I Wish You All the Best, Mason Deaver

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.

This book was so good. I found myself crying alongside Ben, rooting for them to find a safe place to land and good people to support them as they figured out how to handle being kicked out by their parents following their coming out. I found myself cheering as they grew more comfortable at their sister's house and at school, making friends and losing themselves in their artwork. This was a hard book in so many ways, because Ben's journey was definitely not easy, but it was satisfying as well, to see them move beyond their parents' bullshit and figure out their own place in the world. Everyone should go and pick this book up immediately.