The kind of romance where it couldn't be more obvious that the attraction is mutual but still these stupid dorks wait till the very last minute to confess their feelings. It was a heartfelt book with an easygoing writing style and a slow-burning romance. Luckily, Ben slowly opened up to the people around them, to their therapist and eventually to Nathan and their sister. At least that's what I felt like reading it. I often felt hopeless, was frustrated with the absence of feelings, with Ben not being able to say anything but 'Yeah', with the plot not going anywhere because the world stops moving when anxiety overwhelms you. This definitely translated onto the pages of the book. But Ben struggles with anxiety, panic attacks and depression. At their new school, they meet Nathan, a captivating boy who may or may not be the cutest human the world has ever seen (chances are high, though). I Wish You All the Best tells the story of Ben, who is nonbinary, who uses they & them pronouns, who, after coming out to their parents, is kicked out of the house and has to take refuge at their sister's, whom they haven't seen in 10 years. A wonderful, emotional, important and romantic read. I have waited so long for this book to be released and it checks every single box. Oh the feeling of mile-high expectations actually being fulfilled: pure bliss.

Again, I just wanted more, but some moments never come to fruition. I found myself many times wishing this scene or that conversation more fully played out, but the author often plays it close to the chest. The development of familial attachments alongside romantic and platonic ones could have carried a lot more vivacity. In addition, Deaver builds believable secondary characters but they beg for more page time. For most of the novel, the plot just plods along.

The book's heart does not always help it overcome much of its dryness. That said, my primary critique of Deaver’s novel is a longing for more. What follows is a story that is both tender and devastating, a reminder that the body’s need to speak its truth is primal and profound and that compassion and love can overcome hate and intolerance. What we see is Benjamin, barefoot, walking to a payphone to call an estranged sister they haven’t seen, or spoken to, in a decade. The reader is spared the immediate fallout-but the imagination conjures up enough horrors. Benjamin De Backer, buoyant with hopes of swift acceptance, is planning on coming out as non-binary to their parents. The beginning of I Wish You All the Best jarred me.

I wish you all the best mason deaver