“If it wasn’t for the fused-with-Zyx thing, I suppose I would just be normal—whatever that means.”
When Felix Yz was three years old, a hyperintelligent fourth-dimensional being became fused inside him after one of his father’s science experiments went terribly wrong. The creature is friendly, but Felix—now thirteen—won’t be able to grow to adulthood while they’re still melded together. So a risky Procedure is planned to separate them . . . but it may end up killing them both instead.
This book is Felix’s secret blog, a chronicle of the days leading up to the Procedure. Some days it’s business as usual—time with his close-knit family, run-ins with a bully at school, anxiety about his crush. But life becomes more out of the ordinary with the arrival of an Estonian chess Grandmaster, the revelation of family secrets, and a train-hopping journey. When it all might be over in a few days, what matters most?
Felix Yz by Lisa Bunker is a weird read, in the best possible way. It left me with some mixed feelings, especially toward the end, but I thoroughly enjoyed the journey, thanks to its wild, genre-defying blend of sci-fi, family drama, queerness, and coming-of-age introspection.
The book is refreshingly inclusive. Felix, the main character, was fused with a fourth-dimensional alien named Zyx during a freak lab accident when he was three, an accident that also claimed his father’s life. Now, as a teenager, Felix is falling in love with a boy at school while preparing for a dangerous procedure to separate him from the alien. The stakes are real, but so are the awkward crushes, emotional growth, and chaotic family moments.
Felix’s family is delightfully unique and loving. His mother has had both boyfriends and girlfriends. His grandparent, called Grandy, is gender-fluid and uses neo-pronouns: vo/ven/veir. Grandy’s gender expression is scheduled: female (Vera) from Sunday to Tuesday, male (Vern) from Thursday to Saturday, and nonbinary on Wednesdays, when vo stays in veir room, wears no clothes, and avoids outside contact.
While I know and (and at least partly) understand gender-fluid people, this highly structured expression felt a bit unusual to me. That might be because I’m more familiar with the “it changes as it feels right” approach, rather than something so pre-set.
As a non-native English speaker, I often struggle a bit with neo-pronouns, not because I dislike them (I actually *wish* we had viable gender-neutral pronouns in German!), but simply because my brain isn’t yet used to seeing them often enough for them to feel fluent. Many books use different sets, so I haven’t had a chance to normalize them in my reading flow. That said, the pronouns in Felix Yz felt close enough to familiar English ones, that I adjusted quickly. Which should make it easily accessible for a middle grade audience. I think they were thoughtfully chosen to match the reading level, while still honoring identity. Of course, pronouns aren’t there to make reading easier, they’re to reflect the person, and I’m always happy to adapt.
Plot-wise, the book is more about character and connection than high-stakes twists. The focus is on Felix’s family, his internal thoughts, and his evolving relationship with Zyx, the alien who shares his body. Their banter is quirky, often philosophical, and occasionally funny in that offbeat, surreal kind of way. Yes, the science is over-the-top and not remotely realistic, but I didn’t mind. The emotional core more than made up for it.
What gave me pause, though, was the ending. It wrapped things up a little too neatly, solving every major point in a way that felt slightly too convenient. Most disappointing to me was the way Grandy’s gender was ultimately treated. Without spoiling specifics, I would have much preferred if veir fluidity had remained as it was. It felt like a step back from affirming gender nonconformity as equally valid, not something that needed to be “resolved.”
Still, Felix Yz is a warm, thoughtful, and unusual book that balances sadness and fear of death with hope, humor, and love. It’s a story about being different, being loved for it, and embracing all the messy, undefinable parts of who we are. Even when it didn’t always quite hit the mark for me, I still enjoyed it a lot overall.
