"Let Billy Bloom!"
Every once in a while comes a book whose cover has the ability to both horrify and and amaze - sort of like a colorful train wreck. And the cover will, in turn, affect how you feel about the story before, during, and after you read it. In picking out this particular book, I went more by the inside flap summary than the prettily grotesque cover image.
Billy Bloom is one extremely energetic, extremely confident, extremely extreme seventeen-year-old boy. Sent to live with his dad in Florida due to reasons he'd rather not think about right now, Billy prepares himself for "new kid" status. There's just one element that he overlooks: the students at Dwight D. Eisenhower High aren't used to seeing drag queens in the classroom, and soon he becomes a high school pariah. Tensions between Billy and his ultra-conservative classmates mount as Billy tries and fails to dazzle them with his bold outfits and fresh attitude until he gets beaten up by the entire football team. But then things take a turn for the better - far better than Billy could have wished for - when Flip Kelly, god among seniors, attaches himself firmly to Billy's side. Although he's suffered the brutal and harsh life of an outcast (in school and within his own family), with Flip by his side, Billy feels like he can take on anything - even Lynnette Franz, the shoo-in for homecoming queen. Because when it comes to being a queen, Billy's your girl.
Billy's nontraditional take on gender - not to mention fashion - isn't the only thing that marks him as an individual. His very active imagination and high energy never fails to entertain, and even when he gets aggressive, we're always on his side. It's probable that his eventual motto "Gender is a choice" might be hard for readers to wrap their heads around, but Billy's huge personality wins us over. The way the standard "be yourself" message is explored is also unique, as it is implied that Billy knows very well how he wants to express himself, but can't get it through the heads of the people around him. Even Flip, an adorable savior who is also as ordinary as Billy is fabulous, struggles with how to define Billy (and later, his feelings for Billy). In a somewhat typical but no less uplifting move, Billy finds allies in characters he initially dismisses - the gossip girl at school, his formally cold father. A few characters, especially the father, aren't as well developed and there is a subplot or two that isn't given much closure - is Billy bipolar or just quirky when he hides in the kitchen cupboard? But the book does give us a positive, upbeat main character as well as provide many a laugh-out-loud moment, which means a great reading experience is pretty much guaranteed.
Rating: 4 false eyelashes out of 5.
Billy's nontraditional take on gender - not to mention fashion - isn't the only thing that marks him as an individual. His very active imagination and high energy never fails to entertain, and even when he gets aggressive, we're always on his side. It's probable that his eventual motto "Gender is a choice" might be hard for readers to wrap their heads around, but Billy's huge personality wins us over. The way the standard "be yourself" message is explored is also unique, as it is implied that Billy knows very well how he wants to express himself, but can't get it through the heads of the people around him. Even Flip, an adorable savior who is also as ordinary as Billy is fabulous, struggles with how to define Billy (and later, his feelings for Billy). In a somewhat typical but no less uplifting move, Billy finds allies in characters he initially dismisses - the gossip girl at school, his formally cold father. A few characters, especially the father, aren't as well developed and there is a subplot or two that isn't given much closure - is Billy bipolar or just quirky when he hides in the kitchen cupboard? But the book does give us a positive, upbeat main character as well as provide many a laugh-out-loud moment, which means a great reading experience is pretty much guaranteed.
Rating: 4 false eyelashes out of 5.
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