Dean Atta's poems deal with themes of race, gender, and identity. He regularly performs across the UK and internationally, and his work has been shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize and appeared on MTV and BET. The Black Flamingo is his debut YA novel. You can find him online at www.deanatta.com. You can find more of my reviews of books on TIME's Top 100 YA Books of All Time list here.
Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he's navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican—but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough. As he gets older, Michael's coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs—and the Black Flamingo is born. Told with raw honest, insight, and lyricism, this debut explores the layers of identity that makes us who we are—and allow us to shine.
Every time I think about something I love about this book, three other parts I love pop up and remind me just how wonderful and necessary this story is. To start, I love how this book was a journey through time. Usually YA starts in a main character's teen years, and will explain the past without diving deep into it. The Black Flamingo starts when Michael is six, so we experience his childhood and then move into adolescence and adulthood right alongside of him. The way we experience his life alongside him, in a sense, especially through the closeness of poetry, creates a moving reading experience.
I also love how many nuances there are to the story. I think sometimes we take poetry for granted. It seems short, when in fact poetry works in a more concise way to pack just as big a punch as novels not in verse. Through poetry, Atta is able to explore Michael's multiple identities—his queerness, his race, his school personas, his friendships, his family relationships, and so much more. All of these depictions are candid, and some are cutting while others are heartbreaking. The way Atta is able to capture the full range of human emotions with his poems is stunning.
This book was a four star read for me, though, and honestly it started because of how taken aback I was that this novel was in verse. It was a surprise, for sure, and while Atta is able to use his poetry to tell such a moving and powerful story, it didn't quite match up to some of my other favorite novels in verse. There were some areas I would have liked to have been expanded upon more, to learn more parts about Michael and his experiences through the year, in order to have a fuller picture. Otherwise, this novel really was powerful and is a necessary read, one that will stay with me a while.
And finally, the last thing I loved about this book was how it took place in the UK. The author is British, and so it's not a surprise or anything that it would take place there, but I was surprised because I was thinking how little YA books there are that take place in the UK. And then I was doubly surprised and saddened to see some of the same prejudices and behavior in the UK that exist in the US. I think it went to reinforce the necessity of telling stories like these, and promoting the stories of all types of people, but especially queer and Black people, and others from marginalized identities, and not just those who live in America, but all over the world.
Dean Atta's The Black Flamingo is such a powerful story, and hopefully still part of the beginning of a revolution of the YA contemporary genre. You can find him online at www.deanatta.com. You can find more of my reviews of books on TIME's Top 100 YA Books of All Time list here.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
Comments
Post a Comment