Eighteen-year-old Ben de Backer is kicked out of their parents' house after coming out as nonbinary. They move in with their older sister Hannah, whom they haven't seen in ten years, and Hannah's husband Thomas Waller. Ben starts taking classes at North Wake Nigh School, where Thomas teaches chemistry. They become friends with Nathan Allen, the boy assigned to show them around school, and the two start to fall in love.
I Wish You All the Best contains examples of:
- Big Friendly Dog: The first time Ben visits Nathan's house, his golden retriever Ryder knocks Ben to the ground and starts licking their face.
- Disowned Parent: Hannah was constantly fighting with her parents, especially her overbearing father. She moved out without a word the day she graduated high school. She left Ben her phone number, but otherwise never contacted anyone from her family. The night Ben calls Hannah from a payphone to tell her their parents kicked them out, it's the first time Hannah has spoken to anyone in her family in a decade.
- Eating Lunch Alone: When Ben first starts school, they spend every lunch period in the quad, where the burnouts go to smoke, and where Ben can draw in peace. Then the art teacher, Mrs. Liu, gives them permission to spend lunch in the art room. Eventually they start eating lunch with Nathan and his friends Meleika Lewis and Sophie Yeun.
- Friendless Background: At Ben's old school, no one wanted to hang out with them because they were seen as too quiet and too weird. It isn't until they transfer to North Wake that they befriend Nathan, Meleika, and Sophie.
- Foul First Drink: Nathan, Meleika, and Sophie talk Ben into going to a Wild Teen Party where one of the guests has smuggled in the contents of his dad's liquor cabinet. Ben is offered a cup of beer and chokes down two sips, fighting the urge to spit it out, so they won't look like a wimp in front of Nathan. Todd says "Maybe you're not a beer man!" and pressures Ben into drinking a shot of strawberry tequila, which doesn't taste like strawberry at all and burns on the way down. Ben has a panic attack, partly because of the effects of the alcohol.
- Sitting on the Roof: Nathan likes to sit on his roof. He calls it his quiet place, where he goes when life is too overwhelming. After Ben has a panic attack at a party, Nathan invites them to sit on the roof with him.
- Stargazing Scene: While Ben and Nathan are sitting on the roof, Nathan tries to point out constellations, even though the light pollution makes most of them impossible to see. He admits that he's making it all up.
- Throwing Out the Script: Ben typed out a script for telling their parents they're nonbinary, but when they're finally ready to come out, they can't remember a word of it. They think that maybe their parents will be more accepting if they're spontaneous, but they get kicked out anyway.
- Too Unhappy to Be Hungry: In the hours before Ben comes out to their parents, they're too anxious about it to eat more than a few bites of dinner.
