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 an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.

Do you know what the best thing about growing up is? It is the infinite possibility of finding yourself. Only a very few are lucky enough to be born knowing exactly who they are and what they want, while the rest are bound to a rocky path of questioning and revisiting choices we make and ideas of ourselves, that either don’t or can’t match what is really going on inside. The construct of identity, which should be as simple as a name, is, in fact, a series of events and emotions that shape us through good and bad and often one cannot point to one certain spot in space and say “Yes, that is my identity. That is who I am.”

Felix Love is a 17-year-old art student, led by his immense talent and drive to get into Brown, a prestigious art school, and prove his worth as an artist and a person. That’s what this novel is really about, isn’t it? Proving one’s worth and finding their place as a person in a world that gives nothing for free. But Felix’s burning desire to prove himself doesn’t just come from the motive of academic success – it is a fear, rooted deep in the core of an individual who fights prejudice against being black, queer and transgender on daily basis. Felix realized he was a guy when he was 12 years old, a revelation that brought many obstacles in the relationship with his dad, who, despite the confusion and slight but unsubtle despise toward his son’s identity, helped him undergone surgeries and changes necessary for his transition.

It might look easy putting a mask for the world so he would always look proud and confident, but inside he is struggling more than ever – whether it was because of his father who refuses to call him his real name, and use his correct pronouns or the ever-growing pressure of an upcoming commission about the portfolio he needs to make in order to get into Brown. Yet his everyday worries grow small in comparison to what happens when someone leaks his old photos, posting a gallery with his deadname on the halls of his school. Determined to find out who could do such thing and return the hurt that has been inflicted upon him, he sets off into an investigation that will turn into an emotional rollercoaster he never dreamed of experiencing.

This book covered an impressive amount of topics, each more serious than the other, all while threading a beautiful story of love and friendship that overcomes the fear of rejection and jealousy. It is a love story, coming of age tale and a mystery all in once, and the dynamic it was all composed into a fluid and dynamic motion is impeccable. I’ve read it in a record amount of time, despite being in a slump, pages turning and heart racing to the beat of Felix’s journey and anything that might happen.

While fighting transphobia, reevaluating friendships, and developing feelings, the most important lesson Felix will learn is to estimate whether a person is worth keeping in his life or not, for the love they give can’t always cancel out the hurt they bring. *spoilers* Letting go of his mother, breaking up his friendship with Marisol and even confronting his father and forgiving him were just another steps toward his final destination. His feelings for Ezra were always there, he just needed to find them. Honestly, the pride scene was so beautiful it made my heartache.

Reading Felix Ever After made me feel like my identity matters. It made me realize that those questions and labels are important, too many people and that they need to be yelled and shouted as many times possible for those who refuse to believe in them. Falling in love with the characters was easy, it wasn’t even a choice for that matter. Ezra, Declan, and Felix will stay in my mind a long while after; their friendship and love that ended in one of the most mature and beautiful endings I’ve ever come across. Whether you can recognize yourself in these margins and labels or not, I think you should read this book, if not for yourself, then for every kid that has ever felt the way Felix does. Read it for everyone who is still trying to find themselves and name the things happening to them.

So, after all these wonderful things I said about Felix Ever After, why 4 stars? My rating considering this book has very little to do with the quality of it since Felix Ever After is most certainly a 5-star read. My dissatisfaction comes from the slight, but the undeniable feeling of underwhelmed missing towards the ending, and I think it is because of the way the love triangle was resolved. Oh well, as it always is with them, there must be a winning side and I have sadly connected myself more with the one in question. Still, the way the author handled one of the most disliked YA tropes is nothing to complain about and I can assure you you are going to enjoy this book.