I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver
Synopsis
"When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents' rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.
But Ben's attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan's friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.
At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity."
My Thoughts
I usually go into books with my impression from the cover and the general love for them I see on the internet and stay blind to the details. So this one took me a little by surprise and was much more serious than I had originally expected. What I thought was going to be a typical LGBTQIA+ teen romance novel, was actually a really amazing story of non-binary teen, Ben's, journey after coming out to their parents and being kicked out of their home.
This wasn't necessarily an easy read but it was amazing and I think a really important story too. There were serious discussions around mental health and transphobia. I recommend checking the content warnings on this one before diving in, but I definitely recommend this story!
Genre: lgbtqia+, contemporary
Representation: non-binary MC, MC with anxiety and depression, bi MC
Content Warnings: Anxiety (detailed), Bad coming out, Child abuse (physical and mental), Depression/Depressive episodes, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Kicked out of home, Misgendering, Panic attacks (detailed), Suicidal thoughts, Suicide ideation, Transphobia, Unaccepting parents, Underage drinking, HP reference