Books › I Wish You All the Best
I Wish You All the Best
336 pages
A tender, emotionally raw exploration of healing, found family, and the quiet courage it takes to let yourself be loved.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting with a close friend as they slowly learn to exhale after holding their breath for a very long time. It is a deeply vulnerable, character-driven experience that moves at a steady, deliberate pace, allowing the reader to fully inhabit the protagonist's anxious but hopeful internal world. The narrative balances the sharp, lingering sting of parental rejection with the profound warmth of found family and a gentle, slow-burn romance. The prose is accessible and emotionally direct, prioritizing sincerity over flourish. It is a story that will deeply resonate with anyone who has ever had to rebuild their life from the ground up, offering a comforting, sunlit reminder that joy and love are possible even after the darkest of beginnings.
- Mood
- emotionally raw
- cautiously hopeful
- tender
- warm
- Tone
- earnest
- vulnerable
- compassionate
- gentle
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- healing from rejection · found family · navigating anxiety · queer joy · first love · self-acceptance
- The writing
- Accessible, emotionally direct, and intimately conversational, keeping the reader deeply anchored in the protagonist's internal landscape.
- The arc
- Begins in a place of devastating rejection and profound anxiety, slowly building toward cautious trust, blossoming love, and hard-won self-acceptance.
- Who it's for
- Readers looking for a gentle, affirming queer coming-of-age story that balances the harsh realities of transphobia with the warmth of found family and a sweet, slow-burn romance.
Content notes
- parental rejection
- transphobia and misgendering
- anxiety and panic attacks
- depression
- emotional abuse
About the book
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.
At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity.
Description from Open Library.
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