I recently joined a LGBTQ+ book club with some friends on bookstagram, where we prioritize reading LGBTQ+ literature. our first book was “I Wish You All The Best” by Mason Deaver, and I chose to read it as an audiobook. It’s a book with a non-binary main character and it’s so good.
This one comes with a content warning as noted by the author for: parental abuse, misgendering, transphobia, homophobia, detailed anxiety and panic attacks, detailed depressive episodes, suicide idealization, and underage drinking.
Here’s what I thought (there are some minor spoilers below).
Star rating and overview
“Sometimes the world is too loud.” Oh wow. I loved this book so much. I rated it 5 stars very swiftly.
It hit me in the emotions right from the very beginning, when Ben was trying to come out to their parents and then got kicked out of the house when they finally mustered the courage to own who they are. Many moments warmed my heart. Many tugged at my heartstrings. I was rooting for Ben the entire story. I listened to this as quickly as I could because it’s un-put-down-able.
What I loved
The first roof stargazing scene. How Nathan and Ben’s friendship developed slowly over time. That Nathan’s character is full of personality. How much you see inside Ben’s thoughts throughout the story, as they cope and build a new life. That the book normalizes therapy and actually taught me something about my own anxiety I’d never picked up on.
And, allll the representation you see here – non-binary/ lgbtq+ representation, a character that’s a Shia Muslim, the overall recognition of how gendered our society’s language is…I could go on and on.
Who should read this
I’d highly recommend “I Wish You All The Best” to anyone and everyone. I really appreciated that this Own Voices book gives you a very real look at the situations a non-binary person may face in their day to day.
The emotions are so incredibly genuine and tangible. To me, Love is love. People should be allowed to be who they are. And referred to by whatever pronouns they feel fit them. They should be accepted, not shamed or judged for it. I loved every bit of this book.
I Wish You All The Best will make you think, might make you cry, and will definitely make you laugh out loud. It’s now on my “all-time favorites” list, and it just might make it on yours, too.