Review by Marissa McCarty
12. Evaluation: I thought this was a wonderful coming to age story of a nonbinary teen. There were many points in this story that I cried, so the fact that Ben felt accepted by the end of the story was very fulfilling. I think this could be a great addition to the classroom. I give this books a 9/10.
- Title: I Wish You All The Bestby Mason Deaver, ISBN 978-1-338-30612-5, Push, Scholastic 2019
- Genre: Coming of Age, Romance
- Characters: The main character is a non-binary teen named Ben De Backer. When they come out to their parents they are kicked out of the house they have lived in for 17 years. The only thing that Ben has left is their art and their new high school, North Wake, allows Ben to flourish into the artist they have always meant to be. Their sister, Hannah, who they haven’t seen in 10 years, takes them in and helps them blossom in the wonderful person they are meant to be. Her husband Thomas helps Ben enroll into their new high school. Thomas is a chemistry teacher at North Wake High and introduces Ben to Nathan Allen. Nathan Allen is a high school senior and Ben’s guide to their new Highschool. There are several other high school in Ben’s life, including Nathan’s friends Meleika and Sophie. Another friend that Ben has is a friend that they know from online, named Mariam who is also nonbinary and has a famous blog and webcast. They travel around the world speaking to teens in the LGBTQ community. Ben also has a therapist named Dr. Taylor who helps Ben understand what they are going through.
- Plot: When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents, they find themselves kicked out of the house they have lived in for 17 years on Christmas eve. Ben’s life becomes a hurricane, suddenly they find themselves without any where to go in freezing temperatures without any shoes on. The only person they can call is their estranged sister Hannah, someone they haven’t seen in 10 years. Without asking any questions Hannah drives for two hours to rescue her sibling in the middle of the night. The next morning arrangements are made by Thomas, Hannah’s husband, and Ben finds themselves enrolled in North Wake High. Ben tells their only friend, Mariam, how their coming out went and they give them their sympathies. Hannah agrees not to press Ben but in exchange requires them to visit a therapist so they can understand what they are going through. On the first day of school Ben is introduced to Nathan Allen who gives Ben a tour of their new high school. Afraid of the consequences of coming out to more people Ben refuses to tell anyone about their nonbinary affiliation, even if everyone assumes that they are a boy. Everything seems to be going fine in Ben’s new life until they open their computer and log into facebook, something they haven’t logged into for months at this point and see’s that their mother had tried to reach out to them days after the incident. Against their therapist’s advice and without Hannah’s knowledge, they reach out to their parents and after a disastrous dinner Ben makes empty promises and flees the premises with Nathan. They think that’s the end of it, until they show up uninvited, to Ben’s art show. After a very public fight between Hannah and her parents (whom she hasn’t seen in 10 years) Ben is left distraught and down spirals into a depression that lasts for a month. After much growth and a heart to heart with his sister, where it is revealed that Hannah’s and Ben’s father hit Hannah, Ben determines a relationship with their parents is impossible. In the end Ben comes out to Nathan, who in turn comes out to Ben and they reveal that that they love each other. Ben goes through a great journey that allows them to find self discovery.
- Touchy Areas: emotional and some physical abuse from parents, heavy emotional feelings, some drinking, LGBTQ relationship (not that this is touchy to me, but might be to others)
- Related titles: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, What If It’s us by Becky Albertalli, The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare
- Movies: Love Simon, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Glee (the show)
- Music:BreathinAriana Grande, Firework Katy Perry, True Colors Cyndi Lauper
- Poetry: My Identity by Lucia Domingos Fula
- Classic Work: N/A
- Art:https://lgbtqnation-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/2016/10/pride-mural-500x331.jpg
12. Evaluation: I thought this was a wonderful coming to age story of a nonbinary teen. There were many points in this story that I cried, so the fact that Ben felt accepted by the end of the story was very fulfilling. I think this could be a great addition to the classroom. I give this books a 9/10.
