‘Men are sand castles made out of pebbles
and the bucket is patriarchy: if you remove it,
we fear we won't be able to hold ourselves
together, we pour in cement to fill the gaps
to make ourselves concrete constructions’

Written in verse, this is a stunning coming-of-age story set first in London and later in Brighton as Michael comes to terms with being Jamaican and Greek Cypriot and British as well as being both Black and gay. We begin with his early wish for a Barbie for Christmas, follow him through all the friendships, crushes and heartbreaks of school, journey with him to University and end with his very first drag performance, the emergence of The Black Flamingo.

The book deals with everything from gender identity, racism, internalised racism, racial microaggressions, sexuality, homophobia (most painfully from those closest to him who often say or do the wrong thing despite their good intentions) internalised homophobia and toxic masculinity. Laid out in a list like that, you’d perhaps expect quite a heavy read but, while it’s not without its heart-breaking moments and as much as it is poignant and powerful, it’s also so very full of heart and joy.

An utterly phenomenal book that I’ll be recommending to everyone and a definite addition to my forever shelf.