Becoming a Queen by Dan Clay

Abstract

Reviewed by: Becoming a Queen by Dan Clay April Spisak Clay, Dan Becoming a Queen. Roaring Brook, 2023 [416p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781250843098 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781250843081 $11.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 9-12 Mark is comfortably out and has a boyfriend, but a talent show act involving boys in dresses changes his life in unexpected ways. Mark discovers that he absolutely loves the feeling of being in a dress, but sadly his boyfriend does not like seeing him that way, and suddenly Mark finds himself single, confused, and mired in deep self-loathing. He is enormously grateful for his older brother, who always seems to know exactly what to say, and soon Mark is headed down a happier path until a shocking tragedy upends everything. Grief is a much more twisty, thorny road than Mark had expected to be traveling, but he finds that drag helps him tap into a more authentic self, opening him up to make connections that show him that even in dark times there are still shining points of light (much like the sequins on a fabulous dress). The first-person narration is powerful and raw—Mark is a boy longing for so much, and readers will undoubtedly relate in some way to his determined stumble toward self-discovery and self-affirmation. There is a lot to unpack in this novel about masculinity, substance abuse, internalized homophobia, and identity, but Clay ably integrates all of it, providing Mark with a sardonic sense of humor that balances out the more somber parts of Mark's observations and experiences. At his core, he is a teen who is just trying desperately to feel (love, family bonds, honest relationships, his whole self) and who has one moment that is a catalyst that doesn't lead to a perfect happy ending but gets as close as real life allows. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois