Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

79 reviews

emhunsber's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Drug use, Outing, Body horror, and Cursing

spooderman's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Outing, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Deadnaming, Bullying, Homophobia, Abandonment, Hate crime, Racism, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Cursing, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Biphobia, and Classism

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Stalking, Child abuse, Grief, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Minor: Lesbophobia, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Physical abuse

a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Classism, Hate crime, Abandonment, Drug use, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Transphobia

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Biphobia, Racism, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking

gellyreads's review against another edition

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

3.5

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Racism, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, and Drug use

amethystandherbooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Abandonment

Moderate: Toxic friendship

rickireadss's review against another edition

4.5

i had the best time with this! it was the perfect upper YA rom-com, with all the swoony moments but also the tough decisions/thoughts that many teens experience. i wish i had had a book like this when i was in high school. so much love for felix!! loved being in his head for the duration of the book. amazing LGBTQIA+ rep in the mcs and side characters!

⚠️: transphobia, deadnaming, bullying, homophobia, outing, hate crime, abandonment, drug use, toxic friendship, racism, emotional abuse

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Transphobia, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Outing, Abandonment, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Racism

brandirecognition's review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense medium-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

3.75

Be warned that the inciting incident is a transphobic hate crime (outing & deadnaming) that continues throughout the story. Hard to read given the rampant transphobia being enacted by US state legislatures, but Felix's personal journey toward loving/accepting all parts himself makes this an affirming trans story. The YA love triangle made this hard to read at times, but the set up and fall out was a realistic seventeen year old problem.

Felix had to feel more secure in himself and his relationships with others before he could be open to understanding that Ezra loved him. The story's trampling on Declan felt undeserved, though, especially because he and Felix's poor communication skills were similar and ended up causing the same problem for each of them.

 
The gratuitous references to Harry Potter were jarring and honestly a huge detractor for me. This book was published in 2020, when Rowling was very much openly a terf. just a bizarre choice
Felix's gender journey was well-written and realistic and definitely made me tear up. 4/5 stars in regards to his continuing journey

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Outing, and Racism

sounds_gay_im_in_reads's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny informative inspiring 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Abandonment

Moderate: Racism, Outing, and Biphobia

themiscyra_anna's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Outing, Deadnaming, and Bullying

Moderate: Alcohol and Classism

Deadnaming happens but the name isn’t written out; transmisic parents refusing contact with their trans child

locsnthoughtz's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.5

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, Outing, and Abandonment

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Sexism

Minor: Misogyny and Racism