From Stonewall and Lambda Award–winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.
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 … 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.
“Felix is attending an ultracompetitive arts summer program to have a better shot at a full scholarship to Brown when someone posts Felix’s dead name beside photos of him, pre-transition, in the school’s lobby. Felix’s plot to get revenge throws him onto the path of love and self-discovery.” (Publishers Weekly, “An Anti-Racist Children’s and YA Reading List”)
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A firecracker of a book from an author with a powerful point of view, Felix Ever After is refreshingly real—full of queer kids who live and breathe and swear and love and make messy mistakes. Teens need this one.
Felix Ever After never shies away from the beautiful, messy complexity of love in all its forms. This book is a gift, from start to finish.
My goodness, Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender is enough to give anyone a book hangover! I had heard great things about it, but I don’t think I was prepared for just how much I was going to love it. Felix is an amazing character, along with some others in the novel, and even though it is in the young adult genre I will be recommending it to EVERYONE. I listened to the audio version (of course) and I cannot get over what an amazing job Logan Rozos did narrating. Rozos made the perfect Felix and made the book that much more emotional for me.
I will be honest, I have not read that many LGBTQ novels or even books by black authors, and I am trying to branch out and do a better job of educating myself. Felix Ever After was perfect for this, and it both broke my heart and put it back together again. It is empowering, heartwarming, heartbreaking, informative and romantic all wrapped into one amazing book that is beautifully written. Callender did an amazing job of tackling so many different issues, and we need more books that center on characters like Felix.
Felix Ever After gave me all the feels and then some, and I could immediately tell what a talented writer Callender is. Felix and the other characters felt so real to me and the writing was very fluid and crisp. I am pretty positive that Callender just turned into an instant autobuy author for me and I will definitely be buying my own copy of this book and cherishing it forever!
“He’s hot.”
“I don’t know. Somehow, when someone is a jerk, their hotness level drop by at least fifty percent”
Love that!
There’s a lot to like about this book: Felix discovering where he belongs, being oblivious to all the good in his life and then seeing it and appreciating it, the rollercoaster love story, the empowerment he finds within community and within himself, the happy endings to so many things that have hurt him unnecessarily, and the art!
But… The constant swearing and use of the Lord’s name in vain was really irritating and absolutely unnecessary. Minus a star for that. Usually I would have DNFed the book based on that alone – luckily the book was recommended to me by someone whose reading tastes I trust.
What bothered me, though, was that every villain in Felix’s life was white or with white ancestry: Declan (Irish father, red in hair), Austin (blue eyes and blonde hair), the mean girls, etc. The only good white person he knows is Leah. Which is a sad statement. Though it’s an important issue to look at (the privilege of white gay men versus those more marginalised), it isn’t examined and instead used to create villains in Felix’s world. Looking at all of Felix’s identities – transgender, gay and black – would’ve made a more rounded story instead of just focusing on the first two and using the last to fill out the villains.
A good story. About halfway through, I thought: Boys are so oblivious! Which reminded me of being a teenager. The story transports you into the world of teenagers, makes you root for Felix as much as you want to shake sense into him, makes you feel the highs and lows, and doesn’t let you go until the very end.
3.5 stars
There are stories that are vital and there are stories that are brilliantly crafted. Callender delivers both in this beautiful exploration of friendship, new love, and self.
This is a story about friendships, finding first loves, and continuing to discover yourself even after you thought you had all the answers. I can’t talk about my love for this book enough—it’s going to change lives.
Captivating and Beautiful, Felix Ever After is one of those stories that will resonate with anyone who reads it. Most importantly this is the story of about a trans POC who is unapologetically themselves despite all the feelings they have and the pressure from the outside world to be put in a box. Felix comes such a long way from the beginning of this book to the end you can’t help but fall in love with his story.
“It’s like every identity I have . . . the more different I am from everyone else . . . the less interested people are. The less . . . lovable I feel, I guess. The love interests in books, or in movies or TV shows, are always white, cis, straight, blond hair, blue eyes. Chris Evans, Jennifer Lawrence. It becomes a little hard, I guess, to convince myself I deserve the kind of love you see on movie screens.”
Kacen Callender put their whole heart in this story and I felt that. This story almost felt like a journal from someone’s life. A story that showed you exactly who this person was at this specific time in their lives and you couldn’t help but love them. This story gave me all the feels in a way that not many stories can do. When Felix would cry, it would break my heart and when Ezra was being goofy, I felt like I was there to hear his laugh. I crave stories like this! Stories about real people, stories about people from the LGBTQIA+ community and stories about people of color. All the stars and love for Felix Ever After.
I really enjoyed this story! I was super angry about what happened to Felix, and the person behind it just made my gears grind even more. It was so typical of high school petty drama, and I felt so incredibly bad for Felix. I loved all of the art and how it’s used by Felix to work through his feelings. I loved all of Felix’s friends also that had his back and were supportive of him through all of his mixed feelings trying to find himself.
I enjoyed this book. Parts of it I did not care for, but I’m old. I would definitely recommend this book. It was a cute book
Felix Ever After was a captivating story with representation of diversity and learning more about oneself as Felix grabbles with understanding how to label themself when asked. There was information throughout this book that stopped and gave me pause as I reflected on my own actions and words. It will stay with me for a long time. I loved this group of characters and their relationships with each other as Kacen Callender wrote them. The story was extremely relatable for all teenagers and young adults go through their own grappling in ways to goal set for their future and to learn more about who they are.
Audible Review
Overall 4 out of 5 stars
Performance 4 out of 5 stars
Story 4 out of 5 stars
4.5*
Felix Ever After is one of those books that I think most readers would benefit from reading. It’s an inspiring, thoughtful, thought-provoking story.
This is the first book I’ve read with a transgender main character. I appreciated the way that Kacen Callender incorporated (not sure if that’s really the correct word!) some of the things Felix was questioning and wondering, because it helped me to learn as well.
While there were some things I found frustrating about this book, overall I thought it was sweet and hopeful. I’m glad there are books like this out there in the world.
I really liked Logan Rozos narration. I’m not sure if he’s actually a teen, but he sure sounded like one! I’m so glad a narrator was used who actually fit the part. So many YA books have narrators who sound so much older than the character is meant to be, which is so off-putting. But I was very happy with how this one turned out.
More reviews and recs on my blog: https://thedanielhurst.wordpress.com
This book is LOVEly! It’s a contemporary young adult novel about a Black trans boy preparing to go to college to study art and hoping to fall in love. When we meet Felix, he seems established in his identity, though he still has some discovering to do and some relationships to work on. A huge strength to this novel is how nuanced it is with regards to Felix’s identity and relationships.
Felix’s mother is absent, and his father is supportive but far from perfect in his support. Felix’s relationships with his friends and classmates are complicated in various ways. Near the beginning of the story, Felix is outed by an anonymous perpetrator, so the story has a mystery layer, as well.
Overall, Felix and all the characters felt realistic to me, and the narrative drive was strong throughout the book. It’s at times messy, adorable, angsty, and sweet. This book checked off all the boxes, and I loved it! Highly recommend!
CW: outing, dead naming, cyber bullying
The book I absolutely needed right now!
Felix is questioning everything: love, his identify, his talent, his future, his relationships. His road to answers is bumpy, funny, disheartening, rewarding, and inspiring. From refusing to just accept being dead named publicly, to standing up to his cyber bully despite struggling himself with the things being said to him, to finally finding his voice for his paintings every setback and triumph was beautifully executed and deepened my connection with Felix and the other characters.
This is a must read for everyone, simply everyone!
“It’s kind of amazing, that there’s a word that explains exactly how I feel, that takes away all of my confusion and questioning and hesitation-a word that let’s me know there are others out there who feel exactly the same way as I do.”
It has been a while since a book made me feel so much. The book was such a range of emotions, ones I was observing as a reader and ones I could relate to so much. What an incredible book. This book was worth more than five stars, as it really left an impression on me.
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 a story of self-discovery in more than one way. It’s about discovering sexuality, gender, love, your place in society and where all those intersect.
“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.”
This quote is so powerful. Regardless of who you are or how you identify, you have the same right to exist as you as anyone else and this book made that message abundantly clear.
Some books just don’t have plots, they are journeys, and Felix Ever After was a beautiful one to take. The words made me feel, the characters made me think. Some people say contemporary books are lighter reads than other genres, but this was heavy, but in a good way. And after I was done reading, this book left something with me.
I listened to the audiobook and the audiobook narrator was so good. He is a trans man himself and it really added to the experience. The ‘acting’ during narrating felt so genuine, so raw and true to it’s nature. It shows the importance of having Own Voices narrators, beside the obvious of having people tell stories close to their own: they are actors and when actors are connected to their role, the reader will connect more aswell, creating the best experience for everyone.
There are so many more good things to say about this book. The first is that it takes place during Pride Month. I love that so much, especially as it’s currently Pride and we can’t go out to celebrate, because we need to protest for black lives and on top of that there is a pandemic. The second is that practically the entire cast is queer. There are only a few token straight characters and the ratio feels so natural to me. Third, the allyship between the characters. It’s. So. Powerful. There is much more, but I’d suggest to just go and read it to find out.
I really recommend this book. Everyone even remotely interested in LGBTQ+ books should read this. It’s a story of self-discovery with a basically all queer cast and a happy ending. I recommend the audiobook even more, as the narrator just adds so much to the story. Really, check this book out, you will not regret it.
I look forward to read more books by Kacen Callender as their writing style and character depth is just exactly right for me, I really need more of that.
A few reasons why you should read Felix Ever After
1. FELIX – ALL HE WANTS IS TO BE LOVED
Felix is one of those MCs that you immediately fall in love with. He’s Black, queer, and trans, and Felix truly believes that he hasn’t found love because he’s one marginalization too many. And we aren’t just talking about romantic love. Felix was also abandoned by his mother and is still misgendered by his father, so love and acceptance are the two things Felix craves, and you’ll just want to hug him and comfort him through all of his pain and questions.
2. THE DISCUSSION OF QUESTIONING GENDER IDENTITY
One of the most important discussions in this book was questioning gender identity; especially after “you thought you had it all figured out”.
Felix came out as a guy a few years prior and has already gone through the physical transition. But now Felix is unsure if he really feels like a guy or if he even identifies as binary. There are some incredibly important discussions that Felix has both internally and externally with his network. I think discussions like these are exactly what young people need to see on pages.
3. THE DISCUSSION OF DISCRIMINATION WITHIN THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY
The discrimination the Trans community faces is something that we are seeing all over social media and the news right now, so I don’t think that conversation will come as a surprise to most. What I think is a less common conversation is the amount of discrimination that trans people face within the LGBTQ+ community, which the author addresses this complex issue brilliantly. There’s an entire situation that plays out in this story that was an absolute gut punch, but a much needed conversation to bare witness to in order to show its prevalence (this particular scene still infuriates me).
4. THE ROMANCE
Okay, the majority of this book is about Felix finding love, so you knew there was going to be romance. There’s definitely some enemies-to-lovers/friends-to-lovers type things and play, and if you’re like me and trash for either of these tropes, then you will DEFINITELY love the romance in this plot.
And and the romance is not the instalove or anything along those lines. This is the realistic messy kind that is also full of teen angst and drama. *The swoon moments are so worth it!*
5. THE WHODUNNIT SUB PLOT
Someone at Felix’s art school leaked photos of him from before with his deadname (it is NOT mentioned anywhere in the book). Naturally, Felix and his friends are on a mission to figure out who was responsible…things definitely get downright dirty. I don’t want to give anything away, but the plot twist was something that I didn’t see coming.
My heart. This is the sweetest coming of age story. We get to watch Felix, this talented, sensitive smart Black kid as he navigates all different aspects of his identity, including his gender, his relationship with his father, and the agony and hope of first love. One of the most special parts of this book is how it it defies expectations. It kept me surprising me to the very end. Loved it. Proud to claim Kacen as a fellow Caribbean expat.
Okay, folx. This review is going to be an emotional one for me. As someone who identifies in a similar manner to the main character in this book, it hit me with a lot of the feels. It was so relatable and genuine that it left me a bit shell-shocked. Not in a bad way, but in a, “Hollleee heck, I’ve been seen” kinda way. I wish this book existed when I was younger. I wish it had been around when I was so confused about myself, and what I wanted, or who I thought I was and who I thought I wasn’t. I wish it was there when I fought guilt and confusion and couldn’t wrap my head around who I was. But then, hmm. I guess I’m still kind of in that space, so I’m grateful for its existence now. I still struggle in many of the ways Felix did through the book, so to find myself following a character with such similar mental battles was… yeah. It hit home.
I feel like, in a way, I’ve been waiting for this book my entire life. That might sound mellow-dramatic, but it’s true.
Not only does this story have a beautifully introspective, gritty, real portrayal of queer emotion, inner turmoil, and joy, but there is also a fantastic non-poly love triangle that might very well be the best handled one I’ve seen in… ages. It isn’t there simply as a plot device, and I honestly don’t believe there would be a “Team Edward/Jacob” type divide among most readers. Every moment raw, emotional moment as Felix fights forward can be felt in the very depths of your readerly heart. You understand his decisions. His feelings. The whys and why-nots of the things he chooses to prioritize.
Everything about this book was as close to perfection as it comes. I would highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend this. To anyone. To EVERYONE. Heck, I think it should be a required reading in high school English. For those who might identify with Felix, its a balm to the soul. For those who wish to understand, it’s an enlightening gem. And for those who think they do understand but really don’t, it’ll teach some incredible lessons.
To know that there are people out there who hate me, want to hurt me, want to erase my identity, without ever even seeing me or knowing me, just like there are people out there who hate me for the color of my skin—it’s enraging, infuriating, but it also hurts.
If I had a list of books that I’m thankful for/grateful to have read, Felix Ever After would be at the top of that list. It would also be on the list of books I wish teenage Jess could have read. I experienced every emotion under the freaking sun while reading this book, and it was such a beautiful and rewarding experience. This book will be one that I push my son to read whenever he has reached this reading level. I am 29 years old and I usually struggle to connect with young adult characters, but Felix was such a raw person to read about so I connected very quickly and easily.
Some people say we shouldn’t need labels. That we’re trying to box ourselves in too much. But I don’t know. It feels good to me, to know I’m not alone. That someone else has felt the same way I’ve felt, experienced the same things I’ve experienced. It’s validating.
In Felix Ever After, we are following Felix who is a Black, queer, transgender male and he’s under a lot of pressure both to finish his art portfolio for college admissions and in his personal life. He’s questioning his identity and what that means. He’s balancing his relationship with his dad, friendships, and even a mystery transphobic bully. There’s so much happening which helps the story keep a good pace.
“Loving and accepting and celebrating yourself, and loving and celebrating and supporting the young women like you who will come next. Changing this world, yes—we need people who will fight for our rights, fight for justice in the courts so that it will be better for the next generation. But creating our own world, not just for ourselves in our bubble, but one that can spread to those who need it most—one filled with our stories, our history, our love and pride—that’s just as beautiful. That’s just as necessary. Without that, we forget ourselves. Crumple under the pain of feeling isolated, unaccepted by others, without realizing that, above all else, we need to love and accept ourselves first.”
There are many moments in Felix Ever After that made me stop and truly think about what it must be like to not be White, straight, and cisgender. This book was just wonderfully written, and I’m urging anyone who hasn’t read Felix Ever After to pick it up now. It doesn’t matter if young adult isn’t your preferred genre. This book needs to be read by everyone. Read more books about people of different races, gender, identities. Otherwise you are missing out on a sea of talented, fabulous, and stunning voices. That is a mission that I myself am on, and I’m so incredibly happy that I gave Felix Ever After a try because it is now one of my favorite books of 2020.
Overall rating 5 stars
Felix Every After is, indeed, “…a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery” as the publisher claims. It is that and so much more.
Felix is a 17-year-old art student who is supposed to be developing his portfolio to send to Brown University with his application for admission to their art program. However, his life is in turmoil, and he is trying to deal with issues at home, his mother left him and his father and didn’t respond to Felix’s text revealing he is really a boy. His father is having trouble accepting him as a boy, but he’s trying hard to do so. Someone at school has outed him by using his deadname and photos hacked from his Instagram account showing him as he was. Then there’s his internal turmoil – will he ever find someone to love him for who he really is? And he’s feeling guilty about having doubts about his identity.
This is a book about anger, love, drama, identity, angst, and life in general. It’s about being a teenager in the 21st century. It’s about getting to know yourself while others are trying to define you by their standards.
This a well-written multi-layered book with depth and complexity. The characters, both major and minor, are well-drawn with an intensity that mirrors real life. This is a book that you can lose yourself in and never want it to end. It is a book that you’ll find yourself rooting for Felix. It is a book that will make you want to make all the hurt go away. If you know a teen who is transitioning or who is wondering about it, and you don’t know what to do or say, read this book and then give it to the teen.
This is a book that belongs at the top of your to-be-read list for so many reasons regardless of whether you think you know about trans people or you know nothing about trans people.
My thanks to Harper and Edelweiss for an e-ARC.