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A review by taliejane
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.5
Felix Ever After really captures that terrifying phase of transition between childhood and adulthood everyone faces around 17 or 18, where you are trying to understand your own identity and how who you are fits into the wider wolrld. It is a heart warming and at times heart wrenching story of first love, friendship, community, discrimination, and identity.
I give this 4.5/5 but round up to 5/5 for Goodreads. (The half star comes from a slightly irregular pace toward the end of the book).
Felix is attending a summer arts program at his school, trying to work up the courage to begin his portfolio for his college applications, when he comes into school one day to find a gallery of his pre-transition photographs and dead name in the lobby for everyone to see.
Shaken and enraged by this, he sets out to find the person who targeted him. Supported by his best friend Ezra, he begins to navigate the process of figuring out who could possibly hate him so much and why, all the while also struggling to figure out how on earth to get started on an art portfolio that can prove he is a valuable person no matter what his bully thinks.
Themes: Identity, Friendship, Romance, Coming Of Age,Transphobia.
Content warning ⚠️
There is depiction of a hate crime (old photos and deadname being publicised) towards the trans main character and explicit use of transphobic language.
Spoilers below!
This book really reminded me how scary those last few years of school were! Not because I (thank goodness) ever experienced the discrimination Felix does, but because I also struggled immensely with deciding where to go for college, what dreams to pursue, and whether I was even good enough for any of it! There is a unique anxiety in being in a phase of understanding your own identity, while also having to go to school every day in a mini, insular community of your peers who are also all desperately trying to figure out who they are and how they relate to the world.
The author establishes the summery atmosphere immediately. It's beautiful to imagine Felix and Ezra enjoying their summer in New York, smoking and eating together, watching films and cuddling up on their one mattress in Ezra's enormous empty apartment. The setting of a summer arts program, the complicated group of queer friends, the eccentric teachers, and the high school parties was fun and nostalgic at once.
Although there were heart-warmingly romantic scenes of friendship and first love, the themes of transphobia and bullying were also explored with sharp accuracy. The impact being the victim of a hate crime has on Felix is described so well the reader experience is visceral. Many of the young characters experience parental abandonment in one form or another, and the deep lonliness and insecurity triggered when we don't receive that crucial parental love and attention.
The story is immediately engaging and by the end of the book, it is a real page-turner. I found the romantic relationships are developed well, but I did think the jump between love-interests felt slightly rushed towards the end. An additional chapter to explain Felix's realisation about whom he truly wants to be with would have felt more evenly paced to me personally. That being said, it was otherwise truly delightful and exciting to watch the love story unfold.
Overall, I highly recommend this beautiful book 💗📖
I give this 4.5/5 but round up to 5/5 for Goodreads. (The half star comes from a slightly irregular pace toward the end of the book).
Felix is attending a summer arts program at his school, trying to work up the courage to begin his portfolio for his college applications, when he comes into school one day to find a gallery of his pre-transition photographs and dead name in the lobby for everyone to see.
Shaken and enraged by this, he sets out to find the person who targeted him. Supported by his best friend Ezra, he begins to navigate the process of figuring out who could possibly hate him so much and why, all the while also struggling to figure out how on earth to get started on an art portfolio that can prove he is a valuable person no matter what his bully thinks.
Themes: Identity, Friendship, Romance, Coming Of Age,Transphobia.
Content warning ⚠️
There is depiction of a hate crime (old photos and deadname being publicised) towards the trans main character and explicit use of transphobic language.
This book really reminded me how scary those last few years of school were! Not because I (thank goodness) ever experienced the discrimination Felix does, but because I also struggled immensely with deciding where to go for college, what dreams to pursue, and whether I was even good enough for any of it! There is a unique anxiety in being in a phase of understanding your own identity, while also having to go to school every day in a mini, insular community of your peers who are also all desperately trying to figure out who they are and how they relate to the world.
The author establishes the summery atmosphere immediately. It's beautiful to imagine Felix and Ezra enjoying their summer in New York, smoking and eating together, watching films and cuddling up on their one mattress in Ezra's enormous empty apartment. The setting of a summer arts program, the complicated group of queer friends, the eccentric teachers, and the high school parties was fun and nostalgic at once.
Although there were heart-warmingly romantic scenes of friendship and first love, the themes of transphobia and bullying were also explored with sharp accuracy. The impact being the victim of a hate crime has on Felix is described so well the reader experience is visceral. Many of the young characters experience parental abandonment in one form or another, and the deep lonliness and insecurity triggered when we don't receive that crucial parental love and attention.
The story is immediately engaging and by the end of the book, it is a real page-turner. I found the romantic relationships are developed well, but I did think the jump between love-interests felt slightly rushed towards the end. An additional chapter to explain Felix's realisation about whom he truly wants to be with would have felt more evenly paced to me personally. That being said, it was otherwise truly delightful and exciting to watch the love story unfold.
Overall, I highly recommend this beautiful book 💗📖
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Bullying