Should you read I Wish You All the Best?

Should you read I Wish You All the Best?

Angel Gibson, Staff Writer

Are you the type of person who, if you had the time, could sit down with a warm cup of tea/coffee, and read for hours? If you are, then this article is for you. By the end of it, you should know whether I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver will capture your attention enough to have you reading for so long you’ll forget what time it is, in a good way.

This piece is a fiction story that would be considered a coming-of-age book. To begin with, the main character Ben is a senior who maintains good grades while also being very artistic. Over the last few years of their life, they’ve come to a realization; they’re nonbinary.

The book starts with a strong and emotional plot. And what you’ll notice when reading this book, it pulls at your heartstrings; you’ll feel an emotion you don’t always get from a book; sadness.

When Ben comes out to their conservative parents they get kicked out of the house. The book can shed light on this topic that we all hear about but never actually see. Even though the work is fiction the author does a good job of portraying the reality of what it can be like to get kicked out. The way they do this is through the emotions and thoughts of Ben.

One thing I didn’t like about the piece was how the author makes Ben’s emotions very wishy-washy. I know that this is a technique many authors use to create conflict in their pieces, but I’m personally not a fan. Ben’s emotions are like ocean waves, sometimes there’s a lot of stuff at once, and other times it’s very subtle. I think that if an author has us hating the main character then the whole book is hard to enjoy. But by the end of the book, Ben is able to pull themselves together.

After being kicked out of the house Ben calls up their sister they haven’t talked to in years; because their parents got into a huge argument with her and she left home. Ben must tell their sister, whom they barely know why they were kicked out of the house. Luckily for Ben, she learns to accept them & offers a place to stay with her husband. Although she struggles with pronouns at first, she does try and does everything she can to show her support to Ben. She also enrolls Ben at a new school which ends up contributing a lot to the plot of the book.

When artsy Ben meets the popular social floater Nathan Allan they end up being more than just friends. The author does a good job of creating tension between the two characters. This relationship later plays into the plot when Ben’s parents come back into their life.

Lastly, I like how the author contributes to mental health awareness. Although I think that they might portray it a little too drastically at times, the author still does a good job overall portraying Ben’s anxiety. The anxiety Ben has added to the plot and gives the reasoning behind some of their less rational decisions.

While not everyone will be able to see themselves in this book, we can always look at it as a window experience. By learning to emphasize with people in real life who are like Ben. Although I think all of us can see a little part of ourselves in the book, we all want to be ourselves without being judged for it.

What will happen to Ben, will they move back in with their parents? Do they go to college or pursue an art career? Does their relationship with Nathan work out? If you want to answer these questions you’ll have to read the book yourself to find out. Although this wasn’t my favorite book, but it was one I enjoyed.