Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

61 reviews

malloray's review against another edition

emotional hopeful

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This book was mid for me. I’ve liked Deaver’s other work more. BUT the nonbinary representation is fantastic. I really enjoyed Ben’s family and how that was handled. Ben feels like a very real person. However I wasn’t very invested in Nathan or the other side characters. They felt less like people to me. This book is by no means bad, though. Give it a try!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Physical abuse

elijah__'s review

emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

I think this is generally a good book I'm just not in the target audience for; I picked it up for an LGBT book club, but it felt oriented to a much younger audience. That being said, I think Mariam and Ben's relationship feels deeply inappropriate; Mariam is an adult, college graduate YouTuber who refers to a high school student as their "bestie" and ultimately

has them move to their area, or possibly even home, (it's unclear) to recruit them to their business the moment Ben graduates.

While the character of Mariam means no harm, the relationship mirrors YouTuber scandals in an unsettling way, and I feel it glorifies an inappropriate relationship to the teens this book seems to be aimed towards. While being friends with someone outside your age group is not inherently bad, a full adult with celebrity status calling a high-school-aged fan their "bestie" doesn't sit quite right with me. Making Mariam closer to Ben's age would make things feel a lot less questionable, and wouldn't be unrealistic, as plenty of teens have "made it" on social media.

That being said, the family drama feels realistic and well-written, as does the portrayal of mental illness. The romance is alright, if not particularly unique or interesting, and I enjoy the character of Nathan. The family plot really takes center stage for me, and I feel Hannah in particular is a very interesting and well-written character. While I like the characters, I do feel Nathan and Hannah are a bit lacking in flaws - - that being said, Hannah does exhibit some, and is (in my opinion) the most interesting character in the book; a guilt-ridden elder sister, now stepping into a parental role for her younger sibling, who would do anything to make up for lost time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Transphobia

Minor: Homophobia and Physical abuse

raquelrose's review

emotional hopeful sad tense 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? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Mental illness, Alcohol, Homophobia, Cursing, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts

th3seus's review

emotional hopeful sad 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? No

3.0

It was an emotional hard read for me bc it reminded me of my situation when I first came out to my parents. But it is a good book. It's hopeful, it's cute. It has a lovely ending 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Minor: Physical abuse

ghostlyprince's review

emotional funny reflective slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Abandonment, Homophobia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Religious bigotry, and Stalking

Minor: Gaslighting and Physical abuse

sky_lar's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Transphobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

fcksnotfound's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Transphobia

Minor: Deadnaming and Misogyny

asipofcozy's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.0

At the end of I Wish You All the Best I was left wanting more. More of Ben, more of Nathan, more of the dynamic between everyone because I absolutely adored this book. That beginning left me feeling so many things - anger, connection, frustration, hurt, jarred. And throughout the book I felt like I was being swept away with so many emotions and following along with Ben and their feelings.

What I think this book does really well at is showing the other side of reality and coming out. We are starting to really see an uptick in LGBTQIAP+ literature (which I am very grateful for). However, many of the books out there portray a lot positive coming-outs, which we need to feel hopeful, but at the same time we also need the ones where there isn't a positive coming out, like in the case of Benji coming out to their parents and being kicked-out.

I am not saying we shouldn't have all the positive examples of coming-out but for some of us coming-out was not a positive experience and we are left wondering, hoping will it get better? How can we move on from this? Can we still be accepted? Benji feels all of this and more, struggling through anxiety  and depression and fear of coming out ever again. I connected with them on such a large scale. 

My only critique would be that I wanted more, I wanted more of the characters, of the ending plot, of Nathan and Benji. More of Benji growing and gaining confidence. However, it seems like there is a Novella that is available to us so definitely picking it up :).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Transphobia, Homophobia, Abandonment, Mental illness, and Outing

Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

Also contains some body dysmorphia

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

“Whatever happens”—his grip tightens a little—“I wish you all the best, Benjamin De Backer.” He says it with a smile. “You deserve it.”

➽ I finally got around to reading I Wish You All the Best! It's an emotional story about Ben, a nonbinary teen whose coming out goes horribly wrong. They are thrown out of their parent's house and have no choice but to go live with their estranged sister. Hannah never got along with their parents, so they barely knew each other. Luckily, she takes in Ben and tries to help them together with her husband. I really felt for Ben, as they were in a bad situation and struggled to adjust to their new life. I liked that we saw Hannah and Ben reconnecting and dealing with their shared past, as a lot of things were left unsaid. Ben's also attending therapy for their anxiety and panic attacks, which was worsened by their parent's rejection and bigoted behavior. I appreciated the mental health representation and how Ben finds Nathan, a charismatic student at their new school who's super supportive. Their growing dynamic was really sweet and just what Ben needed in order to have the courage to deal with their struggles! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Homophobia and Physical abuse

axel_p's review against another edition

challenging emotional lighthearted 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

3.0

I really like it at first, but after a while it got boring to hear the main character complain so much. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Physical abuse, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Outing