Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

71 reviews

ophycore's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Outing, and Transphobia

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Drug abuse

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

4.0

 Finished reading: October 3rd 2023

"It's easier to accept hurt and pain, sometimes, than love and acceptance."

I've been meaning to read Felix Ever After for quite some time now... When I needed a banned book for the POPSUGAR challenge, I decided to give in and finally read it. I know that I don't read a lot of YA anymore, but I would recommend this book for both teenagers and adults alike. The topic is such an important one, and it's an own voices story at that; there is no doubt that Felix Ever After has a big impact, and it really is an eye-opener. That said, I do have to say that there were certain aspects about the main character Felix that I didn't like as much. I get his struggles and they are both portrayed realistically and basically heartbreaking. BUT. He is also pretty selfish and vindictive, and the fact that others are hurting him is no excuse to do the same. I can't say that I was a fan of the whole love triangle vibe either, which kind of put a damper on things for me... In fact, I wasn't really a fan of the romance nor how it was developed and incorporated in general. I'm still giving this story four stars though just for its impact and how it can help people discover their identity and tribe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Outing, and Racism

purechaos's review

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Outing, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Drug use, Homophobia, Hate crime, Abandonment, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Self harm, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

bookswithlauren's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Hate crime, Outing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Biphobia, Body shaming, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Deadnaming, Cursing, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, and Homophobia

vespera's review

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Outing, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Homophobia, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia

axel_p's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Dysphoria, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Biphobia, Body shaming, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Outing, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, and Drug use

quinnpjd930's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A wonderful coming-of-age dealing with real, important topics like finding yourself and your identity, the intricate layers of blossoming queer identities, standing up to discrimination, the importance of love, acceptance, and friendship, and more. The growth of the characters is a journey that takes you along with it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Outing, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Classism, and Homophobia

tea_leaves's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

As a trans person, it’s really nice to see trans people in media especially when it’s written by a trans author who knows what it feels like. The only reason I didn’t love it is because Felix is the most obnoxious and selfs centered  person I’ve met. There are multiple times where he takes his friend Ezra for grated/ blatantly disrespects him. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Bullying, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Deadnaming

Felix has a lot of shitty friends and gets cyber bullied

chronicacademia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Outing, Cursing, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Transphobia, Racism, Abandonment, Bullying, and Child abuse

kitty_may12's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Well this was a rollercoaster, wasn’t it? A unique and thoughtful story about what it means to grow up and come into your own. The character of Felix Love is definitely a complex one; not unlike that of Simon Spier. Only Felix is slightly too vindictive and narrow minded for me to get on board with some of the actions he takes throughout his journey of self-discovery and acceptance. All of the relationships are messy and full of raging teenage hormones, angst and mystery that are explored and utilized well. However, I do wish that the love triangle, if you could even call it that and some of the other important subplots were explored in depth or just given the time each needed to make a significant impact...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Hate crime, Outing, and Stalking

Moderate: Abandonment, Dysphoria, Bullying, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Deadnaming and Classism