This isn’t a book that’s trying to present this story in the most lyrical way. However, I don’t think that really matters. At times it seems quite stilted and the dialogue doesn’t always feel totally natural. Although it’s not the most beautifully written book that I’ve ever read in terms of language, I think the prose is quite repetitive and simplistic. I really enjoyed reading Felix Ever After. Can Felix work out who is targeting him? Will he ever get to grips with his identity and become comfortable in his own skin?

It reaches an awful level when the mystery figure publicises photos of Felix before he transitioned and reveals his deadname. So, when he starts being victimised by an online troll, it only heightens his concerns. Despite being more comfortable as Felix, he still saw himself as an outsider. However, something still didn’t feel quite right.

So, after a lot of discussions with his father and medical professionals, he started the transition to become a boy. It was at a fairly young age that Felix realised that he didn’t feel like the little girl that everybody else saw him as. Especially when the protagonist is a young black queer, transgender teenage boy. So, it’s really refreshing that books like Felix Ever After exist to show that it’s quite common to be confused by it all. We are a world obsessed with labels and putting people into the correct boxes. The world has come on a long way in the last few decades in terms of LGBTQ+ rights but there is still a lot of pressure on young people to work out who they are. Showcasing the story of a 17-year-old trying to figure out their identity, this is a great step in terms of getting more awareness into the world. It sounded like a really interesting read and a very important book in terms of representation. I don’t have a great history with hyped YA novels but I wanted to give this one a read during Pride. It’s such a beautiful thing and I need it to say as pristine as possible. It did take a bit longer because I was so careful not to ruin the gorgeous stencilled edges of this book. Mostly because it doesn’t have that literary fiction desire to complicate things. I forget that YA novels don’t take as long to read as the books I usually read. Thankfully, it was a pretty quick read and I got the majority of it done on Sunday. I’d had a slow end to the week and had let my reading go. I wasn’t entirely sure whether I would finish this in time or not.

Felix ever after