Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Synopsis
"Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is 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 an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle....
But as he 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.
Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve."
My Thoughts
I will fully admit that this took me a minute to get into. The beginning was a bit slow and felt like it was just going to be your typical teenage drama. But it quickly picked up and was much more complicated and nuanced.
This book dealt with some pretty vicious transphobia and cyberbullying, so take care if those are triggers for you. But there was such amazing growth in Felix's character I was sucked into this story until the end. Felix's search for belonging and the right words to describe his situation is something I think a lot of us can relate to.
“I’m not flaunting anything. I’m just existing. This is me. I can’t hide myself. I can’t disappear. And even if I could, I don’t fucking want to. I have the same right to be here. I have the same right to exist.”
― Kacen Callender, Felix Ever After
This is an amazing story of growing and finding yourself. Proving that we are all, always growing and changing and that's 100% okay. I definitely recommend this amazing book!
Genre: lgbtqia+, contemporary
Representation: trans/demiboy, lesbian, bi/pan, gay
Content Warnings: underage drinking, bullying, catfishing, cyberbullying, deadnaming, disownment, drugs, homophobia, misgendering, outing, parental abuse/neglect, racism, transphobia
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