Scan barcode
A review by lwoodley14
I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
4.0
UGH <33
First of all, Nathan has my MF HEART <333 Whatta sweetie pie. Also, I love Thomas and Hannah ugh. Second, I loved this story. It reminded me of Symptoms of Being a Human because it also centers around a young nonbinary high schooler and ended in both of them engaging in inspirational speeches. Overall, this story was heartbreakingly realistic. Starting from the beginning with the queerphobic parents kicking Ben out of their house to the chest-crushing anxiety that Ben experiences to the back-and-forth with Ben's sexuality that was confusing as hell for them. Regardless, I think this story was really sweet and I'm so glad that Ben realized their worth regarding their relationship with their parents. I think it's an unfortunate yet very real realization that many queer people are forced to have with homophobic/unaccepting family/friends. I also loved that it showed the importance of found family, with Nathan, Mariam, Meleika and Sophie (and technically Hannah and Thomas, although they are family members too) and the love that comes out of it.
The one comment I have (idk if this is really that negative?) is that a lot of the dialogue was not separated from the paragraph. Basically, within the same paragraph, a dialogue line would be directly followed by inner thoughts, which would have been fine; however, the inner thoughts sounded like they flowed straight from the actual dialogue, so I would often find myself thinking that the characters said all of those thoughts instead of just the one line. IDK if this makes any sense, and again, it's not really negative, it just made me reread quite a few paragraphs.
Again, this book was really sweet in the end, and the depictions of anxiety/panic attacks were written so well! While some may have craved more romance, I kinda liked that this story focused mainly on Ben's personal journey with their own identity and relationships. I think it's a great read for anyone, but especially people struggling with the same issues.
Would read again? Yeah
First of all, Nathan has my MF HEART <333 Whatta sweetie pie. Also, I love Thomas and Hannah ugh. Second, I loved this story. It reminded me of Symptoms of Being a Human because it also centers around a young nonbinary high schooler and ended in both of them engaging in inspirational speeches. Overall, this story was heartbreakingly realistic. Starting from the beginning with the queerphobic parents kicking Ben out of their house to the chest-crushing anxiety that Ben experiences to the back-and-forth with Ben's sexuality that was confusing as hell for them. Regardless, I think this story was really sweet and I'm so glad that Ben realized their worth regarding their relationship with their parents. I think it's an unfortunate yet very real realization that many queer people are forced to have with homophobic/unaccepting family/friends. I also loved that it showed the importance of found family, with Nathan, Mariam, Meleika and Sophie (and technically Hannah and Thomas, although they are family members too) and the love that comes out of it.
The one comment I have (idk if this is really that negative?) is that a lot of the dialogue was not separated from the paragraph. Basically, within the same paragraph, a dialogue line would be directly followed by inner thoughts, which would have been fine; however, the inner thoughts sounded like they flowed straight from the actual dialogue, so I would often find myself thinking that the characters said all of those thoughts instead of just the one line. IDK if this makes any sense, and again, it's not really negative, it just made me reread quite a few paragraphs.
Again, this book was really sweet in the end, and the depictions of anxiety/panic attacks were written so well! While some may have craved more romance, I kinda liked that this story focused mainly on Ben's personal journey with their own identity and relationships. I think it's a great read for anyone, but especially people struggling with the same issues.
Would read again? Yeah
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Gaslighting
Minor: Cursing