Thank you to NetGalley and Dalton Lyle for my first ever eARC!

Before I begin, let me preface this by saying this was the most aggressively Texan, teenage boy, white trash novel I have ever read and I enjoyed it so much for that. The plot (and dialogue) just spirals and spirals in its insanity and stupidity. Wade just continuously digs himself into a hole.

This book encapsulates the sheer bullshit-ery of being a high schooler in Texas.

I will keep this review spoiler-free as I urgently want all of my friends to consume this book when it finally comes out, but this book was great. Wade is a character study in self-destruction and self-humiliation. Every single time I thought he could not get worse—he did. Much to my dismay. With a climax that I would describe as akin to the play scene in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, I do not think I have ever felt this much second-hand embarrassment from a fictional character before. However, with that egregious amount of teenager boy-like dialogue, some of Wade’s thoughts became a bit insensitive, as many teenage boys are. Being in Wade’s mind was probably the most humiliated I think I have ever felt while consuming a YA book.

I do not think this will be leaving my mind any time soon.

wade and felix forever is kinda like if the diary of a wimpy kid books were gay and written for a teen audience.

i haven't laughed this hard reading a book in a long time. the comedy was great and wade was an entertaining protagonist to say the least. just when you think things have gotten bad, wade somehow does something to make things significantly worse. every single time.

i do think the title and cover is quite misleading though. without getting into spoilers, this book is very much about wade and his own coming of age and less about felix than the title implies. their friendship isn't as central as i expected.

the plot also was just very all over the place, which i guess makes sense for wade, but i did feel like the story dragged a bit during certain parts.

overall, this was a fun time and excited to read future releases from this author!

Thank you #NetGalley for my arc of this book!

You know when you’re watching a comedy and you hide your face behind your hands because it’s hilarious and cringy? That’s this book.

The story follows Wade, our bad-decision making main character who has a constant snowball effect following him through all his bad choices. He’s a prankster alongside his best friend (and crush) Felix, and you get to witness all of the cringe scenes of a teenager figuring himself out.

One thing about this book is that Wade is not a good guy, but give him his props he does try and reverse his bad decision making.

No spoilers so I won’t say much, but I really enjoyed the comedy aspect of this book and all of the quirky, over the top characters that came with it.

3/5⭐️! I loved the plot of the book, and whilst it does seem a bit all over the place it does fit Wades rapid (and awful) decision making process.

The story does seem long in parts, but it does pick up and you start to get into the flow of it quickly.

Overall a very funny book, certainly not a forgettable read. I look forward to seeing any future books from this author!

So, I've rated this book 3* out of 5, but ideally, I'd have rated this 3.5* out of 5. NetGalley doesn't allow that, so I felt it leaned more to 3* rather than 4*. I will put a review up on StoryGraph where it is rated as I wanted it to be.

Positives
•A lot of thought has gone into the whole story. You can tell this is the authors pride and joy.
•A lot of time is spent detailing Wade and why he is the way he is. He's lived an unfortunate life of loss and misery, so it's no wonder he is quite a recluse, and only lets select people (i.e. namely Felix) into his life.
•It takes you through the academic year, allowing for users to understand how everything is happening in real time.
•The detail that went into the tornado chapter was brilliant, and made you feel a lot of emotions all at once.
•The spider is a funny addition to the story, and offers some light relief from some more heavier topics.

Negatives
•One of my main gripes is the title of the book. I don't think the name should actually involve Felix, as it is written from Wade's perspective fully, and Felix is more of a secondary character. Something like 'Wade and the Tornado of Calamities" or something along those lines would have fit the story more.
•The character names seem a bit out there. I can't tell if it's because I'm not from Texas, but the names just seemed to pull me out of the story a bit. Most of the characters seemed to have names, for which I've never met a single person with those names in my life, and I'm in my 30s!
•At times, I felt like parts of the book could have been omitted and it would not have made any difference to the flow of the book. Personally, I felt like too much time was devoted to Dinah and Clint.
•There were a few spelling mistakes and things that didn't make sense in the book, but assume that will be sorted when going through final checks.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is one of the funniest books I have read so far. It's a satire on high school based in Texas. It has everything you can expect from a satire based in Texas like unnecessary hate on the gays, especially from the closeted gays. Then there is the curious case of conservatives sprouting values of "individualism" and yet don't want anyone to have a single independent thought.

Wade & Felix Forever was a truly interesting literary adventure! I enjoyed characters, plot and writing.

Thanks #NetGalley for the arc. This was an enjoyable read and am glad I got to get it early.

The author effectively uses humor and satire to address heavy topics and how people who are marginalized have to come of age in this world and the US specifically, a very conservative section of the US.

I think without the humorous take it would have been a really hard read to get through, realizing all the crap so many different groups of people have to go through.

The writing was quick and it was an easy read. Some parts flowed more easily than others and some did drag a little as others have pointed out. But I was able to read it fairly quickly and didnt feel bogged down and unable to get through it.

I think the characters were relatable and their pasts definitely influenced their behaviors in ways that in the context of this world made sense. The main character wasnt the nicest guy but having spent more time around teenagers as my own gets older, definitely believable haha. I did think that Wade And Felix would have both been more main characters or alt view points but its really Wades book and his growth and journey towards adulthood.

He isnt the nicest character but overall means well for those he cares about and tries to constantly make things better, often with the opposite results!

I think this was a good start for this author and interested in future works by them.

this was the most absurd and nonsensical book i've ever read, in the best way possible.

please, experience this story without expectations; you will be surprised at every chapter, every page—every line, even. wade is possibly the worst person that's ever been written and i kind of hate him (/pos, somehow?). you may have the urge to tear your hair out from how genuinely stupid he and every character is (except maybe felix, he's that one token normal friend)

so, basically, everything that happens and every word that is said keeps getting more and more idiotic and seemingly unserious; but on the other hand, considering the state of the world at the moment, some of the stuff in there truly hits home. i'm mostly thinking of all the queerphobic and xenophobic commentary, the normalised use of ai and the rise of fascism, among other things. the author manages to implement these very real issues into a very surreal environment, and so make fun of them in a very serious way. it's this sort of novel that makes you want to laugh but you just can't because the sad reality of it is overwhelming.

to be honest, i'm a little confused as to how i feel right now because i keep trying to make sense of it all, find a beginning to the chaos and a logical chain of events, but i'm realising i can't and have no idea what the hell i've just read??? and i kind of love it????

anyway, i hope the author will get hype for his debut novel because that was quite an Experience. in byron's (spoiler-ey) words: "accept the chaos"

Just when you think you have this book figured out, it turns around and does something completely insane. I didn’t think going into this book that it was gonna be a satirical piece, but boy was it. Almost everything in this book is a heavy handed criticism of conservatism and homophobia. While I understand the authors point, I did feel like some arguments could’ve been a lot more subtle. Even for a satire a lot of things were very on the nose. This book is clearly written for an older YA audience based on the content so I think Lyle could’ve put a little more trust in the intelligence of his audience.

There were parts of this book that made me laugh out loud but also parts that went on way too long. Overall I felt like there were some pretty rough patches when it came to pacing, and the story certainly dragged on a lot during the end. Some scenes passed by so fast I got whiplash and some made me feel like I was watching a bad SNL skit.

The humor in this book is also an acquired taste. I’ve already seen other reviewers compare it to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and I feel as if *Wade & Felix Forever* is Wimpy Kid on steroids. It’s definitely more raunchier than the average YA novel, with a lot of edge. Bouncing off what I said about the pacing, some jokes not only went on too long, but too far as well. (And I say that as an avid South Park fan.) There were parts of this book that made be feel like I was reading fetish content. I don’t think that’s what Lyle intended, but I assume you typically don’t want that though crossing readers’ minds especially in a YA book.

Also for a book titled “*Wade & Felix Forever”* I felt as if I got very little interaction between throughout the books entirety. I think that most of the character relationships in this book felt half baked because there were so many of them and they were constantly being pushed aside in favor of focusing on Wade’s many antics. As funny as all the crazy plot points in this book are, I wish there was a larger focus on the characters’ relationships. At the very least maybe alter the title.

Overall, this book was at the very least entertaining and I certainly won’t forget about it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

i did enjoy this book it made me laugh with alot of enjoyable bits especially with stealing all the gnomes from people's gardens, and it was interesting to see that they were worried in ways about the tornado, which was written very well and we got to see their emotions and how they felt going through something terrifying.

Additionally i do feel that some parts come across more in wades point of view than felix's which was nice to see as we can see how much hes been through and he's able to truly show who he is, the only thing that i feel could be improved is the layout of the chapters as its not easy to understand and changed from numbers to worded chapter titles. Though this being said it was a good book and i would really recommend for someone who is interested in this type of genre

HOLY COW! This book is hilarious and really well paced. I loved the intertwining of all the little things that wove together this insane and amazing coming of age book. I laughed so hard I sounded like an old truck starting. Thank you for that. This is the best thing I’ve read in a very long time. Pretty much every character, except BBB, is seen in a humanizing (and possibly stark raving mad) light. Wade is really just trying to do his best but goshdarnit, he keeps making very, very poor decisions that lead to… well, that theater scene near the end. I was gasping for air. I will 100% read anything else Dalton Lyle writes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a former theater kid from a small suburb in Texas, Wade and Felix Forever by Dalton Lyle felt like stepping into a complete fever dream in the best way. The secondhand embarrassment I felt for the main character was unreal at times, but that is exactly what made it so authentic and so funny. I laughed out loud more than once.

What really stood out was how current events and dysfunctional families were woven into the perspective of a high school student. It added depth without ever feeling forced and made the story feel grounded. The tornado backstory was especially powerful. I truly felt like I was there with Felix, experiencing every moment of fear and trauma alongside him.

The musical was completely unhinged in the most delightful way. It felt like watching a chaotic high school production of Noises Off, which made it even more entertaining. Honestly, the entire book carried that same energy while telling a heartfelt story about a queer teenager finding his place.

This was a fantastic debut, and Dalton Lyle absolutely delivered. I highly recommend this book.

Wade and Felix Forever is really chaotic but in a fun way. It follows Wade, who keeps making questionable decisions, which can be a little frustrating, but also kind of the point of his character.

There were definitely some funny moments, even if the humor was a bit cringe at times. The whole plot is pretty ridiculous, but it kept things entertaining.

I did expect a bit more focus on Wade and Felix’s relationship, but I still enjoyed the story overall. This is such a fun read and I’d still recommend it.