Nerds & Beyond Book Club: ‘I Wish You All the Best’ by Mason Deaver
Welcome to the very first of our interactive Nerds and Beyond Book Club series! The book we will be reading during the month of July is I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver. This young adult novel from Scholastic, PUSH is a 2019 Junior Library Guild Selection & IndieBound Bestseller. This book has mentions from Entertainment Weekly and PBS and even blurbs from The Washington Post, NPR, The TODAY Show, and New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Becky Albertalli: “Heartfelt, romantic, and quietly groundbreaking. This book will save lives.”
Here is a summary of the book:
“It’s just three words. I am non-binary. But that’s all it takes to change everything.
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.”
The author, Mason Deaver, is a non-binary author and bookseller who lives in Charlotte, NC, where the word ‘y’all’ is used in abundance. Typically, they’re writing incredibly queer stories, but when they decide to take a break, they love gardening, baking, and playing video games. You can find them online at various places like:
Twitter: @masondeaver
Instagram: @mason_deaver
And their website: masondeaverwrites.com
To participate in our Book Club, just send an email to staff@nerdsandbeyond.com with “Book Club” in the subject line. We’ll be emailing out discussion questions this week to be posted in an article at the end of the month.
(To answer the question that you’re sure to have, that song from that scene is “The Good Side’” by Troye Sivan! You’ll know what we’re talking about when you get to that page!)