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.
I feel like using parts of or all of Felix Ever After would allow students to engage deeply with themes of identity, race, gender, and self-acceptance. The novel could help to foster important conversations about empathy, mental health, and intersectionality.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Callender’s novel explores themes that are deeply relatable and significant to our students that are struggling with questions about identity, belonging, and self-worth.
I think it is especially relevant to our students here because art plays a significant role in Felix’s life. As an aspiring artist, Felix uses his creative talents to explore his identity and express emotions he sometimes struggles to verbalize. This connection between art and personal identity is something our students will understand.
The complexity of the text lends itself to lower grades…I’m thinking maybe 9 or 10th. But I do think aspects of the text or parts of it would be effective in several different disciplines. In Health class it would help with a unit on Self Identity and Mental Health and in Social Studies it could focus a conversation about LGBTQ+ rights, racial identity, and intersectionality in the context of civil rights movements. Of course in an ELA classroom it could help with literary analysis, personal narrative, and so much more. I really enjoyed reading this!!!
I really enjoyed reading Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender, and I believe our high school students will enjoy reading it as well. I would not recommend this to middle schoolers due to the heavy drug and alcohol content. It is an engaging read with a small mystery to figure out that keeps you wanting to keep reading, but the focus of the book is more on the emotions and struggles of the protagonist. As Felix tries to solve who put up the gallery shaming them, they continue to learn how to approach their questions about their identity and relationships. I agree with Sue that the focus on Felix and their classmates’ art is a strong tie for our students here at SOTA. Additionally, having the backdrop of the book be Pride month in NYC and at Stonewall specifically provides an opportunity to study the history of the LGBTQIA+ movement. Callender does an excellent job conveying the compounding impact of having layers of marginalization. They also show, through the various characters, the many different types and levels of microaggressions and aggressive aggressions marginalized students face. This makes this book a good mirror for all students to address and contemplate their own biases and behaviors. This is a great book to recommend to individual students who may relate to Felix in the struggle to find their identity. I also recommended it to the GSA advisors in our building.
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