Most teenagers don't know the answers to soul-searching questions.Mason Deaver is a bestselling and award-winning young adult novelist.
Everyone asks difficult personal questions that Ben doesn't know the answer to - not only because Ben is still feeling out this world, but also because they're still a teen. They cannot trust any space or situation out of hand - they second guess every word spoken and every feeling felt, just in case they aren't "supposed" to feel that way. There is a persistent underlying sense that nothing is safe, either inside Ben's head or out. There's also Nathan, the adorable, chatty young man who is given the task of guiding Ben around their new school.īen's story is compelling it flies by, but it's not the easiest read. Mariam is Ben's nonbinary support bestie and mentor, though they've only met online. But there are two bright spots in Ben's darkness. This is just their life now: discomfort, body dysmorphia, the exhaustion of the "constant coming out," the fear involved in making every single human connection. Let's Talk About Sex When The Conversation Doesn't Include You: LGBTQ+ Sex Ed In A Small Townīen spends the first quarter of the book in abject fear, but this is not a horror novel. Based on the ease with which Hannah takes Ben in, she knows full well the unwelcoming environment that her sibling has left. Hannah immediately jumps into action: Securing new clothes and amenities, working hard at using Ben's proper pronouns (they/their), and enrolling them at the local school. The reader's imagination is capable enough of filling in the blanks.īen calls upon Hannah, the estranged sister who fled the family home the moment she graduated high school and never looked back. We don't need to see the immediate fallout of Ben De Backer's coming out as nonbinary - witnessing the aftermath of being kicked out of the house at Christmas is difficult enough. The beginning of I Wish You All the Best is nightmarish, without being overtly so.
I'm pleased to say that they accomplished that goal with flying colors, and the literary world is a better place for it. But the book Deaver needed to read was a particularly important one, one that explored nonbinary gender issues and queer life in a way that was gentle, yet real. Authors typically say this sort of thing when we write the books of our heart. There is a "Dear Reader" in the front of my advance copy of I Wish You All the Best, in which Mason Deaver explains that they are telling the story they needed to read when they were 15 (Deaver uses they/them pronouns). Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title I Wish You All the Best Author Mason Deaver
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