Becoming a Queen

A queer Annandale, Mich., teen navigating grief finds solace while performing in drag in this sensitive exploration of sexual identity, Clay’s debut. Seventeen-year-old Mark Davis’s parents often make him feel like he’s a poor imitation of his high-achieving older brother, Eric, a first-year Northwestern student. Mark also feels like he’s “too gay, too much” for his ex-boyfriend, who dumped Mark after he performed at a talent show in drag. When an incipient courtship with newcomer Ezra Ambrose seems to be going too well, Mark’s constant self-doubt causes panic, and he ghosts Ezra. With Eric’s encouragement that relationships should make you “wanna be more of yourself,” Mark patches things up with Ezra. While the boys’ fresh romance fills Mark with joy, he’s distressed by Eric’s frequent drinking and its tragic consequences. As Mark contends with intense feelings of listlessness, he also reckons with his reemerging insecurities about attending a winter dance in a dress. A mosaic of well-drawn characters, including endlessly supportive Eric, patient and compassionate Ezra, and vulnerable and creative Mark, people this realistically rendered telling about healing, loss, and self-acceptance. Major characters cue as white. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)