A Stonewall Honor Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time

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 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"")

Booklist Reviews

Stonewall Award-winning author Kacen Callender's latest stars black, queer, and transgender 17-year-old Felix, an angst-ridden artist with Ivy League ambitions who's never been in love. After he's publicly deadnamed at school and begins receiving anonymous transphobic texts, a vengeful Felix decides to catfish his suspected bully, setting in motion a series of events that leads to some difficult revelations about his family, friendships, love, and identity. Trans actor Rozos (David Makes Man) brings an impassioned authenticity to his reading as the complex and relatable Felix, conveying the vulnerable teen's messy jumble of emotions—righteous indignation in one moment, plaintive yearning the next—with breathless ease. Felix's hard-fought and dramatic journey toward self-discovery will resonate with teens looking for narratives about diverse LGBTQIA characters learning to love themselves; fans of Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda will want to check out this similarly affirming story. Grades 8-12. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.