Genre: Modern Realistic Fiction (Humorous story that could really happen, LGBTQ, bullying)
Subjects: Young Adult fiction, humor, high school, LGBTQ, female impersonators, prejudices, bullying, social issues, self-perception
Audience: Ages 14 & up
Seventeen year old Billy Bloom is a new student at a private school in Florida. He is determined to fit in and decides to start the year of right by wearing a fabulous outfit to school. The only problem is that Billy is over the top and loves to dress in outrageous styles that are eye-catching and female. He heads to school in a pirate outfit (the most manly thing he owns) and immediately discovers that this private school doesn't like people that are different. Billy tries to find someone to accept him, but things get worse when he dresses in drag and falls in love with the hunky football player that is the school hero - Flip Kelly. Eventually things get so bad that Billy is beaten by his classmates and is in a coma in the hospital. Flip begins to check on him everyday while he recovers and they form a relationship. Billy decides that the only way to change things is to become the homecoming queen. He starts a campaign and becomes national news. He wears outrageous outfits, creates a shoe-shaped float, and begins to make progress with his classmates. It is not enough though and he does not win the contest. The school is just not ready for change. In this book, St. James has created a humorous and heart-breaking story of an anxious teenage "gender obscurest" that just wants to be accepted by his community. It is an upbeat story with a positive message that you can overcome adversity.
Awards:
Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee (2008)
Peggy Miller Award (2008)
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