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A review by queer_bookwyrm
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: deadnaming, transphobia (actions/words), swearing, marijuana use, underage drinking, absent parents, parental abandonment, Harry Potter references
Felix Ever After is a YA contemporary Romance that features a trans kid, named Felix (obviously). This was my first Kacen Callender book. Can I just say, the sheet amount of queer/trans books and authors I've read just this year alone is simply amazing to me? When I first came out as nonbinary, it was barely a word anyone knew or recognized, and here I am reading my third (THIRD!) nonbinary author. JOY. 😭
We follow Felix as he navigates life during a summer program at his art school in NYC. Felix's last name is Love, but has never fallen in love, but desperately wants to. He is also trying to figure out his portfolio so he can get into Brown, but doesn't know what he wants to do. When a classmate very publicly outs him and posts his deadname for everyone to see, Felix is obviously devastated and decides to catfish the person he thinks has done it to get revenge. Plot twist: the revenge catfishing turns into a weird love triangle. Also during this, Felix is questioning his gender even after his transition, which just makes everything more complicated.
So. Much. Queer. Teen. Angst! This book touches on so many important things, like the added stress Felix has as being a queer, trans, person of color. How Felix often feels like he's too much, has one too many marginalizations. We also get great themes on (especially when your a teen) making snap judgements of who we think people are without actually knowing the whole story.
I also appreciated the themes on love being complicated and hard to figure out. We also get a "what you were looking for was right in front of you the whole time" trope, which was fine, if a bit predictable. Leah has my heart completely, she's the bomb.
Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I recommend this to anyone who wants to know the pressure that queer kids of color face and the difficulties they face on top of hard it is being a teen in general. One thing I really didn't like about the book was all the HP references. I get the HP is part of the cultural fabric of our society, but this book was written by a trans author about a trans teen and was published in 2020. To me there is no excuse for this at this point. JKR is trash and you can't change my mind. Read this book anyway. Definitely will be reading more of Callender's work.
Felix Ever After is a YA contemporary Romance that features a trans kid, named Felix (obviously). This was my first Kacen Callender book. Can I just say, the sheet amount of queer/trans books and authors I've read just this year alone is simply amazing to me? When I first came out as nonbinary, it was barely a word anyone knew or recognized, and here I am reading my third (THIRD!) nonbinary author. JOY. 😭
We follow Felix as he navigates life during a summer program at his art school in NYC. Felix's last name is Love, but has never fallen in love, but desperately wants to. He is also trying to figure out his portfolio so he can get into Brown, but doesn't know what he wants to do. When a classmate very publicly outs him and posts his deadname for everyone to see, Felix is obviously devastated and decides to catfish the person he thinks has done it to get revenge. Plot twist: the revenge catfishing turns into a weird love triangle. Also during this, Felix is questioning his gender even after his transition, which just makes everything more complicated.
So. Much. Queer. Teen. Angst! This book touches on so many important things, like the added stress Felix has as being a queer, trans, person of color. How Felix often feels like he's too much, has one too many marginalizations. We also get great themes on (especially when your a teen) making snap judgements of who we think people are without actually knowing the whole story.
I also appreciated the themes on love being complicated and hard to figure out. We also get a "what you were looking for was right in front of you the whole time" trope, which was fine, if a bit predictable. Leah has my heart completely, she's the bomb.
Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I recommend this to anyone who wants to know the pressure that queer kids of color face and the difficulties they face on top of hard it is being a teen in general. One thing I really didn't like about the book was all the HP references. I get the HP is part of the cultural fabric of our society, but this book was written by a trans author about a trans teen and was published in 2020. To me there is no excuse for this at this point. JKR is trash and you can't change my mind. Read this book anyway. Definitely will be reading more of Callender's work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia, Cursing, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Deadnaming