Spoiler alert: Mason Deaver did THAT and they are one of the most promising voices in YA.




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.



I HAVE ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD FOR THIS BOOK AND THEN SOME. Ugh, my whole heart. I know, I know, I KNOW, I should have posted this review months ago. But, honestly, I needed a while to figure out what to say and how to express how important, how special, I Wish You All the Best is. It is the kind of novel I wish had been around when I was a teenager and I'm so freaking thankful to see that it's here now.

Mason Deaver, you are a gift to YA literature and I can't wait to see what more you bring in the future because this? THIS? I repeat: my whole heart. They really knocked it out of the park with this one and words cannot express how fantastic I Wish You All the Best is.

When I look back on 2019 and the year in characters, Ben is going to have a top spot on my list of favourites. They are just... a gift. I PHYSICALLY ACHED FOR THEM IN THE BAD MOMENTS. I'm not even kidding when I say I'm pretty sure I felt my heart breaking for them. Further, I soared as they soared and this says it all. When I think of I Wish You All the Best all I can think of is the heart--how honest it was, how easily it caused hearts to pang and thud and break and beat.

Aside from the phenomenal representation of LGBTQIA+ characters, Mason Deaver hits some high notes on their portrayal of anxiety and mental health in general. You know those characters that hit close to home and there are times where, when discussing mental health, you almost flinch because you relate so intensely to what was said or done? I felt that many times within the pages of I Wish You All the Best in a way that I haven't felt in a while.

The biggest thing I felt upon finishing I Wish You All the Best was hope. I closed the novel, stepped aside and something inside me shifted. I can't explain it beyond what I've already said-- I Wish You All the Best is special and heartwarming and achingly real. It is everything and more that we've always needed in literature.