My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Since novels like Twilight and The Fault in Our Stars, YA romances have been done for awhile now. Combining your typical romance tropes and all the teenage angst over one’s identity and place in the world that can fit into a single book, it might be difficult for some readers to take these books seriously. But if that is your thinking about YA romances right now, may I introduce this wonderful novel to you. Not only does this novel have one of the most diverse cast of characters I’ve ever read and features a black transgender male queer main protagonist, this book has wonderful thematic layers and perfect pacing and timing.
Set at a private art school in New York City, this book follows Felix Love, a transgender male who has never actually been in love. As Felix tries to figure out what to do for his art portfolio that he will be submitting to Brown and starts asking more questions about his trans identity, an anonymous student hacks into his Instagram account, downloads a number of pictures of Felix prior to his transition, and plasters them in a gallery at his school using his dead name (his name before he transitioned), a horrifying display of transphobia in an otherwise inclusive and safe environment. Suspecting one student in particular, Declan, of being the culprit, Felix anonymously slides into his Instagram DMs, but soon finds himself in a love triangle with Declan and another student. This all sets Felix on a journey to discover love & self-love and to fully understand his own gender identity.
There are two things that absolutely set this book above and beyond other YA romances. The most important is the thematic layers throughout the book. Every YA romance book features some amount of teenage angst and questioning ones identity and place in the world. However, because this books angst and identity questioning centers around Felix’s own gender identity and feelings of self-worth, it adds to the dramatic tensions at the heart of this book. Felix has to deal with a lot of heavy things in his life, not the least of which is transphobia and being deadnamed at school, so the typical angst is replaced with genuine personal stakes. While LGBTQ+ teens may identify the most with what Felix is going through, straight cisgender readers will also find value in recognizing Felix’s trials too.
The next best thing about this book is the pacing and timing. Whether you are talking about YA or adult romance, pacing and timing are critical. If the story moves along too slowly or too quickly or if key plot points happen at the wrong moment, it can ruin the readers experience of the entire novel. This book has pitch perfect pacing and timing. It does have stereotypical love triangle and “two people who hate each other coming together” tropes, but they are handled so well that I cannot imagine any of the events of this book happening at any other point in the story. I don’t want to say more and, thus, give up too much of the story, but hopefully this will entice romance novel readers in general to pick up this book.
On top of everything else, this book is epoch-making in terms of its diversity. It’s the worst kept secret in publishing that the industry is notoriously slanted towards white, straight, cisgendered readers, especially in YA. But this books cast of characters is incredibly diverse in its racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ representation. If the success of this book means that the publishing world will finally open itself up to more authors and characters of color and LGBTQ+ representation in authors and characters and that we will get more amazing tales such as this, I am all for it.
Whether you are LGBTQ+ yourself or consider yourself an ally, don’t let the labels of YA or romance fool you. This is an incredible book with great representation, stellar thematic layering, and perfect pacing and timing. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something new and spectacular
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