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kaikai1618's review
5.0
4.5 stars
Never in my life have I read a book that encompasses the complexity of what it means to be an intersectional minority quite like this, especially coming from a book about a young person. Felix and I have a LOT in common situationally. Both transmasculine ppl who question their identity, similar ways our parents react to our transness, similar identities as queer and trans POC, living in similar political climates. And both of us are artists.
Felix has a pretty different personality than me, but his feelings of confusion, that hope to be loved in the way straight cis ppl seem to easily, and that need for external validation and pressure to attend a top school-- I relate to it deeply. There's all this pressure to perform all while you feel so mixed up in your identity. Felix's journey with his identity is so clearly written by someone with intersectional experiences. The complexity in conversation, the kinship when talking to other queer people who understand what it's like, and the disappointment of someone who's marginalized still not being accepting. It was so accurate it surprised me. Often in young adult, the queer story is pretty simple. The identity of the person is figured out or it's being discovered linearly. This book dived headfirst in to the subjects rarely ever seen in media. The author has a clear, bold voice. I loved how confusing and messy it was in this book while also touching on the nuance that comes with an intersectional experience. Boy the NUANCE. This book dived into topics I only discuss with other queer poc. It challenged privledge in class, race, family acceptance, and more. It was all so carefully handled with a clear understanding of how each character had and lacked privledge in some way.
In terms of how Felix falls in love, it was messy, complex, and extremely authentic. Often it's clear if someone isn't right for the other or if a possible love interest is toxic and can be written off. What I loved about this book is it didn't villanize anyone, didnt use cheap tricks to make one guy better than the other and the climax wasn't based on a shit show outing. The book wasn't perfect but it's one I want allys to read. It's such a great way to introduce them to a fraction of what we experience all the time. And it means the world to me that a book like this exists. It's so FELIX. He makes mistakes and there's drama with his relationship and identity and everything, but at the end of the day the book is about him and his development, not his relationship. And and that's how it should be.
The only reason it's not 5 stars is I wasn't as emotionally invested as I wanted to be. I think it's because I hyped up the book so much in my head after reading the first chapter and then putting it down until I felt I could properly absorb it. My mood was also strange today.
however, I think I had to face things internally today in a similar way he did. In a lot of ways Felix felt like a mirror I'm sometimes not ready to face in terms of my own flaws and fears. And if a book is both validating but also makes me think about my own life and how I'm living it, then I consider that book extremely successful.
Never in my life have I read a book that encompasses the complexity of what it means to be an intersectional minority quite like this, especially coming from a book about a young person. Felix and I have a LOT in common situationally. Both transmasculine ppl who question their identity, similar ways our parents react to our transness, similar identities as queer and trans POC, living in similar political climates. And both of us are artists.
Felix has a pretty different personality than me, but his feelings of confusion, that hope to be loved in the way straight cis ppl seem to easily, and that need for external validation and pressure to attend a top school-- I relate to it deeply. There's all this pressure to perform all while you feel so mixed up in your identity. Felix's journey with his identity is so clearly written by someone with intersectional experiences. The complexity in conversation, the kinship when talking to other queer people who understand what it's like, and the disappointment of someone who's marginalized still not being accepting. It was so accurate it surprised me. Often in young adult, the queer story is pretty simple. The identity of the person is figured out or it's being discovered linearly. This book dived headfirst in to the subjects rarely ever seen in media. The author has a clear, bold voice. I loved how confusing and messy it was in this book while also touching on the nuance that comes with an intersectional experience. Boy the NUANCE. This book dived into topics I only discuss with other queer poc. It challenged privledge in class, race, family acceptance, and more. It was all so carefully handled with a clear understanding of how each character had and lacked privledge in some way.
In terms of how Felix falls in love, it was messy, complex, and extremely authentic. Often it's clear if someone isn't right for the other or if a possible love interest is toxic and can be written off. What I loved about this book is it didn't villanize anyone, didnt use cheap tricks to make one guy better than the other and the climax wasn't based on a shit show outing. The book wasn't perfect but it's one I want allys to read. It's such a great way to introduce them to a fraction of what we experience all the time. And it means the world to me that a book like this exists. It's so FELIX. He makes mistakes and there's drama with his relationship and identity and everything, but at the end of the day the book is about him and his development, not his relationship. And and that's how it should be.
The only reason it's not 5 stars is I wasn't as emotionally invested as I wanted to be. I think it's because I hyped up the book so much in my head after reading the first chapter and then putting it down until I felt I could properly absorb it. My mood was also strange today.
however, I think I had to face things internally today in a similar way he did. In a lot of ways Felix felt like a mirror I'm sometimes not ready to face in terms of my own flaws and fears. And if a book is both validating but also makes me think about my own life and how I'm living it, then I consider that book extremely successful.
melinda_and_her_books's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. It made my heart so happy for Felix. It made me get all the feels. Such an adorable story. The narrator also did a good job with it. This story is about a transgender that is still trying to figure out what he identifies as. ❤
caramelie's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
Merci Felix de m’encourager, dans les mots d’Alok Vaid Menon, à avoir le courage de me briser le cœur moi-même.
J’ai retiré 0,25 pour les quelques répétitions qui n’ont en rien changé le fait que ce livre va rester avec moi très longtemps.
Ce livre m’a fait ressentir des émotions similaires à, voire plus intenses que, I Wish All the Best. Je recommande donc aux personnes qui ont aimé I Wish You All the Best de lire Felix Ever After et aux personnes qui ont aimé Felix Ever After de lire I Wish You All The Best.
J’ai retiré 0,25 pour les quelques répétitions qui n’ont en rien changé le fait que ce livre va rester avec moi très longtemps.
Ce livre m’a fait ressentir des émotions similaires à, voire plus intenses que, I Wish All the Best. Je recommande donc aux personnes qui ont aimé I Wish You All the Best de lire Felix Ever After et aux personnes qui ont aimé Felix Ever After de lire I Wish You All The Best.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Bullying
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Drug use, Racism, Classism, and Deadnaming
averyawkwardbeing's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
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? It's complicated
4.25
emilymas's review
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
awagnergaines's review
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
eramser's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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? Yes
3.0
thepetitepunk's review against another edition
5.0
I'm glad I judged this book by it's cover because Felix Ever After turned out to be my new favorite book. Am I allowed to say this is my favorite book of the month when it's the first book I finished this month...at 6am on June 2nd?
Felix Love is a trans, queer, black 17 year old art student in New York. Although it's Felix's dream to get into Brown University, he's not sure he's good enough to get into such a selective school, especially with his talented enemy Declan competing for a spot at the same college and a full-ride scholarship. And if that's not enough pressure for Felix to deal with, he also has to deal with transphobic anonymous messages through Instagram, a dad who hasn't yet referred to Felix as Felix, and an unsuspecting love triangle. At the heart of Felix Ever After are beautiful themes of identity discovery, friendship, love, and support.
The characters were truly a refreshing break from traditional YA fiction character tropes. Everyone was so real, so developed, that I felt like I knew the characters. Furthermore, there was tremendous diversity regarding race, class, sexuality, gender identity, and living situations. Each character was so complex and intriguing. The plot, which I'll just sum up as Felix tries to catfish a suspected transphobe while being completely oblivious to who really loves him and also there's lots of identity questioning, may not sound too thrilling, but it Kacen Callender did a great job of not wanting to put this book down. Something new was discovered every chapter, but it never felt like too much or too little. The writing was beautiful, the conversations were beautiful, the images were beautiful The support? The friendship? The direct mentioning of the intersection of gender, sexuality, race, and class? It was all so beautiful.
I was incredibly impressed with Felix Ever After. This is definitely a book I would read again.
Felix Love is a trans, queer, black 17 year old art student in New York. Although it's Felix's dream to get into Brown University, he's not sure he's good enough to get into such a selective school, especially with his talented enemy Declan competing for a spot at the same college and a full-ride scholarship. And if that's not enough pressure for Felix to deal with, he also has to deal with transphobic anonymous messages through Instagram, a dad who hasn't yet referred to Felix as Felix, and an unsuspecting love triangle. At the heart of Felix Ever After are beautiful themes of identity discovery, friendship, love, and support.
The characters were truly a refreshing break from traditional YA fiction character tropes. Everyone was so real, so developed, that I felt like I knew the characters. Furthermore, there was tremendous diversity regarding race, class, sexuality, gender identity, and living situations. Each character was so complex and intriguing. The plot, which I'll just sum up as Felix tries to catfish a suspected transphobe while being completely oblivious to who really loves him and also there's lots of identity questioning, may not sound too thrilling, but it Kacen Callender did a great job of not wanting to put this book down. Something new was discovered every chapter, but it never felt like too much or too little. The writing was beautiful, the conversations were beautiful, the images were beautiful The support? The friendship? The direct mentioning of the intersection of gender, sexuality, race, and class? It was all so beautiful.
I was incredibly impressed with Felix Ever After. This is definitely a book I would read again.
jess_mango's review
5.0
4.5 stars
What a great, touching story with lots of representation. This story is told from the perspective of Felix Love, a black trans teen living in NYC. He's in a summer arts program at his private NYC high school. He dreams of going to college at Brown University to study art. However, Felix is unsure if he will be able to get accepted to Brown.
When he was younger, Felix decided to transition from female to male but is now still unsure of his gender identity. He knows he isn't a girl but doesn't always feel like a boy. While he is unsure of this and of his artistic ability, he gets support from his best friend Ezra. But, he feels discouraged by some of his fellow students, including Ezra's ex-boyfriend Declan. When someone creates a gallery of Felix in his former female identity and a cyber bully starts messaging Felix on instagram, he feels extremely hurt and also determined to find out who this anonymous person is.
This book was everything I hoped it would be! We can feel Felix's pain and confusion. The author did a great job portraying the full range of Felix's emotions. I highly recommend this one!
What to listen to while you read...
Stay Gold by BTS
Curious by Hayley Kiyoko
Boys by Lizzo
Into You by Ariana Grande
Born this Way by Lady Gaga
Hearts a Mess by Gotye
What a great, touching story with lots of representation. This story is told from the perspective of Felix Love, a black trans teen living in NYC. He's in a summer arts program at his private NYC high school. He dreams of going to college at Brown University to study art. However, Felix is unsure if he will be able to get accepted to Brown.
When he was younger, Felix decided to transition from female to male but is now still unsure of his gender identity. He knows he isn't a girl but doesn't always feel like a boy. While he is unsure of this and of his artistic ability, he gets support from his best friend Ezra. But, he feels discouraged by some of his fellow students, including Ezra's ex-boyfriend Declan. When someone creates a gallery of Felix in his former female identity and a cyber bully starts messaging Felix on instagram, he feels extremely hurt and also determined to find out who this anonymous person is.
This book was everything I hoped it would be! We can feel Felix's pain and confusion. The author did a great job portraying the full range of Felix's emotions. I highly recommend this one!
What to listen to while you read...
Stay Gold by BTS
Curious by Hayley Kiyoko
Boys by Lizzo
Into You by Ariana Grande
Born this Way by Lady Gaga
Hearts a Mess by Gotye