Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

50 reviews

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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: Complicated

Close to tears at several points while reading this book. What a fantastic and realistic experience this was, I felt so understood and seen and I’m 21 lmao. A masterpiece. 

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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

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

The second half of this blew me away. Omg I was listening to this on a walk in the park and my legs almost gave out. I tried to listen in the car and had to turn it off because I didn’t trust my self to focus enough on driving. I screamed, I cried, I paced, I curled up into a ball. I felt so many emotions listen to this book and all the different ideas on how people in the queer community interact with each other and how to find the right labels, if you need to, how to support all aspects of the community you are a part of, that having different opinions on expression are okay but making someone feel like they don’t belong because their opinion is different than yours is not. I wish i could have had this in high school because there is nothing that explored and so perfectly captured from a high school point of view that felt like a teenager was sharing their life that has made me feel as seen as this book.
Felix finally letting himself have love in his friendships and letting himself experience healthy love made me cry. The growth of Felix and Leah’s friendship may have been my favorite part of the book.
the tropes are stereotypical but as it feels like such a real story and the truth behind them was so well done, who cares. These are the most raw intrinsic feelings I’ve had for a book in years, maybe ever. I’ve never let myself feel as deeply as these characters, especially in front of others, and honestly I am inspired. 

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emotional medium-paced

Style/writing: 3 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 3.5 stars
Plot: 4 stars

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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

Not totally sure how I feel about this book. I think the story was good but the pacing felt odd to me. Felt like there was a lot going on (questioning identity, bullying, difficult relationships with parents, trying to figure out thesis, etc) that had good bones, but needed to dither: 
1. Trim some of that out and focus on only a few topics so you can get more meat to it while still making it short and readable for YA. 
 Or 2. Commit to being super long and go into deeper detail. 

Idk the stakes felt kind of high but mostly low and Felix wasn’t a super likable MC. That said, it’s a very unique and complex story and it should be told. I think a lot of people reading this will really get something out of it! 

I think if I read this when it was first pubbed I would have loved it, but now that I’m a few years out it doesn’t hit the same. 

But overall still enjoyed and would probably recommend! 

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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

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.

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing sad 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: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional informative 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: Yes

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 Finished reading: October 3rd 2023


"It's easier to accept hurt and pain, sometimes, than love and acceptance."

I've been meaning to read Felix Ever After for quite some time now... When I needed a banned book for the POPSUGAR challenge, I decided to give in and finally read it. I know that I don't read a lot of YA anymore, but I would recommend this book for both teenagers and adults alike. The topic is such an important one, and it's an own voices story at that; there is no doubt that Felix Ever After has a big impact, and it really is an eye-opener. That said, I do have to say that there were certain aspects about the main character Felix that I didn't like as much. I get his struggles and they are both portrayed realistically and basically heartbreaking. BUT. He is also pretty selfish and vindictive, and the fact that others are hurting him is no excuse to do the same. I can't say that I was a fan of the whole love triangle vibe either, which kind of put a damper on things for me... In fact, I wasn't really a fan of the romance nor how it was developed and incorporated in general. I'm still giving this story four stars though just for its impact and how it can help people discover their identity and tribe. 

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