Boy Queen

Even though there are many references to "RuPaul's Drag Race" in "Boy Queen" I couldn't help but presume that George Lester saw the musical "Everybody's Talking about Jamie" about a working-class boy with a single mother dreaming about becoming a drag queen and decided that he'd write a novel about a very similar character which would lend itself to a musical adaptation if someone felt the absolute need to put it on stage. That being said "Boy Queen" certainly can stand on its own legs. Robin Cooper might not have the ultimate sass of "Everybody's Talking about Jamie" protagonist Jamie New but he has a love life instead, actually there are even two suitors. And even though Connor, the closeted boy with the rough friends, might not be the definition of marriage material, I really wouldn't mind getting a book on him with some redemption. Towards the end of the book there are a few conflicts that are not really resolved but more or less glossed over, and it would have been very easy to solve that if Lester had just had Seth rally everyone - but other than that this is a mostly friendly read. I can't wait for the German translation though. "RuPaul's Drag Race" has sort of created a lingua franca for drag, so maybe "the house down boots yes gawd" will not even have to be translated, but still, I'm really curious what the translator makes of tucking and tongue pops!