A joyous book of self-discovery, community, and affirmation, this story is perfect for fans of Alex Gino and Ronnie Riley.
Jackson Bright wasn’t intending to be controversial. But when Jackson wears a borrowed polka-dot dress to the last day of sixth grade, after spilling something on his intended outfit, other students’ reactions (both good and bad) cause a ruckus—and a conservative teacher sends him home, ostensibly for his “protection.” Jackson knows this teacher: she’s the one who’s refused to use his best friend Eva’s nonbinary pronouns.
When Jackson sees a poster for the town’s Little Miss pageant, he has an idea: “What if there was a way to reflect brilliance back at the haters instead of just more hate?” With Eva’s help, he signs up for the contest and even comes up with a drag name: Sissy St. James. But actually doing drag and getting ready for the talent portion of the contest is going to be a lot of work.
Jackson’s parents are supportive of his dress wearing, although they know nothing about his pageant plans. His dad is also struggling with clinical depression, and not always as present as Jackson would like. Luckily, his parents also know that even if they’re supportive, sometimes outside assistance can be helpful, and invite his gay Uncle Aaron to come for a visit. Aaron is built “like a lumberjack, but, like, if lumberjacks loved Vogue magazine,” He’s also professional makeup artist, and helps Jackson dazzle in his drag persona.
But the pageant is challenging even for the cis girls who are competing, and much more for Jackson, who is trying to keep his real identity a secret (even if the contest isn’t technically restricted just to girls). Things get worse when he discovers that his crush is the brother of one of his pageant rivals. Some of the other competitors are friendly, though, and Jackson is soon swept up into pageant life—to the detriment of his relationship with Eva. Eva has challenges of their own, too; their parents are divorcing and have very different views about Eva’s nonbinary identity. Can Jackson embrace all of his personas and identities while also providing support for his friend?
Authors Eureka O’Hara (a Drag Race contestant) and Dan Poblocki have created a story that is both joyous and thoughtful. It shows queer kids navigating a plethora of challenges—with school, friends, family, and societal mores—but finding their way thanks to a combination of their own initiative and support from caring adults, including both non-queer parents and queer found family. Scattered illustrations by Ricardo Bessa bring Jackson and Eva’s joy to further life (although this is a middle grade novel, not a picture book).
I have only two quibbles with this otherwise wonderful story. First, an analogy about feeling (positively) like “a glorious mushroom cloud” seems iffy (to me, having grown up during the Cold War, a mushroom cloud means devastation, not just brilliance). Second, I question when the book says that being okay “takes courage and strength—which you can only build by running a gauntlet” like the one the biased teacher is creating. Surviving bias and discrimination is one way to build strength, true—but to say that it’s the “only” way implies that those ills are necessary in order for one to become strong. Personally, I’d love it if no young person ever faced someone like that teacher. I don’t think the authors would disagree; I just wish they’d phrased things differently.
Nevertheless, there’s much to love about this book that explores gender expression, coming out, mental health, familial support (and rejection), discrimination, and queer community, all in a highly entertaining narrative with well-drawn characters and engaging plotline. There’s enough good stuff here to make it highly recommended.
Jackson is White; Eva’s family is Filipino. Jackson’s crush, who is Latino, says he’s “queer, I think. Bi. Or pan. Or something. I’m not sure.” Secondary characters include a trans woman who uses she/they pronouns.
