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r90 's review for:
Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens
by Tanya Boteju
Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens was really endearing, and the last 40% of it was all page-turner. It made me really nostalgic for drag scenes and LGBT community amidst this pandemic. The book presents a mostly accurate portrayal of drag (though drag is definitely not the central plot) and very much nailed the mesmerizing whirlwind of taking a first foray into drag and the larger, sometimes intimidating queer world as a young or newly out person.
Just a warning, there are several scenes of bad/iffy consent in performance spaces and performer-audience interactions, which can definitely be a dynamic in some drag scenes unfortunately. But it isn't really unpacked enough for my liking.
A couple critiques:
- For a book with the phrase "in-betweens" in its title, there is sadly no representation of nonbinary people. Diversity of gender presentation, drag, and binary trans people are all present, but I was disappointed to not see a single person confidently existing beyond the binary. Similarly, bisexuality as a concept is alluded to, but disappointingly never named.
- A main character who is clearly a transgender woman is referred to as a drag queen when not in drag. Yes, she is an experienced drag queen, but there were a few times when she really should have just been described as a woman or a trans woman. I don't think the word "trans" is used once to describe her... I don't think the word is even used once in the whole book. Her character is lovely and overall well built but there were times where the way she talked felt too much like a stereotype of a fabulous Black drag queen.
- A small but possibly significant age gap is never fully explained between the MC and a love interest. Which feels important given that the MC is very young (17) and could definitely seem younger with her shyness and inexperience.
All in all: a messy, endearing, and believable coming of age story.
Just a warning, there are several scenes of bad/iffy consent in performance spaces and performer-audience interactions, which can definitely be a dynamic in some drag scenes unfortunately. But it isn't really unpacked enough for my liking.
A couple critiques:
- For a book with the phrase "in-betweens" in its title, there is sadly no representation of nonbinary people. Diversity of gender presentation, drag, and binary trans people are all present, but I was disappointed to not see a single person confidently existing beyond the binary. Similarly, bisexuality as a concept is alluded to, but disappointingly never named.
- A main character who is clearly a transgender woman is referred to as a drag queen when not in drag. Yes, she is an experienced drag queen, but there were a few times when she really should have just been described as a woman or a trans woman. I don't think the word "trans" is used once to describe her... I don't think the word is even used once in the whole book. Her character is lovely and overall well built but there were times where the way she talked felt too much like a stereotype of a fabulous Black drag queen.
- A small but possibly significant age gap is never fully explained between the MC and a love interest. Which feels important given that the MC is very young (17) and could definitely seem younger with her shyness and inexperience.
All in all: a messy, endearing, and believable coming of age story.