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Reviewed by:
  • Felix Yz by Lisa Bunker
  • April Spisak
Bunker, Lisa Felix Yz. Viking, 2017 [304p]
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-425-28850-4 $16.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-425-28852-8 $10.99
Reviewed from galleys         R Gr. 5-8

When Felix was young, he was involved in a lab accident that left him sharing a brain with Zyx, a fourth-dimensional being. Now he's writing down his thoughts as he awaits the tricky and highly risky operation that will separate Felix from Zyx, and while keeping Zyx could be fatal, trying to remove him might kill Felix too. Felix therefore carries an unusual world-weariness and emotional distance from life for an eighth-grader (he does suffer at the hands of bullies and have crushes on adorable guys, but he's often a distanced observer of his own life). Occasional entries from Zyx (who can type his own thoughts) are complex and pithy, giving readers a keen sense of what it must be like in Felix's head juggling two infinitely different brains/beings. Unexpectedly, this is mostly a love story about the intense bond between Felix and Zyx—though their joining limited and endangered them both, they are fiercely connected even as they occasionally battle like siblings. The palpable vulnerability with which Felix describes his fears is powerful, and readers will likely be rooting for him to survive the separation and have a chance to thrive as just Felix. Sci-fi fans who also appreciate realistic fiction will find this perfectly straddles the contemplative tone of an introspective teen with the futuristic view of a contemporary world.

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