Felix Love has never been in love. He wants to, but struggles to find himself worthy of such a beautiful thing. Despite being proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he's one marginalization too many- black, queer, and transgender - to ever get his own happily-ever-after. When someone in his school puts up a gallery wall of Felix's past identity and starts harassing the teenager online, Felix creates a fake Instagram account in a bid to find the perp. Through this, changes begin to happen in Felix's life. As the teen navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.
This book was an eye-opening read for me. I can't comment on the rep for transgender teens, however, through Felix Ever After I was taught so many things about the process of transitioning and the issues that can arise after. The doubts, family problems, and decisions that come with going through such a huge life change. It has never crossed my mind that some people might question their choices after they've already made the leap in transitioning, now I realize how small-minded of me that was. So, thank you Kacen Callender for teaching me. I learned about deadnaming someone, which is a term I had never heard of before reading about it in Felix. I was shocked that people would ever do such a thing, but at this point, I shouldn't be surprised how brutal some humans can be. (Check out this article if you're interested in reading more on this) I guess what I'm trying to say is, this book was very educational and I think it's awesome that it's now out in the world for future teens to read and hopefully see themselves in Felix. Books should always offer comfort and this one is most definitely going to save someone's sanity. That's priceless.
My main struggle with the book was that I often found it repetitive in the way that Felix explained the same things over and over to us. I wish the side characters had more page time as I think the story would've benefited from Felix interacting with them without it seeming to constantly be during a drama led day - especially with his dad. I liked the growth of their relationship throughout the book, but I so often wanted to yell at Felix to ask how his dad is doing during their one-sided conversations. Felix clearly had so much heart, but it never felt like he let the reader all the way in. Was that intentional by the author? I don't know. But it left me wanting more. More conversations, more pages, more of Felix.
This book had so many layers to uncover that we'd be here all day if I gave you my individual thoughts on all of them. It was a beautiful YA novel about an issue that we should all be more educated on. Does this book have the potential to save someone? Yes. What more can you say about a book like that?
Read this and be in awe of it's brutal honesty, candid beauty, and heart. Felix is a great protagonist who reads as a rainbow of colors. He will ink his way onto your heart.
Is this on your TBR?
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