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A review by pewterwolf
Boy Queen by George Lester
5.0
That was a hoot! *puts some Kylie on and dance it out*
Review taken from The Pewter Wolf, which will be going live in late April 2020
***Proofs given by UK publisher in exchange for an honest review/reaction***
Robin Cooper’s life is falling apart. While his friends are ready to go to uni, all he seems to be getting is rejection letters from most/all drama schools of the UK and Robin’s life seems to be spiralling. Unsure of himself and his talent, he and his best friends take him to a local gay bar on his birthday to cheer him up and, when there, they watch a local drag show. And Robin gets a strong reaction and he should, in the words of RuPaul, Sashay away.
But how can he get to grips with drag performing when he has a secret boyfriend who won’t acknowledge in public, his mother can talk for England, his best friends are planning their futures without him and the new boy at school is making Robin’s heart beat a little faster?
Well, this is a hoot of a read! An unapologetic queer cackle of a read with extra glitter thrown in for good measure!
This feels like such a strong UKYA contemporary debut, tackling the issues of friendship, LGBTQIA+, homophobia bullying while touching on a gentle romance and coming out in your own pace. Am intrigued to see if George writes a sequel or a companion novel to follow one or two of the characters and tackle these issues further.
Now, there is one or two things some readers might not warm to. The first few chapters are a little slower in pace (setting up the story and characters) and some of the characters’s decisions (not one in perfect).
But I devoured this while in lockdown as it’s one of those books where, once I started, I couldn’t stop. Fans of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and RuPaul’s Drag Race is going to love this summery glitterball of a read.
Review taken from The Pewter Wolf, which will be going live in late April 2020
***Proofs given by UK publisher in exchange for an honest review/reaction***
Robin Cooper’s life is falling apart. While his friends are ready to go to uni, all he seems to be getting is rejection letters from most/all drama schools of the UK and Robin’s life seems to be spiralling. Unsure of himself and his talent, he and his best friends take him to a local gay bar on his birthday to cheer him up and, when there, they watch a local drag show. And Robin gets a strong reaction and he should, in the words of RuPaul, Sashay away.
But how can he get to grips with drag performing when he has a secret boyfriend who won’t acknowledge in public, his mother can talk for England, his best friends are planning their futures without him and the new boy at school is making Robin’s heart beat a little faster?
Well, this is a hoot of a read! An unapologetic queer cackle of a read with extra glitter thrown in for good measure!
This feels like such a strong UKYA contemporary debut, tackling the issues of friendship, LGBTQIA+, homophobia bullying while touching on a gentle romance and coming out in your own pace. Am intrigued to see if George writes a sequel or a companion novel to follow one or two of the characters and tackle these issues further.
Now, there is one or two things some readers might not warm to. The first few chapters are a little slower in pace (setting up the story and characters) and some of the characters’s decisions (not one in perfect).
But I devoured this while in lockdown as it’s one of those books where, once I started, I couldn’t stop. Fans of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and RuPaul’s Drag Race is going to love this summery glitterball of a read.