The highly anticipated second novel from Carnegie shortlisted Dean Atta will not disappoint fans of his unmistakeably authentic and honest #ownvoices debut verse novel The Black Flamingo. Once again drawing on his own experiences, in this case of moving from London to Scotland, this novel revolves around Mack, who is forced to accompany his film maker father and sole parent to Glasgow, leaving behind his slowly blossoming relationship with his first love Karim, a basketball star and the hottest boy in school. Mack is a true romantic, openly and unashamedly gay but with low self esteem and high levels of anxiety. He doubts his busy father’s feelings for him and wonders if his two lifelong friends like him for more than his home cinema. K is very much still in the closet and can offer little reassurance especially at a distance. Meeting Finlay, the super confident gay star of his Dad’s film, and feeling an immediate connection creates a real moral dilemma for Mack.
This is a wonderfully multi-layered depiction of complex characters and the verse novel format shows again that it is so well suited to capturing emotions. There is not just a beautiful economy of language but the spacing and layout on the page recreates the drama of each moment perfectly. There is warmth, humour, a real love for Glasgow and a positive celebration of love, diversity and inclusivity in this memorable and hugely engaging novel. A real must have for library collections.
From the Stonewall Award-winning author of The Black Flamingo comes a romantic coming-of-age novel in verse about pursuing the love we know we deserve. The ideal next read for fans of Kacen Callender, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Becky Albertalli.Mack is a hopeless romanticlikely a hazard of growing up on film sets thanks to his fathers job. He has had a crush on Karim for as long as he can remember, and he cant believe it when gorgeous, popular Karim seems into him too.But when Macks father takes on a new directing project in Scotland, Mack has to move away, and he soon discovers how painful long-distance relationships can be. Its awful to be so far away from Karim, and its made worse by the fact that Karim can be so hard to read.Then Mack meets actor Finlay on set, and the world turns upside down again. Fin seems fearless, and his confidence could just be infectious.Award-winning author Dean Atta crafts a beautifully nuanced and revelatory story in verse about the exquisite highs and lows of first love and self-discovery.