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eesh25's review against another edition
4.0
This book has one of the coolest plots. Felix Yz is a thirteen-year-old boy. A decade ago, during an experiment his father was conducting, Felix was at the wrong place at the wrong time when it went kaboom. The explosion, though not huge, killed his father and left Felix merged with a fourth dimensional being. Felix and his family call the fourth dimensional being Zyx. And as nice as Zyx is, vo and Felix need to be separated or they'll both die. Though the separating procedure could kill them too.
And if that's not the most intriguing plot, I don't know what is. We have Felix, a kid trying to be strong in the face of death, his mom and his older sister. There's also a grandparent. Vo (this is a gender neutral pronoun the Yz family has come up with) is gender-fluid.
And, of course, Zyx. Zyx can't really communicate, not by speaking. But vo can use actions. Zyx communicates using a keyboard, typing what vo wants to say. We get to hear from ven quite often actually because the book is in the form of diary entries leading up to the day of the procedure. Felix writes down what's going on with him and what he's feeling and Zyx pipes up whenever vo wants to.
Still, Zyx doesn't have the best grasp of language, despite being a hyper-intelligent fourth dimensional being, so vo mostly types few words at a time. Adorable little things like "zyx love felix" or "chess pretty". No punctuation.
You wouldn't think that one would be able to fall in love with a character in just a few short interactions but I loved Zyx. And Felix. My heart went out to them both for what they were going through. This book is fast paced, but takes the time to let you care about the characters and like them. We get to see the last few days of Felix+Zyz and experience the bond they have. Plus, it's an interesting read with some unexpected turns and great side-characters.
The only complaint I have is regarding the ending. It felt rushed and was anticlimactic. I wanted something with more gravity after all the build-up we got. Still, I liked the book. I flew through it and I would definitely like to check out whatever the author writes next (I think she has a book coming out in 2019). You should give this one a shot.
And if that's not the most intriguing plot, I don't know what is. We have Felix, a kid trying to be strong in the face of death, his mom and his older sister. There's also a grandparent. Vo (this is a gender neutral pronoun the Yz family has come up with) is gender-fluid.
And, of course, Zyx. Zyx can't really communicate, not by speaking. But vo can use actions. Zyx communicates using a keyboard, typing what vo wants to say. We get to hear from ven quite often actually because the book is in the form of diary entries leading up to the day of the procedure. Felix writes down what's going on with him and what he's feeling and Zyx pipes up whenever vo wants to.
Still, Zyx doesn't have the best grasp of language, despite being a hyper-intelligent fourth dimensional being, so vo mostly types few words at a time. Adorable little things like "zyx love felix" or "chess pretty". No punctuation.
You wouldn't think that one would be able to fall in love with a character in just a few short interactions but I loved Zyx. And Felix. My heart went out to them both for what they were going through. This book is fast paced, but takes the time to let you care about the characters and like them. We get to see the last few days of Felix+Zyz and experience the bond they have. Plus, it's an interesting read with some unexpected turns and great side-characters.
The only complaint I have is regarding the ending. It felt rushed and was anticlimactic. I wanted something with more gravity after all the build-up we got. Still, I liked the book. I flew through it and I would definitely like to check out whatever the author writes next (I think she has a book coming out in 2019). You should give this one a shot.
megpancoast's review
emotional
medium-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
3.75
eliseblackburn's review against another edition
3.0
By all accounts, this book should have been great. It followed writing rules for plot progression and creating intriguing characters; the book had aliens and comic books, geared for middle grade readers. But something felt off. The book struggled to make readers excited for the story to unfold. For those unfamiliar with Felix Yz, the novel is a compilation of blog posts written by Felix, our protagonist, in the month before a potentially fatal operation to remove an alien from his body. Although the author made us feel Felix's grief and fear about this operation, the ending did not justify the story.
But let's talk about representation in the novel. The alien that coexists within Felix leaves his physically disabled, which leads to bullying and other struggles for him. The author did a great job in portraying these specific struggles, but not anything else he is going through. Within the first few pages of the book, Felix reveals his feelings for a boy in his class, Hector. However, every interaction between them is lame. Felix does not spend much time talking about his feelings for Hector, so when he does fawn over the boy, it feels forced. The romance felt pushed and not necessary. If the author wanted Felix to be gay, she should have spent more time developing him as a character. There is one moment that sticks out as being exceptional for showing the intersectionality of Felix's identities: someone calls him a f*g, which Felix almost laughs at. He knows they bully him for his appearance and quirks, not his sexuality because no one knows he is gay. That throwaway line is actually demonstrates Felix's intuition about his situation and how he does not exist as a series of separate identities but is one human, such an important concept to introduce to middle grade readers. Other elements of representation in the book was Felix's mother, as the work hints at her becoming involved with a woman. This minor plot point also felt forced and not like real representation, just thrown in to have a "diverse" cast. However, the author really excelled at creating the character of Grandy, Felix's gender-fluid grandparent. Grandy's trans identity is discussed and helps young readers understand how some people are outside the gender binary and use pronouns reflecting that. At the end of the book, Felix hears his grandparent's assigned at birth gender and name. Grandy actually talks about how recognizing one's trans identity and the life lived before is part of transgender people's journeys. The author artfully mastered the discussion of this difficult issue, and that representation is probably the best, and most important, part of the book.
But let's talk about representation in the novel. The alien that coexists within Felix leaves his physically disabled, which leads to bullying and other struggles for him. The author did a great job in portraying these specific struggles, but not anything else he is going through. Within the first few pages of the book, Felix reveals his feelings for a boy in his class, Hector. However, every interaction between them is lame. Felix does not spend much time talking about his feelings for Hector, so when he does fawn over the boy, it feels forced. The romance felt pushed and not necessary. If the author wanted Felix to be gay, she should have spent more time developing him as a character. There is one moment that sticks out as being exceptional for showing the intersectionality of Felix's identities: someone calls him a f*g, which Felix almost laughs at. He knows they bully him for his appearance and quirks, not his sexuality because no one knows he is gay. That throwaway line is actually demonstrates Felix's intuition about his situation and how he does not exist as a series of separate identities but is one human, such an important concept to introduce to middle grade readers. Other elements of representation in the book was Felix's mother, as the work hints at her becoming involved with a woman. This minor plot point also felt forced and not like real representation, just thrown in to have a "diverse" cast. However, the author really excelled at creating the character of Grandy, Felix's gender-fluid grandparent. Grandy's trans identity is discussed and helps young readers understand how some people are outside the gender binary and use pronouns reflecting that. At the end of the book, Felix hears his grandparent's assigned at birth gender and name. Grandy actually talks about how recognizing one's trans identity and the life lived before is part of transgender people's journeys. The author artfully mastered the discussion of this difficult issue, and that representation is probably the best, and most important, part of the book.
margardenlady's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Felix was in a lab accident with his father and is merged with an entity from another dimension. This proves complicated for living a normal childhood. As we find him and !Zyx, his 4th dimensional partner, they are counting down to an experimental procedure to separate them. Felix is blogging about the situation and his feelings throughout the story. endearing examination of an emotional situation added to the roller coaster of childhood angst.
librarydreams's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
I loved this book! It's rare to find such a philosophical work of juvenile fiction that is still readable and approachable for the target age group. Felix is so thoughtful about his experiences about his approaching possible death and his relationship with his 4th-dimensional body-mate. His revelations about life and connectedness are groundbreaking. The treatment of gender diversity is also refreshingly normalized.
shadylane_00's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
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? Yes
4.0
ari767's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
mbrandmaier's review
4.0
Felix has an alien living inside him. No, really, there was an accident when he was three years old that fused his body with a 4th dimensional being called Zyx (short for *Zyxilef).
While preparing for a potentially fatal Procedure to detach him from Zyx, Felix must deal with his feelings for another boy in his class, being bullied, and wondering what Grandy's original name/gender is (though as Felix says, not that it really matters.)
While preparing for a potentially fatal Procedure to detach him from Zyx, Felix must deal with his feelings for another boy in his class, being bullied, and wondering what Grandy's original name/gender is (though as Felix says, not that it really matters.)
calypsogilstrap's review
1.0
I finished it but I am very confused. I mean ultimately I understand what happened but there were way to many twists and character and random events that don't connect.
amandaneptune's review against another edition
3.0
Strange book. Mostly enjoyable. My 10 year old and I read it together. The story was pretty good. My main issue was the sort-of forced look at gender fluidity. I'm all for that being well-represented in YA literature. But I felt like I was being beat over the head with it. I did enjoy that our main character is a young gay kid experiencing his first crush. But then we also have a grandparent who isn't genderless, rather two genders split evenly through the week. A bisexual mother. And another character who is trans. I am in no way opposed to all these different people as characters in this book; rather I was glad to get to read about them to my 10 year old. But rather than gender and sexuality coming across as another version of normal, I felt like it was an exposé on the topic with the author working overtime to fit as many non-hetero characters in as possible.