Scan barcode
awagnergaines's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
eramser's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
thepetitepunk's review
5.0
I'm glad I judged this book by it's cover because Felix Ever After turned out to be my new favorite book. Am I allowed to say this is my favorite book of the month when it's the first book I finished this month...at 6am on June 2nd?
Felix Love is a trans, queer, black 17 year old art student in New York. Although it's Felix's dream to get into Brown University, he's not sure he's good enough to get into such a selective school, especially with his talented enemy Declan competing for a spot at the same college and a full-ride scholarship. And if that's not enough pressure for Felix to deal with, he also has to deal with transphobic anonymous messages through Instagram, a dad who hasn't yet referred to Felix as Felix, and an unsuspecting love triangle. At the heart of Felix Ever After are beautiful themes of identity discovery, friendship, love, and support.
The characters were truly a refreshing break from traditional YA fiction character tropes. Everyone was so real, so developed, that I felt like I knew the characters. Furthermore, there was tremendous diversity regarding race, class, sexuality, gender identity, and living situations. Each character was so complex and intriguing. The plot, which I'll just sum up as Felix tries to catfish a suspected transphobe while being completely oblivious to who really loves him and also there's lots of identity questioning, may not sound too thrilling, but it Kacen Callender did a great job of not wanting to put this book down. Something new was discovered every chapter, but it never felt like too much or too little. The writing was beautiful, the conversations were beautiful, the images were beautiful The support? The friendship? The direct mentioning of the intersection of gender, sexuality, race, and class? It was all so beautiful.
I was incredibly impressed with Felix Ever After. This is definitely a book I would read again.
Felix Love is a trans, queer, black 17 year old art student in New York. Although it's Felix's dream to get into Brown University, he's not sure he's good enough to get into such a selective school, especially with his talented enemy Declan competing for a spot at the same college and a full-ride scholarship. And if that's not enough pressure for Felix to deal with, he also has to deal with transphobic anonymous messages through Instagram, a dad who hasn't yet referred to Felix as Felix, and an unsuspecting love triangle. At the heart of Felix Ever After are beautiful themes of identity discovery, friendship, love, and support.
The characters were truly a refreshing break from traditional YA fiction character tropes. Everyone was so real, so developed, that I felt like I knew the characters. Furthermore, there was tremendous diversity regarding race, class, sexuality, gender identity, and living situations. Each character was so complex and intriguing. The plot, which I'll just sum up as Felix tries to catfish a suspected transphobe while being completely oblivious to who really loves him and also there's lots of identity questioning, may not sound too thrilling, but it Kacen Callender did a great job of not wanting to put this book down. Something new was discovered every chapter, but it never felt like too much or too little. The writing was beautiful, the conversations were beautiful, the images were beautiful The support? The friendship? The direct mentioning of the intersection of gender, sexuality, race, and class? It was all so beautiful.
I was incredibly impressed with Felix Ever After. This is definitely a book I would read again.
jess_mango's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
What a great, touching story with lots of representation. This story is told from the perspective of Felix Love, a black trans teen living in NYC. He's in a summer arts program at his private NYC high school. He dreams of going to college at Brown University to study art. However, Felix is unsure if he will be able to get accepted to Brown.
When he was younger, Felix decided to transition from female to male but is now still unsure of his gender identity. He knows he isn't a girl but doesn't always feel like a boy. While he is unsure of this and of his artistic ability, he gets support from his best friend Ezra. But, he feels discouraged by some of his fellow students, including Ezra's ex-boyfriend Declan. When someone creates a gallery of Felix in his former female identity and a cyber bully starts messaging Felix on instagram, he feels extremely hurt and also determined to find out who this anonymous person is.
This book was everything I hoped it would be! We can feel Felix's pain and confusion. The author did a great job portraying the full range of Felix's emotions. I highly recommend this one!
What to listen to while you read...
Stay Gold by BTS
Curious by Hayley Kiyoko
Boys by Lizzo
Into You by Ariana Grande
Born this Way by Lady Gaga
Hearts a Mess by Gotye
What a great, touching story with lots of representation. This story is told from the perspective of Felix Love, a black trans teen living in NYC. He's in a summer arts program at his private NYC high school. He dreams of going to college at Brown University to study art. However, Felix is unsure if he will be able to get accepted to Brown.
When he was younger, Felix decided to transition from female to male but is now still unsure of his gender identity. He knows he isn't a girl but doesn't always feel like a boy. While he is unsure of this and of his artistic ability, he gets support from his best friend Ezra. But, he feels discouraged by some of his fellow students, including Ezra's ex-boyfriend Declan. When someone creates a gallery of Felix in his former female identity and a cyber bully starts messaging Felix on instagram, he feels extremely hurt and also determined to find out who this anonymous person is.
This book was everything I hoped it would be! We can feel Felix's pain and confusion. The author did a great job portraying the full range of Felix's emotions. I highly recommend this one!
What to listen to while you read...
Stay Gold by BTS
Curious by Hayley Kiyoko
Boys by Lizzo
Into You by Ariana Grande
Born this Way by Lady Gaga
Hearts a Mess by Gotye
mairfo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
2.75
kbidd505's review against another edition
4.0
This book cut deep with the themes; transphobia, identity, self-love and it was sooo relatable ok bye
ctoca's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really great book, and as a middle school teacher I think it’s a really valuable read. I got a copy from the library and was bothered by the amount of mentions of Harry Potter in a book with a trans protagonist, but I found that the author is having the book reprinted and removing mentions of Harry Potter as well as instances of mislabeling a character’s ethnicity based on their last name. If you are going to pick this up, I would recommend looking into whether any of the reprint copies are available!
sofia_santana's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
stuckinafictionaluniverse's review against another edition
2.0
1 1/2 stars.
Not for me, and I know that I am in the minority on this one. I was annoyed by the characters and hated the direction that the plot took. That extra star is only for the representation and important topics that the book brought up. Review to come.
Not for me, and I know that I am in the minority on this one. I was annoyed by the characters and hated the direction that the plot took. That extra star is only for the representation and important topics that the book brought up. Review to come.
jbiz93's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5