Blog Tour: Tour the World in 30 Books – Felix Ever After

Tour the World in 30 Books is a blog tour hosted by Sammie @ The Bookwyrm’s Den in support of her local public library’s Diverse Book Drive. It’s in conjunction with a Diverse Book Drive hosted by the CCPL—a small, rural library in an area with a high poverty rate and a very homogeneous population, where people rarely have the means to travel or experience new perspectives. However, the library doesn’t believe that should stop people from learning more about the world around them, so they’re running a Diverse Book Drive through the month of September in an attempt to bring the rest of the world to the county instead. With a focus on MG and YA books, the CCPL aims to expose especially its young patrons to new and diverse perspectives and cultures.

Now, for my tour stop, I have decided to highlight one of my favorite reads this year: Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender.

What is Felix Ever After about?

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.

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A few reasons why you should read Felix Ever After

1. Felix – all he wants is to be loved

Felix is one of those MCs that you immediately fall in love with. He’s Black, queer, and trans, and Felix truly believes that he hasn’t found love because he’s one marginalization too many. And we aren’t just talking about romantic love. Felix was also abandoned by his mother and is still misgendered by his father, so love and acceptance are the two things Felix craves, and you’ll just want to hug him and comfort him through all of his pain and questions.

2. The Discussion of Questioning gender identity

One of the most important discussions in this book was questioning gender identity; especially after “you thought you had it all figured out”.

Felix came out as a guy a few years prior and has already gone through the physical transition. But now Felix is unsure if he really feels like a guy or if he even identifies as binary. There are some incredibly important discussions that Felix has both internally and externally with his network. I think discussions like these are exactly what young people need to see on pages.

3. The Discussion of Discrimination within the LGBTQ+ Community

The discrimination the Trans community faces is something that we are seeing all over social media and the news right now, so I don’t think that conversation will come as a surprise to most. What I think is a less common conversation is the amount of discrimination that trans people face within the LGBTQ+ community, which the author addresses this complex issue brilliantly. There’s an entire situation that plays out in this story that was an absolute gut punch, but a much needed conversation to bare witness to in order to show its prevalence (this particular scene still infuriates me).

4. The romance

Okay, the majority of this book is about Felix finding love, so you knew there was going to be romance. There’s definitely some enemies-to-lovers/friends-to-lovers type things and play, and if you’re like me and trash for either of these tropes, then you will DEFINITELY love the romance in this plot.

And and the romance is not the instalove or anything along those lines. This is the realistic messy kind that is also full of teen angst and drama. *The swoon moments are so worth it!*

5. The Whodunnit Sub Plot

Someone at Felix’s art school leaked photos of him from before with his deadname (it is NOT mentioned anywhere in the book). Naturally, Felix and his friends are on a mission to figure out who was responsible…things definitely get downright dirty. I don’t want to give anything away, but the plot twist was something that I didn’t see coming.

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I’m not flaunting anything. I’m just existing. This is me. I can’t hide myself. I can’t disappear. And even if I could, I don’t fucking want to. I have the same right to be here. I have the same right to exist. – Felix

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WANT TO DONATE?

The CCPL is accepting monetary donations sent via PayPal to orders@caseylibrary.org.

For donations of new or gently used books, send them to:

Sammie Betler
Casey County Public Library
238 Middleburg St.
Liberty, KY 42539

I’ve also put together a wish list of all the books that will be featured on this blog tour. Hardbacks are preferred but not required.

• Amazon
• Book Depository
• Bookshop

(If you order something from the Book Shop wishlist, please DM @srbetler on Twitter or email sammie@thebookwyrmsden.com, because I don’t believe that site automatically removes books from the wish list.)

Need more ideas? The library has a general Amazon wish list with suggestions, too.

Donations are used at the discretion of the library.

LOOKING FOR MORE DIVERSE BOOKISH GOODNESS? CHECK OUT THE FULL TOUR THE WORLD IN 30 BOOKS SCHEDULE BELOW.

✦ September 1 ✦
Sammie @ The Bookwyrm’s Den – Introduction, Paola Santiago and the River of Tears
Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads – Dating Makes Perfect

✦ September 2 ✦
Lauren @ Always Me – The Epic Crush of Genie Lo

✦ September 3 ✦
Toya @ The Reading Chemist – Felix Ever After

✦ September 4 ✦
Michelle @ Carry A Big Book – Sharks in the Time of Saviors

✦ September 5 ✦
Shenwei @ READING (AS)(I)AN (AM)ERICA – The Astonishing Color of After

✦ September 6 ✦
Maria @ A Daughter of Parchment and Paper – Patron Saints of Nothing

✦ September 7 ✦
Bri @ Bri’s Book Nook – True Friends (Carmen Browne)

✦ September 8 ✦
Bec @ bec&books – Lobizona
Jorie @ Jorie Loves A Story – diverse TTT

✦ September 9 ✦
Sienna @ Daydreaming Book Lover – Loveless

✦ September 10 ✦
Kerri @ Kerri McBookNerd – Raybearer

✦ September 11 ✦
Noly @ The Artsy Reader – The Name Jar

✦ September 12 ✦
Jacob @ The Writer’s Alley – Forest of Souls

✦ September 13 ✦
Keri @ Are You My Book – The Tea Dragon Society

✦ September 14 ✦
Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight – The Space Between Worlds

✦ September 15 ✦
Melissa @ Ramblings of a Jedi Librarian – Girl in Translation

✦ September 16 ✦
Livy @ Shelves of Starlight – Clap When You Land

✦ September 17 ✦
Crystal @ Lost in Storyland – American Born Chinese

✦ September 18 ✦
Lili @ Lili’s Blissful Pages – A Wish in the Dark

✦ September 19 ✦
Leslie @ Books Are The New Black – The Poppy War

✦ September 20 ✦
Noura @ The Perks of Being Noura – Love From A to Z

✦ September 21 ✦
Crini @ Crini’s – A Pale Light in the Black

✦ September 22 ✦
Rachelle @ Rae’s Reads and Reviews – Dear Haiti, Love Alaine

✦ September 23 ✦
Dini @ DiniPandaReads – Wicked As You Wish

✦ September 24 ✦
Madeline @ Mad’s Books – Spin the Dawn

✦ September 25 ✦
Tessa @ Narratess – Brace Yourself

✦ September 26 ✦
Kimberly @ My Bookish Bliss – Truly Madly Royally

✦ September 27 ✦
Rena @ Bookflirting 101 – Anna K: A Love Story

✦ September 28 ✦
Susan @ Novel Lives – Burn the Dark

✦ September 29 ✦
Arina @ The Bookwyrm’s Guide to the Galaxy – A Song of Wraiths and Ruin

✦ September 30 ✦
Maya @ Awesome Reads – Jackpot