Seventh-grader Mikey Pruitt is twelve years old and wants to be an entrepreneur like his grandfather. He has any number of ideas that he tries out under the umbrella of his “Anything, Inc.” company—croquet lessons; a detective agency; corporate rebranding—but none seem to take off. Then one day, drag queen Coco Caliente, Mistress of Madness and Mayhem (otherwise known as eighth grader Julian Vasquez) walks into his office (otherwise known as the family storage and laundry room) and asks Mikey to be her talent agent.
Mikey is gay, too, and out to his parents and two best friends Dinesh and Trey (who has two moms). Mikey’s parents are not only okay with his being gay, but “can be a little too enthusiastic about my gayness,” he reflects. “I’m only twelve and they’re ready to sign me up for Gay Bachelor: North Charleston Middle School Edition.”
Mikey isn’t out to the school as a whole yet, though, while Julian is flamboyant and loud, showing up to school in a t-shirt reading, “Yaaas!” This makes Mikey uncomfortable interacting with Julian at school, afraid that the school bully will find out Mikey’s gay, too. Yet Julian’s friend Colton is Mikey’s secret crush, which makes Mikey wonder if it might be okay to be a little more out.
Meanwhile, Mikey’s venture as a talent agent is taking off, and he soon gains a roster of clients, other kids hoping to win their school’s talent competition. As they prepare for the big day, Mikey has to deal with his clients’ problems (including Julian’s homophobic father), his younger sister’s demand for a bigger role in the business, and his other personal relationships. He gets some help, though, from an adult drag queen who happens to be a friend of one of Trey’s moms—a nod to the long tradition of “drag mothers” helping new queens.
There are hilarious hijinks aplenty, but also important lessons about being oneself and realizing there are no “right” and “wrong” ways to be gay or even to be a boy/man. A few storylines feel trope-y, such as the annoying younger sibling and the bully who is hiding a secret of his own, but the story is full of humor and heart amidst the social ups and downs of middle school.
