Ian Alexander thoughtfully narrates this YA novel about Liam, a nonbinary teen whose older brother, Ethan, has just died. They’re struggling to return to normal life, especially since their two best friends have little patience for their grief. They start hanging out with Ethan’s best friend instead, a friendship that brings them unexpected comfort. Alexander’s voice carries a full spectrum of emotions. At one point, Liam breaks down crying; in another scene, they explode with rage. The emotional intensity of everything Liam is going through is ever-present in Alexander’s narration. Their secondary character voices sometimes sound a bit forced compared with the rawness they use to portray Liam, but that doesn’t detract much from their overall performance of this powerful audiobook about grief and healing. L.S. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

05/10/2021

Sixteen-year-old musician Liam Cooper, who is nonbinary and cued as white, struggles to keep their life together after their older brother Ethan dies in a hit-and-run in their North Carolina hometown. To make things even harder, Liam’s been feeling distant from their only friends: kind Vietnamese American Joel, who’s trans and bisexual, and fellow musician Vanessa, who’s bisexual and has brown skin. Lost, Liam reaches out to Ethan’s best friend, Marcus, and they form a bond through their shared grief. With frequent flashbacks portraying Liam and Ethan’s complicated but loving relationship, Deaver (I Wish You All the Best) paints an unflinching portrait of the messiness of mourning and healing, neither vilifying nor sanitizing Liam’s anger, guilt, and loneliness. There are no easy answers to the questions Liam confronts (“I still found it so much easier to discuss frozen yogurt instead of my dead brother”), and their reactions have lasting consequences. Heavily telegraphed plot points sap narrative tension, but Liam’s hard-won hope makes for an emotional journey—including instances of suicidal ideation and self-harm—that’s as heart-expanding as it is heartbreaking. Ages 14–up. Agent: Lauren Abramo, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (June)

Praise for I Wish You All the Best:

"Heartfelt, romantic, and quietly groundbreaking. This book will save lives." — Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

"Tender and bursting with humanity, I Wish You All the Best tells a heartwarming queer love story without compromise." — Meredith Russo, Stonewall Award-winning author of If I Was Your Girl

"A beacon of hope in a broken world. We all need this book." — Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin

"Emotional and heartfelt... This is the sort of novel that goes beyond being important; it has the potential to save and change lives." — Kacen Callender, Stonewall Award-winning author of Hurricane Child and This is Kind of an Epic Love Story

"I Wish You All the Best reminds us that, when we open up to love, we have the capacity to become our most authentic selves." — Adib Khorram, Morris and APALA Award-winning author of Darius the Great is Not Okay

"A truly unique and beautiful debut." — Adi Alsaid, author of Let's Get Lost

"Profoundly poignant and often swoon-worthy... a stunning gift to the world." — Jay Coles, author of Tyler Johnson Was Here

"An important and inspiring novel about identity, acceptance, friendship, familial relationships, and the people who become your family." — Sabina Khan, author of The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali and Zara Hossain is Here

"A soft, sweet, and incredibly important story about a nonbinary teen finding their voice. This book is going to be so important to so many people." — Alice Oseman, author of Radio Silence and Heartstopper

"A welcome addition to the growing body of LGBTQIAP+ literature." — Booklist

"An honest coming-of-age and coming-out story... Deaver's treatment of Ben's nonbinary identity creates a realistic portrayal of their journey toward self-acceptance... through sympathetic characters and a hopeful narrative of empowerment." — Kirkus Reviews

"A powerful illustration of the ways that compassion and love can overcome intolerance." — Publishers Weekly

"Deaver shows us that love, like gender, is fluid and nonbinary." — NPR

06/01/2021

Gr 7 Up—High school junior Liam Cooper's life is falling apart in the aftermath of his brother Ethan's death in a hit-and-run accident. At 18, star baseball player Ethan was the family's golden boy and nonbinary Liam feels like the leftover child. They feel equally redundant with their best friends, Vanessa and Joel, who have less time for them now that they're dating each other. Retreating into music production, Liam finds that their enduring pain and anger alienates friends and family. The only person who seems to understand is Ethan's best friend Marcus, but the more time they spend together, the more aware Liam becomes of how many secrets Ethan was keeping. Told in dual now/then time lines, this novel offers an honest look at the messy, overwhelming experience of coping with sudden loss. However, the plot drags and Ethan's secret is obvious from the book's beginning. Liam is a realistically flawed protagonist who lashes out at others and makes some selfish decisions, but their path through grief is cathartic and well-realized. Other plotlines reach less resolution, and supporting characters don't get enough time on the page to feel like fully developed people. Liam and Marcus are coded as white, Vanessa is described as having brown skin, and Joel is Vietnamese American. VERDICT A meandering look at grief, recommended for large collections.—Elizabeth Giles, Kansas City P.L., MO

Ian Alexander thoughtfully narrates this YA novel about Liam, a nonbinary teen whose older brother, Ethan, has just died. They’re struggling to return to normal life, especially since their two best friends have little patience for their grief. They start hanging out with Ethan’s best friend instead, a friendship that brings them unexpected comfort. Alexander’s voice carries a full spectrum of emotions. At one point, Liam breaks down crying; in another scene, they explode with rage. The emotional intensity of everything Liam is going through is ever-present in Alexander’s narration. Their secondary character voices sometimes sound a bit forced compared with the rawness they use to portray Liam, but that doesn’t detract much from their overall performance of this powerful audiobook about grief and healing. L.S. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

2021-03-25
A nonbinary teen in North Carolina struggles with relationships and loss.

When Ethan dies in a hit-and-run, his younger sibling, Liam, is heartbroken. In addition to the normal stages of mourning, 16-year-old Liam has other things on their mind: a crush on their brother’s best friend, Marcus, an athletic White boy; feelings of exclusion after their best friends, brown-skinned Vanessa and Vietnamese Joel, disappear into a romantic relationship; and anxiety around a burgeoning music career. Liam is surprised to develop a friendship with Marcus, slowly realizing the secrets their brother had been keeping. Liam, who defaults to White, stumbles toward these realizations as they both seek and reject help from their friends, who regularly fail to provide support. It’s refreshing to encounter a story about a teen dealing with darker issues without transness or queerness being implicated; Joel is a trans guy, and Liam’s family is somewhat uncomprehending of the nuances but accepting of their gender. Unfortunately, although the novel opens a few months after Ethan’s death, very little of interest happens in the plot, and the supporting characters (despite their narrow portrayals, viewed as they are through Liam’s perspective) are far more sympathetic and fully realized than Liam is. Many scenes come across more as explanation than exploration.

For teens looking for a sad wallow. (Fiction. 13-18)