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emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I feel like I really wanted to love this more than I did. It had some good tropes - love triangle, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, coming of age. But I just didn’t really enjoy the love triangle or who Felix ended up with. I just never really fell for Ezra. But I appreciate that this book focuses on and tried to analyze different types of love. Although that attempt at analysis felt a little much and preachy at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria
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:
Complicated
I didn’t enjoy that the only two queer women of color characters were both very problematic and the one white lesbian was portrayed as the “woke” and aware person. I loved how the author showed how the internalized trauma experienced by Felix greatly impacted his decisions both for himself and in his relationships.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry
Minor: Misogyny, Racism
challenging
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Very underwhelmed and I don't want to read about teenagers anymore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Transphobia, Outing, Dysphoria
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Abandonment
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Outing
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Abandonment, Classism
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Alcohol
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, Grief, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Outing
Minor: Grief, Abandonment
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
At first, I did not enjoy Felix Ever After. But as I read, I slowly became more attached to the characters, more interested in the plot and the mystery, more excited by the set pieces and the characters. By the end of the book, I was crying. God, I really enjoyed this book. Also, I really like the descriptions of the city, not just the physical descriptions of the city, but the people who live in NYC and how they interact with the city and how it makes a bunch of streets and businesses and crazy people a city.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Classism
Moderate: Death, Grief
Minor: Police brutality
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
It’s a coming of age book in the new age. I love that Felix finds himself and so so young. But also, everyone in this book is a classic annoying teenager and it’s hard to not go into teacher mode and tell them all that most of what they are complaining about will not matter after they graduate. But once I got beyond that, I was able to enjoy the story more. Felix identifying as a demiboy and showing how many other identities there are out there I know is life changing for so many. It was wonderful to read this during pride in San Diego as it is set during Pride time in New York. It felt so wonderful to look around and see all the Felix and friends at Pride. I love seeing books like these and having them around for my high school kids when they ask for recommendations. More books like these please 🥰
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I genuinely really enjoyed this book while also not enjoying it. The themes and exploration into gender identity were wonderful, but the main character and narrator, Felix, was insufferable. He was selfish and seemed unable to treat others with a semblance of respect, be that his father, best friend, or classmates. This was the main reason this book didn’t hit the spot for me, a second reason was that I went in expecting a love triangle (not a trope I’m particularly fond of, but when it’s done well, I love it), and there was no love triangle at all. Or, there was the slightest hint of one, and it took over one hundred pages to reach that hint. I also think that maybe I just don’t like it when books mention pop culture or social media. This book had a particularly millennial take on pop culture and social media use, despite the characters being 17 in the 2020s (I believe this is when it was set), which really took me out of it.
That doesn’t mean this book is bad, it’s not bad by any means, and more significantly, it’s important. This book is so important. The main character and narrator is a trans-masculine demiboy grappling with his gender identity, trying desperately to figure out who he is after his deadname and pre-transition pictures are posted on a gallery wall at his summer arts program. I have to sympathise with him, his life has been challenging, and this summer became significantly more complicated. However, his reactions to the gallery wall are extreme and borderline scary, which really cements his selfish nature. When the person who made the gallery wall was revealed, I was shocked, and not in a satisfying plot twist way, just in a “huh?” way. I think the central conflict could have been done a lot better, and the supporting characters could have been more multi-faceted, rather than just one thing Felix hates about them and then one thing that he realises is, in fact, nice about them.
I guess I can’t genuinely complain about an aspect of this book; it’s a YA romance; I don’t know what I expected. It was still an enjoyable read, and it had some really emotional and important scenes and moments. And it was a story centred around LGBT+ characters with a happy ending, which we need more of.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, Dysphoria
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria