I Wish You All The Best Review

Day 13 of #PrideLibrary20.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver

Cover image of I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver.

When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they’re thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents’ rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.

But Ben’s attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan’s friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.

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Trigger warnings: transphobia, dysphoria, misgendering, parental abuse, anxiety, depression, panic attacks.

I Wish You All The Best broke my heart within the first few pages, this is an incredibly emotional and powerful debut by Mason Deaver. This is a novel about a teen who comes out as non-binary and is instantly thrown out by their parents, Ben is able to move in with their estranged sister who is more understanding but they could have ended up homeless or living in a shelter like some LGBTQ+ teens in real life. Ben is such a brave and strong individual but their confidence is shattered by their parents refusal to accept them as they are, I Wish You All The Best follows Ben’s journey as they find the courage to start living as their true self and to love themselves unconditionally.

Nathan, a black bisexual side character, was such a fun and uplifting character who was determined to help Ben however he could, he was a true friend to Ben when they needed him most. I think everyone needs someone as positive as Nathan in their lives, he oozed joy and there was a safeness about him too that encouraged Ben to accept his friendship. Their romance was such a slow burn, I was almost begging them to reveal their love to each other!

A main character who’s very vulnerable is very rarely the default in YA books so I was desperate to wrap Ben up in the most loving hug. There were many emotional scenes within this book, Ben battles depression, anxiety and panic attacks throughout their final year at school. Most of their progress happened towards the end of the novel, although they agreed to seeing a therapist early on there were many set backs throughout the story. Because of this I would love a sequel, I want to see Ben living as their true self surrounded by their supportive friends. This was Ben’s coming out story, now I need the graduate edition!

Mason Deaver’s debut novel is an important and insightful look into life as a non-binary teenager, this was the first book I read with a non-binary main character and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who’s looking for more non-binary representation in their reading material. However when reading LGBTQ+ books, please do remember that the experience of this non-binary teenager doesn’t define every non-binary teen’s experiences, sadly some teenagers and young adults face worse outcomes than Ben. However I can’t wait to read the books Mason Deaver will publish in the future, even though they’ll probably break my heart just like I Wish You All The Best!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning I will earn a small amount of commission on any purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.

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