—: there are a lot of instances of transphobia throughout.

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marigoldgem's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0


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stacy837's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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theuncannydani's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Very underwhelmed and I don't want to read about teenagers anymore.

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gwarren's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

4.5

Beautiful and insightful, definitely worth reading.

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gilnean's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.0


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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

3.5


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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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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

5.0

If you have ever been unsure of who you are or what love feels like, Felix Ever After is the book for you. If youā€™ve ever been bullied, felt like your parents didnā€™t understand you, said the wrong thing that did (or almost did) cost you a dear friendā€¦ youā€™ll find something to relate to in Felix Ever After. If you are anywhere in the LGBTQIAP+ community, Felix Ever After will make you feel seen. This book received a lot of hype when it was published in 2020. It deserved every bit of it.

I loved Felix Ever After because it made me cry. It dug into my heart. I loved Felix. I loved the complexity of the assembled cast. I loved the truth. And I loved the love. Kacen Callender built a collection of robust characters in this book that surprised you in ever scene. Many of the surprises were goodā€¦ and many, many were disappointing, horrifying. Callender did an amazing job capturing the complexity of the human experience and conflict in the psyche while raising injustices and prejudices faced by the LGBTQIAP+ community. From outside and inside the community.

This book is about identity and learning to love yourself. Itā€™s difficult ā€“ very difficult ā€“ when there are people telling you that you are not worth loving because of your identity. Felix faces this throughout his summer program at St. Catherineā€™s in New York. From an emotional perspective, Callender had me from the first chapter. I canā€™t emphasize enough how impactful this book is. From a technical perspective, I think Callender did an amazing job reflecting our world. There is joy and love, but there is also so much grief and self-hate and doubt. About so many things ā€“ not just identity. There are amazing conversations and horrible behavior is called out.

Which brings me to the warnings.

The protagonist is deadnamed publicly and by family. It is addressed in different ways through the book ā€“ transphobia and addressing it is a major theme. Thereā€™s transphobic bullying, conversations about invasion of privacy, cyberbullying, encouraging illegal activities (phone hacking), manipulation, disowning, abandonment, divorce, and Iā€™m sure other triggers I missed. This book is filled with sensitive content and while there is so much good in it, readers should tread carefully.

Outside these warnings, Felix Ever After is a book Iā€™d enthusiastically recommend to anyone. It has representation and messages that are so important, particularly for those still exploring their own identity ā€“ which is many adults who didnā€™t have the language when they were younger, as well as young adults. I wouldnā€™t recommend it to children because of the reading level ā€¦ but everyone else. Everyone else. This book should be a library staple.


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