Turtleback Books Publishing, Limited

I Wish You All the Best

Mason Deaver

.When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents' rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.But Ben's attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan's friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.

river

Perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli, Mason Deaver's stunning debut will rip your heart out before showing you how to heal from tragedy and celebrate life in the process.

super sweet queer romance, couldn’t put this down. slightly cringe text interactions but still really enjoyed!!

This book goes on the list for books I wish I could read again for the first time🥺

Lamia Hajani

I was very excited to read this book, and I felt quite disappointed by it. Deaver's writing is so elementary that I felt like I was reading a first draft of a novel. I love that this story's main character is non-binary. I love that the writer is non-binary, as well. This book felt so necessary to me, and yet I was disappointed by the writing, which feels bad to say, but it's true. The character development is sub-par, and I found myself trying to speed through the book because I couldn't get invested in any of it - not the family aspect, not the friendships and definitely not the romance. The descriptiveness is lacking, and I honestly wish it was just a different book for the most part.

A quick read, but I probably wouldn't recommend to most.

Teeeeeesha

A tender and heartwarming story about a non-binary person and their hope through the face of adversity. It's a really lighthearted and tender book that will touch your heart because of it's softness.

it scared me at first that i didn’t like it, but by the end i was really happy with it! 

karla ritter

eve 

I have so much love for this book!! It’s so important to me that queer writers write queer books. Amazing. I fell in love with a few characters haha, i just wish we got to know a bit more about them. Like Nathan, Melaika, Sophie, Hannah and her husband. But otherwise, wow!!
I wish you all the best<33

Flynn

Fatima Kadri 

*4.5 stars. I loved essentially everything about this book: The types of familial and mental problems that were explored with Ben’s character, the fact that they were an artist, the relationship with their sister, the amazingness that was Mariam (now one of my all-time favourite characters in a contemporary novel), and the adorable lovableness of Nathan. The only complaint I have is 100% due to personal preferences and I don’t even know how to sum it up in a sentence or two so I won’t even bother. Nevertheless the audiobook was exquisite and I could not stop listening unless I absolutely had to.

Jamieson

"whatever happens, I wish you all the best, Ben De Backer


THIS WAS EVERYTHING. This is such a groundbreaking YA book following a non-binary teen that is genuinely going to change lives. It was sadder than I expected, with more of a family focus rather than romance, but I really loved what it was doing and how it covered so much in such a short time. 

Ben was a great main character, I liked that their reactions seemed realistic for the situation, and I felt they were a character that 'existed' rather than was necessarily designed to be liked or a teaching mechanism. 

Nathan was a huge angel and I loved him. I just wish there were more interactions between Ben and Nathan to build their chemistry and relationship more, though I do love their romance. 

Overall this is a wonderful, and necessary book that tackled a lot of issues around homophobia, transphobia, living as a non-binary person and queer experiences. big recemmondand maybe bigger review to come

amber baardsen

This book, wow it is a beautifully written masterpiece. It’s a brilliant read, and I found myself being able to realistically relate to the story. 10/10 would recommend to everyone.

first book I’ve ever read with non-binary representation and I really liked it! I just kept saying one more page every time I finished a chapter.

I loved that the romance wasn’t that important throughout the story, but the main focus was on Ben’s situation and them dealing with it. I think I would have appreciated it more if there was a better representation of time: it felt like it flew by because in just a few pages three months had already passed and by the end of the book their last year at high school had already finished, so I feel like we didn’t have much time to connect with Ben and their friends. 

mirta <3

first book I’ve ever read with non-binary representation and I really liked it! I just kept saying one more page every time I finished a chapter.

I loved that the romance wasn’t that important throughout the story, but the main focus was on Ben’s situation and them dealing with it. I think I would have appreciated it more if there was a better representation of time: it felt like it flew by because in just a few pages three months had already passed and by the end of the book their last year at high school had already finished, so I feel like we didn’t have much time to connect with Ben and their friends. 

“What about my person?”
“Your person.” I like the way the words sound. On his lips and to my ears.
“My Ben.” Nathan leans in, kissing the top of my hand, and all at once my heart feels so full.

Putting this quote because the euphoria it gives me as a nonbinary person is through the roof. It’s as if my heart is full as well just from reading this quote.

This book had to get five stars from me purely because it holds a very special place in my heart. It’s been a least a year since I’ve read it now and it’s still one of the books that I will happily go back and reread and still feel the same happiness.

I have experienced so much transphobia in my life, including from family members who I believed would love and accept me so reading Ben’s journey and the people around them accepting them is very special and important to me.

The characters, the plot… so very beautiful down to every detail and every last page.

Raye Parker

First book I’ve read with a non-binary character and I absolutely loved it. The gender identity was handled so well and was so relatable and the romance was beautiful <3

cute!! the first book i’ve ever read with a non-binary protagonist. i would like to read more ::’)

(yes this took me like a month to read it was on and off)

Fátima

Ay este libro ♥-♥ tengo corazoncitos en los ojos sólo de pensar en él. La portada es preciosa, y la historia es lo más bonito y adorable que hay. Tengo planeado hacer una reseña completa de este libro porque es una de mis mejores lecturas y se merece eso y más. Este libro va a ser muy importante para muchas personas allá afuera, que finalmente encontrarán representación. Yo sé lo que es que un libro te haga sentir menos solo, y me encanta que más historias como estas estén apareciendo y tomando protagonismo. El personaje principal se identifica con el género no binario y usa pronombres them/they. Voy a hacer una pequeña investigación antes de la reseña porque no estoy muy segura cómo funciona en español, pero tengo muchísimas ganas de aprender. Este libro me abrió los ojos hacia muchas cosas que desconocía sobre el lenguaje inclusivo y su importancia, así como más cosas sobre el género no binario y lo valioso que es no asumir el género de nadie. Es un libro own voice, así que saber que viene de alguien que ha tenido que pasar por todas estas experiencias lo hace muy especial. Además, los personajes son un amor y el ship es de lo más fangirleable.

Ben is nonbinary. They come out to their parents and get kicked out. Their sister takes them in after 10 full years of no contact. Although this book starts with such a difficult situation, it ultimately is full of healing and support. 

Ben is struggling between gratefulness to their sister and anger over how she abandoned them when she knew what their parents are like. They also are grappling with how to feel about their parents because even after what happened, they were still a family. Whether or not they still can be is something really hard for Ben to contend with.

Luckily, they do have an excellent support system. Between art, therapy and friendship, Ben slowly starts to heal. The relationship they form with Nathan is especially sweet. I adored the romance between them, even with how oblivious they both were. Nathan is so charming and it's impossible not to root for the two of them.

This book is really lovely and feels very human. Ben is imperfect and so are the people in their life. But all of these imperfect people come together to heal. It's messy and not a straight line and so very real. I love the support system Ben has. I think anyone who has experienced rejection from their family could gain a lot from this story. It's like a cozy warm blanket.

Kayla

Ben is nonbinary. They come out to their parents and get kicked out. Their sister takes them in after 10 full years of no contact. Although this book starts with such a difficult situation, it ultimately is full of healing and support. 

Ben is struggling between gratefulness to their sister and anger over how she abandoned them when she knew what their parents are like. They also are grappling with how to feel about their parents because even after what happened, they were still a family. Whether or not they still can be is something really hard for Ben to contend with.

Luckily, they do have an excellent support system. Between art, therapy and friendship, Ben slowly starts to heal. The relationship they form with Nathan is especially sweet. I adored the romance between them, even with how oblivious they both were. Nathan is so charming and it's impossible not to root for the two of them.

This book is really lovely and feels very human. Ben is imperfect and so are the people in their life. But all of these imperfect people come together to heal. It's messy and not a straight line and so very real. I love the support system Ben has. I think anyone who has experienced rejection from their family could gain a lot from this story. It's like a cozy warm blanket.

Kailey Rios

started reading this last night and stayed up until 2 am just to finish it. i kept telling myself just one more chapter but that didn’t really work.

i’m very glad a book like this exists because it deals with so many important topics and it even does it fairly well! the way ben’s parents dealt with them coming out is unfortunately very realistic and they reminded me a lot of my parents. even things like hannah accidentally calling ben by the wrong pronouns made it feel a lot more realistic.

nathan and ben’s relationship was so cute and i think it progressed really naturally, though i did wish we got to see more of them together.

i wanted to see more of mariam as well but i felt like they were very much a background character (most of the characters besides ben and nathan felt that way actually).

the ending was nice and full of hope, which is definitely what ben deserved after everything they went through.

overall, it was a very enjoyable, if at times a little heavy and dark, read.


  4.25 stars

jess

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I'd heard a lot about I Wish You All the Best and how good it was. I haven't read a lot of ownvoices books about non-binary characters, so I was excited to read this, and I was not disappointed. I Wish You All the Best is a soft book that deals with difficult subjects but ultimately manages to be uplifting and positive.

The book follows the main character, Ben, after they have been kicked out of their house for coming out as non-binary. In itself, this is heartbreaking, but the good thing is that it's all up from the beginning. I really enjoyed the narration, mostly because Ben is so soft. They're quiet, conflict-avoidant, and they just spend a lot of time on their art, and can I say it's just so nice to see a character like this in YA lit? We don't get these kinds of quiet, contemplative characters a lot, and it was so nice to read about Ben. They do learn to become more assertive and stand up for themself during the course of the book, but Ben is just a gentle soul at heart and I honestly love them so much.

Even though I Wish You All the Best deals with Ben's life after they're kicked out, it feels very much like a slice-of-life book. Not a lot really happens in this book, and there aren't any huge conflicts, but I am definitely not complaining, because this style of plot suits the book's tone so much. It's just Ben's growth to self-acceptance and self-love, and any huge plot points take a backseat to just reading about Ben's character growth.

There's not a whole lot to say about this book, but I did really enjoy I Wish You All the Best and recommend it to anyone who wants to read a soft, sweet contemporary novel.

content warnings | transphobia, misgendering, parental abuse

representation | non-binary main character, black bisexual love interest

sydney

i don’t have the proper words to help me describe how this book made me feel

I Wish You All the Best

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