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emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Transphobia
Moderate: Drug use, Abandonment
Minor: Racism, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Transphobia
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia
Minor: Racism, Alcohol
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
Felix, a fairly new trans male began reflecting on his identify and self worth because of bullying, transphobia, and the abandonment from his mother. It began to take a toll on him as he pushed those who were closed to away. In the end, he realized who he was and who was there for him.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Transphobia, Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A bold and open story about identity, prejudice, understanding, and learning to focus on yourself. A really cool look at the lesser-know areas of transness (figuring yourself out as nonbinary and coming out for a second time) alongside some messy relationship drama and a hopeful look at art as self-expression. Definitely more towards the upper end of YA (evident from the first chapter, though not necessarily from the cover and blurb), but an important coming of age story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Classism
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
this fucking book ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
CMQ called it a firecracker of a book and boy, they weren’t kidding!!
the same sentiment holds true for Black stories and trans stories—i’ll never understand what it’s like to identify and live as a trans person, but i’m so fucking lucky and grateful to live in a world where trans people share their stories and experiences!!
Felix is just so lovable. is he flawed? oh yeah. does he have trauma? baby, don’t we all. does he deserve to exist without question? FUCK YEAH HE DOES. he’s just doing his best!! sure, he makes some questionable choices, but he’s so self-aware and so able to own up to his mistakes and he loves so big. i just love him with all my heart. and Ezra!!! wow. what a bestie. he’s everything.
i didn’t anticipate the person who put up the gallery with Felix’s deadname and pictures of him pre-transition to be who it was!! it absolutely baffled me. i was happy (the wrong word but i can’t find a better one) to have some characters be dislikable. and have so much empowerment for different identities!! there were so many positive parts of this book, GOD. it was just so fucking good.
a must read!!!
CMQ called it a firecracker of a book and boy, they weren’t kidding!!
the same sentiment holds true for Black stories and trans stories—i’ll never understand what it’s like to identify and live as a trans person, but i’m so fucking lucky and grateful to live in a world where trans people share their stories and experiences!!
Felix is just so lovable. is he flawed? oh yeah. does he have trauma? baby, don’t we all. does he deserve to exist without question? FUCK YEAH HE DOES. he’s just doing his best!! sure, he makes some questionable choices, but he’s so self-aware and so able to own up to his mistakes and he loves so big. i just love him with all my heart. and Ezra!!! wow. what a bestie. he’s everything.
i didn’t anticipate the person who put up the gallery with Felix’s deadname and pictures of him pre-transition to be who it was!! it absolutely baffled me. i was happy (the wrong word but i can’t find a better one) to have some characters be dislikable. and have so much empowerment for different identities!! there were so many positive parts of this book, GOD. it was just so fucking good.
a must read!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Transphobia
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Dysphoria
Too many HP references paired with a debate about separating the art from the artist...ooof yeah nooooooooooo. Peace out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Transphobia
Minor: Racism
challenging
emotional
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
I found this book painful to read, but for the right reasons: because for once the teen characters are realistic, and realistically confused and annoying as well. Felix is flawed in ways I found believable. He makes snap judgements based on his own insecurities, is defensive, angry, and starts off with little self knowledge.
The descriptions of transphobia aimed at him were painful for me to read, especially his relationship with his father, who hasn't entirely accepted his identity as a boy / son / man.
That said, I a bit disapointed by the ending. It felt rushed, and many of the things the writer set up, didn't really pay off in a believable way.
The build up of who was responsible for the transphobic attacks and harassment didn't entirely land as the boy responsible was on the periphery of the story and not really known by me as a reader until the reveal.
Felix's realisation that he's a demiboy was not satisfying to me. I didn't believe that in all the time he'd spent online and encountered alternative terms to "transman" such as nonbinary, genderfluid, demiboy and all the rest, he never wondered if those fit him. If he did, the text doesn't show it.
So to have him go home after a brief conversation at a meeting of other queer people sharing their experiences, come across demiboy and immediately it clicks, felt far too easy. It would have worked better for me if he'd formed some kind of connection with one of the people at the meeting and had more conversations with them - possibly the nonbinary person, I think they were called Bex?
Before landing on "demiboy" as the perfect term. Or maybe he could have become more comfortable with the idea that there isn't a perfect label for him, and it's OK if he's not sure what he is?
The same is true for the romance. The interaction with Declan was messy and painful, with Felix really not coming out looking great, but that was fine. Things can be messy. But to end that with him getting together with his best friend Ezra in a real Romance with a capital "R" was not great for me. One of Felix's lessons he needed to learn was that there's a difference between limerence and love, and that he doesn't need romantic love to prove that he's worthy of love. That platonic love can be just as powerful, and familial love as well. That maybe what he needed was a break from Declan and Ezra, to find out who he is as an adult in his new after school life. It's like the story set up several really messy, realistic situations with Ezra crushing on Felix, and the two of them not being honest with one another about their mutual attraction, and then whoops it's tied off with a perfect sparkling glitter-bow of romance.
The descriptions of transphobia aimed at him were painful for me to read, especially his relationship with his father, who hasn't entirely accepted his identity as a boy / son / man.
That said, I a bit disapointed by the ending. It felt rushed, and many of the things the writer set up, didn't really pay off in a believable way.
The build up of who was responsible for the transphobic attacks and harassment didn't entirely land as the boy responsible was on the periphery of the story and not really known by me as a reader until the reveal.
Felix's realisation that he's a demiboy was not satisfying to me. I didn't believe that in all the time he'd spent online and encountered alternative terms to "transman" such as nonbinary, genderfluid, demiboy and all the rest, he never wondered if those fit him. If he did, the text doesn't show it.
So to have him go home after a brief conversation at a meeting of other queer people sharing their experiences, come across demiboy and immediately it clicks, felt far too easy. It would have worked better for me if he'd formed some kind of connection with one of the people at the meeting and had more conversations with them - possibly the nonbinary person, I think they were called Bex?
Before landing on "demiboy" as the perfect term. Or maybe he could have become more comfortable with the idea that there isn't a perfect label for him, and it's OK if he's not sure what he is?
The same is true for the romance. The interaction with Declan was messy and painful, with Felix really not coming out looking great, but that was fine. Things can be messy. But to end that with him getting together with his best friend Ezra in a real Romance with a capital "R" was not great for me. One of Felix's lessons he needed to learn was that there's a difference between limerence and love, and that he doesn't need romantic love to prove that he's worthy of love. That platonic love can be just as powerful, and familial love as well. That maybe what he needed was a break from Declan and Ezra, to find out who he is as an adult in his new after school life. It's like the story set up several really messy, realistic situations with Ezra crushing on Felix, and the two of them not being honest with one another about their mutual attraction, and then whoops it's tied off with a perfect sparkling glitter-bow of romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia
Moderate: Racism
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
Definitely teared up a little when Felix started saying how he felt the camaraderie during the Pride Parade. The community you surround yourself with, friends and strangers alike, deserve to love you for you, not someone you're not.
Also loved Felix's character development here, it's a lot stronger than I usually see in YA novels. I went from kind of disliking him to really feeling happy for him now that he realizes he's deserving of love.
Also loved Felix's character development here, it's a lot stronger than I usually see in YA novels. I went from kind of disliking him to really feeling happy for him now that he realizes he's deserving of love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia
Minor: Racism
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:
Yes
I really love Kacen Callender's coming of age YA novels. This book, like Lark & Kasim, is filled with messy, imperfect, and lovable characters. Felix spends a lot of this book questioning his identity and trying to figure out his place in the world. I can only imagine how relatable that must be to any trans kids reading along. Felix speaks to a lived experience while also still always learning. I found the relationships in this book to be a little less endearing than in Lark & Kasim, but again, teens are messy! They aren't always going to say or do the right thing!
One thing I do want to mention is that there are an OBSCENE amount of HP references throughout this book. This book was published in May 2020, and I think JKR had already shown her ass by then, but I'm not sure how mainstream the knowledge was. Take care of yourself while reading.
One thing I do want to mention is that there are an OBSCENE amount of HP references throughout this book. This book was published in May 2020, and I think JKR had already shown her ass by then, but I'm not sure how mainstream the knowledge was. Take care of yourself while reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Transphobia
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Abandonment
Minor: Racism, Sexual content, Alcohol
dark
emotional
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Transphobia
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Abandonment
Minor: Racism, Sexual content, Medical content, Alcohol