Synopsis:
At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity.
It’s just three words: I am nonbinary. But that’s all it takes to change everything.
When Ben De Backer comes out as nonbinary, it doesn’t go down as they are thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister.
All Ben can do is try to keep a low profile in a new school. But Ben’s attempts to go 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 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.
Review:
I can tell straightaway that I Wish You All the Best is the type of book that I’ll struggle to explain why I loved it so much. This was easily a five star read but I’m definitely going to have an issue putting into words why. There was just so much heartfelt emotion throughout the entire book that I couldn’t help but love every page, even the ones that detailed Ben’s hardships. It’s difficult to believe that this is a debut novel, it’s pretty much a masterpiece in emotive writing, if you ask me.
Now, you may think I’m being overly positive about I Wish You All the Best as no book is perfect, and you’re right, this book isn’t perfect. However, it makes you feel. Any book that can elicit such strong emotions of happiness, sadness and hope are always going to get glowing reviews from me. Ben’s story isn’t one I can relate to myself, but it is an important and inspiring one that I think a lot of young people will benefit from reading.
I absolutely flew through I Wish You All the Best, which if I’m being honest, I didn’t expect to happen. However, from page one I knew I’d enjoy Mason Deaver’s writing style. It feels very fresh but also personal. They absolutely nailed it.
Despite this book having such serious themes, it was an easy read. The chapters flew by and I just loved how Ben slowly comes out of their shell. The scene when Hannah paints their nails is a particular favourite. Ben really needed someone to accept them for who they are and Hannah and Thomas did that without question. It’s the type of acceptance that a lot of queer books are missing. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of misgendering in this book, but 90% of these instances are without malice.
I absolutely adored Nathan, he was definitely the person Ben needed in their life at that time. Not even as a romantic interest, just as a friend. Even though Nathan didn’t know that Ben is nonbinary, I feel like he still helped them out in a huge way. It was so sweet seeing their friendship go from slight annoyance on Ben’s side to ‘I couldn’t live my life without this wonderful person’. Nathan was incredibly supportive and charismatic. Big points for Nathan.
I had no idea there’s an adaptation of I Wish You All the Best coming in November. I’m 100% going to watch it the day it releases, the cast looks incredible.
It’s been a while since I’ve had a read I’ve loved as much as I Wish You All the Best. Picking up this book came at the perfect time for me. I was just starting to get a little burnt out with reading as everything I’ve been picking up lately lacked heart and real feeling. Thankfully, this book has lifted my spirits and is one I’d recommend you check out.
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