The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta (#79 in 2020)
🦩Michael is half Jamaican and half Greek Cypriot. He feels misplaced when it comes to his mixed-race background-- he's not black enough for his Jamaican family and not Greek enough for his white family. On top of that, Michael knows that preferences for Barbies and his attraction to the boys at school make him stand out even more. The Black Flamingo follows Michael on his journey from childhood to adulthood as he finds his confidence and his pink feathers.
🦩At first glance you'd assume this book is about a young boy growing into a young adult and exploring his sexuality ultimately developing into a confident gay man who loves a lil drag, but it's so much more. It's a coming of age story including Michael's conscious perception of himself and the world around him.
🦩The Black Flamingo is told entirely in verse, which I think makes book much more approachable to young adults.
🦩I think what I loved most about this book was the language journey that I was taken on as a reader. I started out with these poems from a childlike voice and was gradually introduced to these poems with incredible depth. This is honestly how it feels to be a teacher. I start out every school year with students who lack the comprehension to dig deep into literature and read mostly at the surface level, but towards the end of the school year I notice them picking up on subtleties that I know they would have missed at the start of the school year. The same goes for the content in The Black Flamingo; at the first the poems are basic in their storytelling and usage of literary elements are few and far between. Towards the end, Atta is using enjambment and double entendre like the full-fledged poet the protagonist, Michael, intended to become. 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🦩Thanks, again, my friend @readwithjoshie for recommending this book so highly! #bookstagrammademedoit
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