The Black Flamingo

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Stonewall Book Award Winner * A Time Magazine Best YA Book Of All Time
A fierce coming-of-age verse novel about identity and the power of drag, from acclaimed poet and performer Dean Atta. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Jason Reynolds, and Kacen Callender.

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 honesty, insight, and lyricism, this debut show more explores the layers of identity that make us who we are—and allow us to shine.
I USED MY YULE GIFTCARD TO BUY THIS ON SALE. LOVE YOU, SWEETIENUBBINS. (But seriously, no more.)

My Review: Y’all. Get down on your poetry-lovin’ knees and say “Hallelujah” cuz your anti-Homeric un-Shelleyed non-Ginsbergly poetry Grinch just read a five zillion page YA coming-of-age book.

In full. No skippity-hoppity-next-please.

I shall accept your plaudits in the comments below. Books suffice as tribute. Please consult my Elfster list for recommendations.

What I didn’t do was much enjoy myself. The story’s fine, read it a million times, but that’s hardly the point with a coming-of-age tale in the hands of one from the vaults, as Frank N. Furter once said. I’m perfectly happy, then, as I am not the one being addressed, to step into observer mode and make my judgments on what the Author’s story sets out to do without the distracting sense of seeing myself and my struggles in his words.

First, of course, we have that perennial whine, “why poetry? just come out and say it!” For me to read the whole book, there needs to be something I can hang my hat on, some protuberant part that absolutely can not be expressed without Author Atta committing poetry before my affronted eyes. (This is also how I feel about comic books…I mean graphic novels!...as regular readers have heard and heard and heard me say.)

The Black Flamingo, in all its tremulous adolescent fumbling for Identity in a world that strongly prefers safe, restrictive labels, goes over that bar with room to spare. Lovely Mikey and his first…the bloke he loses his virginity and his innocence to…that simply could not have worked in prose. It would’ve made the entire exercise into a late 1950s kitchen-sink drama, something only slightly more authentic than EastEnders. The way Michael comes out to his mother…the way his grandfather and he communicate with the television story about the black flamingo…all of those moments are not adequately renderable in simple (or even fancy and complicated) prose.

Of course the story ends on a high note. It has to; those are the coming-of-age/YA rules for gay fiction nowadays. And, may I just say from my standpoint as someone who never had anything remotely like this book to read as a teenager, y’all GO! Write it, read it, talk about it, make it spread far and make it spread wide, get these words in front of as many who might maybe kinda sorta almost be confused or wondering or just plain curious.

This is the world the men who died of AIDS while I held their hands wanted to bring to life. I’m so far beyond happy that I’ve lived to see it, to know it flourishes, and to say “thank all those useless gods it’s here at last.” Now…you lot need to make sure it lasts. Nothing is free, if you’re not out there pushing and shouting and making noise then it’s all under the radar and the threats to women’s and Black peoples’ and all the other folks They don’t like will be the small end of the wedge.

Your turn will come.

If you can’t do anything publicly, do it privately…make calls to legislators (don’t know what to say? https://5calls.org/ has you covered) to let them know you’re a constituent, you pay attention to them and their votes, and you will vote them out. If you live in a scary place, send money through the big organizations like ActBlue. They don’t give anyone anything personal about you, just your money to people who maybe aren’t exactly perfect but they are a lot better than Them.

And that’s it. That’s the review, that’s the speech, that is all I know how to say to break someone, anyone, free from paralysis and inaction. show less

Omg, finally a gay young man who is not adorable. Not Michael, he certainly is. But there's another guy, well, not sure how old he is, but he doesn't admit to being gay for one thing, and for another... well, actually I don't want to spoil even a little bit of the story so you'll have to read it to find out.

Anyway, that is just a small bit. Mainly the book is a triumph. I thought it might be a bit too much about negative things, but it's light on the awful, and crammed full of the glorious. And the poetry is amazing. Unlike many novels-in-verse, it's not just rearranging the patterns of lines. These are poems. They read as easily as narrative, nonetheless, they're art.

I love details like the soccer coach wearing rainbow shoelaces; just show more simply being supportive. And I appreciated learning why turtles are so fragile; their shell is part of their spine.

"... the different ones are often the most strong."

Highly recommended.

And bravo to my city library in this very white, very Republican suburb of OKC for buying this book. show less

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, narrated by the Author Dean Atta. I really loved that Dean was able to record this so that I could hear his words in his own voice, especially because this was a work of poetry. I sometimes feel like I don’t know how to read poetry, too much of me wants to just race through it and treat it like a novel, just text getting into my brain to get the story. It feels like poetry has to be eaten differently if that makes any sense.
Black Flamingo tells the story of Michael, a half-Jamaican, half Greek Cypriot boy growing up in London being raised by a single mother. His father is a ghost of a presence in his life, although his father’s family welcomes him into their midst and he has a good show more relationship with his Uncle B. Michael is a gentle boy and as he grows up we get a perspective of what it means to be a gentle mixed race boy growing up in a world where he is often told that he is not enough, not black enough, not greek enough, not straight enough, not hard enough. Michael’s journey of self discovery is lovely to watch. Another reviewer mentioned that they kept waiting for something bad to happen, and I felt myself doing the same. We’ve been raised (if you’re like me) to expect that there must be compulsory tragedy, violence, and pain in all queer stories. We’re just meant to triumphantly rise above it like super humans (which is such bullshit, but that’s a rant for another time).
I loved the unflagging support and love he has in his mother. She doesn’t waiver in making sure that he understands that he is just as he is meant to be and that’s okay. We see her struggling to provide for her two children with limited funds and distant family.
Listen to this in audiobook if you can, it’s fantastic. show less

This is a remarkably beautiful book. A coming of age story that is just as much about discovering cultural identity as it is discovering queer identity, Michael never felt he found his place in his mixed family in addition to being queer. Moving to college, he discovers the local Drag Society and finally finds his way to the person he was always meant to be. Told in verse, the book has a definite lyrical flow. I wish I had this book when I was at a younger age; I think it would have helped me on my own self-discovery journey.

The Black Flamingo is different from any book I have ever read in a few different ways. First, it is written in verse, which I have never experienced in novel form. It still has everything you would expect from a traditional novel - supporting characters, conversations, inner thoughts, and a well-thought out plot. What sets it apart is that it is written like a long poem, complete with unconventional structure and format. This makes it a much quicker read than it appears, because it isn't a full 400 pages. The poetry-like structure also makes it easier to fall in to, being hooked immediately by the language and the flow. Having the novel written in verse makes it more accessible to readers, because it moves quickly and smoothly, without show more any of the dry spots that can sometimes occur in long-form fiction.
Another part about this book that I loved is how complex our main character is. We first meet Michael when he is six, just a little boy with a little boy’s concerns. He has friends who are boys and friends who are girls, but finds that he very much enjoys playing with dolls and playing house. As he grows older, he feels more at ease with female friends, while still maintaining some male friendships. We follow him on his journey through the awkwardness of adolescent years, trying to give a name to the things that he feels makes him different. Then we follow him to college, a new adult, has he struggles with his identity, feeling all at once not black enough, not Greek enough, not queer enough. The struggles Michael faces are struggles we all face, desperate for acceptance while at the same time struggling with our true identity.
The Black Flamingo definitely address some heavy issues, including parental abandonment, homophobia, drug use, and sex. But what the book does amazingly well is addressing these with the seriousness they need without feeling like it weighs the book down. Michaels struggles with these issues feel like a natural progression, like a section of Michael’s story that just logically makes sense. The book is never preachy about these issues, nor does it simply cast it off and refuse to address it. Michael has struggles, just as we all do, and while they may help shape the man he becomes, they are not the only things that define him.
The only regret that I have is that I didn't read this book sooner! I hope that you will learn from my mistakes and get your copy as quickly as you can show less

Content Note: (critical treatment of) racism, homomisia

Plot:
Michael is a Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican, gay, Black boy in England. Figuring out what that means exactly isn’t easy. Throughout high school, he figures things out together with his best friend Daisy. But it isn’t until university where Michael discovers drag for himself that he really finds answers to the question of who he is.

The Black Flamingo is a novel in verse written for a younger audience about identity, race and sexual orientation. In theory, this sounds like a challenging novel to say the least. In practice, it is a wonderfully easy, touching read that challenges in such a way that you barely notice what it’s doing. It is absolutely fantastic.

Read more on my show more blog: https://kalafudra.com/2021/05/13/the-black-flamingo-dean-atta/ show less

“Come out for YOURSELF. Come out to YOURSELF.” Do it for You. These words will resonate with any young person who is struggling with coming out to their world. Read this in less than a day (sleep got in the way!) definitely one to recommend to anyone struggling with their identity. I think I’d like to listen to this one too, to hear the author’s voice shine through.