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A review by lyakimov
I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
3.0
This was definitely one of the better contemporary books I’ve read in the last couple years. I’m always looking for books that are different and from own-voices authors, so I was interested in picking this up.
The beginning of the book was heart wrenching, seeing Ben being kicked out by their parents. It was horribly sad and realistically, it’s something that many kids deal with. It kicked me in the heart. Did I tear up any time Ben mentions they were kicked out by their parents? Yes, yes I did.
I loved Ben’s relationship with Hannah and Thomas. Here’s my biggest issue with this book: the romance. I think that in Ben’s fragile state of mind, a romance is not the best thing for them and real, true, caring friends and extended family (in my opinion) should be more important than a significant other in this situation. This is why I think that Nathan should have just been a good best friend. Show the power of friendship!! Why does everything always have to be romantic love? I think there needed to be more focus on Hannah and Thomas’s dynamic with Ben instead of developing a blossoming romance with Nathan.
Additionally, I feel like the book’s writing was a little flat. The dialogue never really flowed well, especially the trendy teen dialogue and “witty” banter. Did every contemporary author go to the same master class about writing Gen Z? Nobody talks like that! This author did better with this than others, but it’s definitely prevalent.
The beginning of the book was heart wrenching, seeing Ben being kicked out by their parents. It was horribly sad and realistically, it’s something that many kids deal with. It kicked me in the heart. Did I tear up any time Ben mentions they were kicked out by their parents? Yes, yes I did.
I loved Ben’s relationship with Hannah and Thomas. Here’s my biggest issue with this book: the romance. I think that in Ben’s fragile state of mind, a romance is not the best thing for them and real, true, caring friends and extended family (in my opinion) should be more important than a significant other in this situation. This is why I think that Nathan should have just been a good best friend. Show the power of friendship!! Why does everything always have to be romantic love? I think there needed to be more focus on Hannah and Thomas’s dynamic with Ben instead of developing a blossoming romance with Nathan.
Additionally, I feel like the book’s writing was a little flat. The dialogue never really flowed well, especially the trendy teen dialogue and “witty” banter. Did every contemporary author go to the same master class about writing Gen Z? Nobody talks like that! This author did better with this than others, but it’s definitely prevalent.