“He is me, who I have been, who I am, who I hope to become. Someone fabulous, wild, and strong. With or without a costume on” 📖

I’ve had this one on my shelf for a while, so I really wanted to incorporate it in my pride-themed reads this month. I normally hate prose/poetry, but I actually loved this. The main character, Michael, is so relatable as he focuses on trying to find himself and learn to be himself without apology. Although I can never fully understand the experiences of discrimination and (often accidental) bigotry towards queer POC, I am all too familiar with the gender expectations that Atta sets out to challenge. I was one of the girls growing up that was always being told that the things I liked were “too boyish” or “not for little girls.” Thankfully my father didn’t care- even when at times my mother did. Multiple of my siblings have come out as queer over the last few years, and it breaks my heart when they face many of the struggles Mikey does. While it can be heartbreaking at times, I love how authentic the story and his struggles are. Atta doesn’t shy away from depicting the harsh realities of homophobia. Atta realistically addresses the struggles with racism and identity faced by POC with multiple ethnicities as Michael navigates being Greek, Jamaican, and British; it is hard enough to find good queer representation in the mainstream media, but it is even harder to find queer POC main characters. I honestly think this book could be a game changer for many teens that are working on accepting themselves in the same way Mikey does. I love that readers get to follow as Michael grows, and his confidence by the end of the novel is inspiring. The prose was well crafted as well, so the book still read like a beautiful novel. Although I wish I could have read a bit more about the main character’s experience as The Black Flamingo, I do recognize that his first live performance is ultimately an artistically symbolic way for Atta to end the story. I would definitely recommend adding this to your TBR! 🏳️‍🌈