Transgender people and characters were sprinkled throughout my life in books and movies and TV, but I never really understood what being transgender was, or what it meant. I hadn’t even heard of the term nonbinary yet. One day I had the urge to re-watch Degrassi: The Next Generation, and as I got sucked into the show and the characters’ worlds, I was introduced to Adam. Adam was the first transgender character I’d ever seen who explained what his identity meant to him. He explained that he was uncomfortable with his body. He made me realize, suddenly, that though he’d been assigned female at birth, he’d been able to become who he really was.
That episode changed my life. I began to question my gender identity. In my research, I realized that there was more than the binary of girl and boy and remembered that even as a child I’d always been drawn to the idea of people being unable to assume my gender based on my appearance. With the help of friends and family, I began my social and physical transitions as a nonbinary, transmasculine person who uses they/them and he/him pronouns. I’m so lucky that I discovered Adam—so lucky that he helped me understand myself and helped me realize that I could transition. I’d wanted to be reincarnated as a different gender—and in a way, I do feel like I’ve experienced a reincarnation into a new body, a new life, a new me.
I hope that readers took away a lot after reading Felix Ever After: laughs and tears; a roller coaster ride of a romance, empowerment, and validation; and a story they thoroughly enjoyed. But above all else, I hope Felix can do for even just one reader what Adam did for me: that a reader picks up Felix Ever After and learns more about themselves and their identity, and that becoming who they truly are is a possibility.
For support or more information on gender identities, here are some resources:
translifeline.org
thetrevorproject.org
glbthotline.org
http://www.transstudent.org/definitions
genderqueerid.com
teentalk.ca/learn-about/gender-identity/
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/lgbtq-definitions-gender-sexuality-terms
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sexual-orientation-gender
Acknowledgments
Felix Ever After is a deeply personal story and one that I put my heart and soul—and a strong dose of vulnerability—into. Felix and his journey mean the world to me, so I want to thank everyone who touched this book and handled it with love and care.
First, Beth Phelan has been the rock of my career and a true friend, and it’s difficult to put into words how much I appreciate her for everything that she does, and for her constant support and guidance. Thanks also to the entire Gallt & Zacker team and especially Marietta Zacker.
Thank you to Alessandra Balzer for your patience and amazing insight. You’ve made Felix’s story so much stronger. Thanks also to the Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins team: Caitlin Johnson, Ebony LaDelle, Mitch Thorpe, Michael D’Angelo, Jane Lee, Liz Byer, Laura Harshberger, Patty Rosati, Mimi Rankin, Katie Dutton, Veronica Ambrose, Chris Kwon, Kathy Faber, Andrea Pappenheimer, Kerry Moynagh, and everyone who has helped put this book into the world. And thank you, Alex Cabal, for the beautiful cover!
Thank you to the early readers and their feedback and notes: Gabe Jae, Elijah Black, and Gaines Blasdel. Thank you to the authors who gave early blurbs for Felix Ever After: Mason Deaver, Jackson Bird, Justin A. Reynolds, Becky Albertalli, and Nic Stone.
Thank you to my family for your unending support of my writing and of me: Mom, Dad, Auntie Jaqui, Curtis, Memorie, Lisa, Martha—thank you!
And finally, to all the educators, librarians, and readers of all ages who have shown so much love: thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for accepting my stories and words. You’re the reason I keep going.
About the Author
Photo by Ashley Cain
KACEN CALLENDER is originally from Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Kacen has a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and an MFA from the New School’s writing for children program. They are also the author of the young adult novel This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story and the middle grade novels King and the Dragonflies and Hurricane Child, winner of the Stonewall Book Award and the Lambda Literary Award.
They can be found online at www.kacencallender.com.
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Copyright
Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
FELIX EVER AFTER. Copyright © 2020 by Kheryn Callender. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.epicreads.com
Cover art © 2020 by Alex Cabal
Cover design by Chris Kwon
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Callender, Kacen, author.
Title: Felix ever after / Kacen Callender.
Description: First edition. | New York : Balzer + Bray, [2020] | Summary: Felix Love, a transgender seventeen-year-old, attempts to get revenge by catfishing his anonymous bully, but lands in a quasi-love triangle with his former enemy and his best friend.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020003451 | ISBN 978-0-06-282025-9 (hardcover)
Subjects: CYAC: Transgender people—Fiction. | Bullying—Fiction. | Revenge—Fiction. | Best friends—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.C317 Fel 2020 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020003451
Digital Edition MAY 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-282027-3
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-282025-9
2021222324PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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Felix Ever After Page 27