Felix Ever After
A Black, queer, transgender teen navigates love, art school, and an anonymous hate campaign while defining himself on his own terms.
I Wish You All the Best
After coming out as nonbinary and being kicked out by their parents, Ben finds refuge with an estranged sister and slowly learns to trust again.
Book Overview
About This Book
Author: Mason Deaver
Queer YABen De Backer is ten weeks from finishing high school when they come out to their parents as nonbinary. The response is immediate and devastating: their parents tell them to leave. Ben ends up on the doorstep of Hannah, the older sister who left the family years ago, and must start over in every way that matters. New school. New room. New version of a life that was supposed to be safe.
What follows is a story about the architecture of trust after it has been demolished. Ben navigates panic attacks, the fear of being seen, and the slow, terrifying process of letting new people in. They meet Nathan, a boy whose kindness feels suspicious because Ben has learned that kindness can be revoked. Deaver writes the anxiety with precision: the way it narrows the world, the way it makes every small interaction feel like a test.
This is not a novel about the triumph of coming out. It is a novel about what happens after the door closes behind you. Ben's healing is not linear, not dramatic, and not complete by the final page. It is a series of small, brave choices to keep existing, keep reaching, and keep believing that they deserve to be loved as they are.
Archetype Analysis
Falling Into Identity — Healing
Ben's story is a Falling Into Identity arc because the fall is triggered by the act of naming who they are. Coming out as nonbinary is not the beginning of Ben's identity; it is the moment when their identity collides with the world. The fall is not into confusion but into the aftermath of honesty. Ben already knows who they are. The crisis is that the people who were supposed to hold that truth rejected it, and now Ben must rebuild their sense of self from the wreckage of that rejection.
The Healing growth arc is the most honest frame for Ben's journey because healing is what happens when someone has been wounded by the people who were supposed to protect them. Ben does not need to discover themselves; they need to recover from being punished for being themselves. Healing here means learning that trust can be rebuilt, that not everyone will leave, and that the anxiety that has taken root in Ben's body is not permanent. In the Fallboys framework, healing in the context of identity means choosing to remain visible even when visibility has cost you everything.
Emotional Arc
Arc Breakdown
Descent Phase
Ben comes out and is immediately expelled from their family. They arrive at Hannah's house in shock, carrying nothing but a bag and the knowledge that honesty destroyed the only home they knew. The descent is not into identity confusion but into the emotional free fall of losing everything you trusted because you told the truth about yourself.
Turning Point
The turning point is gradual rather than dramatic. Ben allows Nathan to get close. They allow Hannah to be a family. They begin to see a therapist. Each of these is a tiny act of trust that contradicts the lesson their parents taught them: that being yourself gets you abandoned. The turning point is the accumulation of evidence that the lesson was wrong.
Growth Outcome
Ben does not fully heal by the end of the novel, and that is what makes the healing arc honest. They are still anxious. They still carry the wound. But they have found people who use their pronouns, who show up without conditions, and who prove that family is something you can build, not just something you are born into. The growth is in the choosing to stay open.
Reader Guide
Who This Book Helps
- Nonbinary and gender-nonconforming teens who need to see themselves in fiction
- Readers who have been rejected by family for who they are
- Teens living with anxiety or panic disorders who want honest representation of that experience
- Anyone navigating a found-family situation after losing their birth family's support
- Siblings, friends, and allies who want to understand how to show up for someone who has been rejected
- Educators and librarians looking for nonbinary-centered YA fiction for collections and curricula
For Reflection
Discussion Questions
- Ben already knew who they were before coming out. What does the novel suggest about the difference between knowing your identity and having your identity accepted by others?
- How does the novel portray anxiety as a physical and emotional response to trauma, rather than an abstract condition? What details make Ben's anxiety feel real?
- Hannah left the family years before Ben was kicked out. How does Hannah's own experience with the family shape the way she supports Ben? What does she understand that others might not?
- Nathan is patient and kind, but Ben struggles to trust his kindness. What does the novel say about how past betrayal shapes the ability to receive love?
- The title comes from what Ben's parents said when they kicked them out. How does the novel reclaim those words over the course of the story?
Content Guide
Emotional Intensity
Intensity: 3/5
This novel deals with family rejection, anxiety and panic attacks, and the emotional aftermath of being cast out by parents. The tone is hopeful and the found-family elements provide genuine warmth, but the rejection scenes are emotionally direct and may be difficult for readers who have experienced similar situations. Suitable for ages 13 and up.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver follows Ben De Backer, a nonbinary teenager who comes out to their parents and is immediately kicked out of the house. Ben moves in with their estranged older sister Hannah and must navigate a new school, anxiety, and the slow, painful process of learning to trust people again after the people who were supposed to love them unconditionally chose not to.
I Wish You All the Best is one of the first mainstream YA novels to feature a nonbinary protagonist whose identity is central to the story. Ben uses they/them pronouns, and the novel treats their gender identity with respect and nuance. The book does not reduce Ben to their identity — it shows a full person navigating loss, anxiety, friendship, and love while also being nonbinary.
I Wish You All the Best has an emotional intensity of 3 out of 5 on the Fallboys scale. The novel deals with family rejection, anxiety and panic attacks, and the emotional aftermath of being cast out by your parents. However, the tone is ultimately hopeful, and the found-family elements provide warmth throughout. It is moderately intense and suitable for readers aged 13 and up.