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Tanya Boteju

Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens Hardcover – May 7, 2019

by Tanya Boteju (Author)

4.6 88 ratings

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“Poignant and important.” —Refinery29
“A bright and sparkly celebration of love and self-acceptance.” —Kirkus Reviews

Judy Blume meets RuPaul’s Drag Race in this funny, feel-good debut novel about a queer teen who navigates questions of identity and self-acceptance while discovering the magical world of drag.

Perpetually awkward Nima Kumara-Clark is bored with her insular community of Bridgeton, in love with her straight girlfriend, and trying to move past her mother’s unexpected departure. After a bewildering encounter at a local festival, Nima finds herself suddenly immersed in the drag scene on the other side of town.

Macho drag kings, magical queens, new love interests, and surprising allies propel Nima both painfully and hilariously closer to a self she never knew she could be—one that can confidently express and accept love. But she’ll have to learn to accept lost love to get there.

From debut author Tanya Boteju comes a poignant, laugh-out-loud tale of acceptance, self-expression, and the colorful worlds that await when we’re brave enough to look.

Reading age

12 years and up
Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Grade level

7 - 9
Lexile measure

880L
Dimensions

5.5 x 1.2 x 8.25 inches
Publisher

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date

May 7, 2019
ISBN-10

1534430652
ISBN-13

978-1534430655
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Alok Vaid-Menon
1,533
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107 offers from $2.46
Mason Deaver
1,904
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86 offers from $2.98
George M. Johnson
3,428
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Teachers' pick
87 offers from $8.16
Aiden Thomas
4,393
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108 offers from $2.54
Tanya Boteju
45
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66 offers from $1.68
Jake Hall
240
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27 offers from $9.65

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Nima is a biracial shy, nerdy lesbian who uncharacteristically breaks into the drag scene after getting a glimpse of a queens and kings sideshow at a summer festival. Recently wounded by a crush's rejection, Nima feels both terrified and determined when there is an obvious mutual attraction with the drag king star. A charismatic queen named Deidre guides Nima to the understanding that unconditional love is possible and labels are unnecessary. Along the way, a colorful cast of LGBTQIA+ characters welcome and/or perplex Nima, but they always help her grow her self-confidence. At times these characters are so numerous, it's difficult to distinguish them all, but a little backtracking or note-taking is worth the effort. Although the action is minimal, this is an excellent character study and a primer for drag shows. VERDICT This successful presentation of the highs, lows, and midways of a teen finding her place in queer culture will appeal to readers who appreciate a character-driven light romance.-Elaine Fultz, Madison Jr. Sr. High School, Middletown, OHα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

A Spring 2019 Indies Introduce Selection
A 2020 ALA Rainbow List Selection
A Summer 2019 Top Ten Kids’ Indie Next Pick
Book Riot’s 2019 YA Books about Queer Girls to Look Out For
Book Riot’s 25 Awesome 2019 Queer YA Books
B&N Teen Blog’s 48 Best YA Books of May

“Poignant and important” —Refinery29

“A story filled with glitter, feather boas, lip-syncing and dancing, where gender identity is flexible and performance is the embodiment of joy.” —BookPage, starred review

“A bright and sparkly celebration of love and self-acceptance.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A successful presentation of the highs, lows, and midways of a teen finding her place in queer culture.” —School Library Journal

“Satisfying . . . Who doesn’t need a glamorous drag queen fairy godmother?” —Publishers Weekly

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (May 7, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1534430652
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1534430655
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 years and up
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 880L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,582,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,354 in Teen & Young Adult LGBTQ+ Romance
- #1,629 in Teen & Young Adult LGBTQ+ Fiction (Books)
- #7,126 in Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Customer Reviews:
4.6 88 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

88 global ratings

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Emma Rose

An eye opening read to a whole to world!

Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2020

Verified Purchase

The characters within this story were not only well developed but they were relatable as well. The bit of humor, in my opinion made the characters more realistic and allowed me to picture them even in the real world. The book provided an eye opening experience to a whole new world of the LGBTQ+ community. One of the quotes within the book helped me better understand why individuals participate and become drag queens as it makes them feel more like themselves than they ever thought possible. It warmed my heart to know that these communities exist. I also had a bit of sorrow and anguish for the hardships that they have gone through and loved the storyline of getting from one place where you thought you were doing okay to something so great you couldn't even imagine! I would definitely recommend this book to everyone as I think it helps understand that community better and want to just spread the love to them

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Excellent YA Read: Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2021

Verified Purchase

This took me by surprise. KINGS, QUEENS, AND IN-BETWEENS shows dynamic and challenging circumstances of 17-year-old Nima. She's trying to figure out life without her mom, who had let suddenly, and pining after a straight girl, Jenny. As if her life isn't confusing enough, her chance attendance at a festival, meeting Deidre, and her encounter with Winnow changes everything.

Whether you're a king, queen, other, or in-between, I recommend reading Boteju's work of fiction. Everyone can relate to Nima's teenage feelings of liking someone, stupid things we do around that individual, and trying to figure out what to do.

One person found this helpful

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Faith

great trans YA novel

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is a fun read which has a number of engaging characters and fun "turns of phrase".

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Jen Bunny Bear

Finding yourself & coming into your own

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2020

Verified Purchase

It was so beyond coming-of-age book, much more a coming-into-self story, created & crafted marvelously!! A powerful expansive redefinition of who, how & what a woman is!

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aubagne

Coming of age in confusion

Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

Read this for book group--young adult fiction is not in my normal range. I appreciated the approach to (non) labeling even as I got a little squeamish over all the sexual awakening. She's a minor. Is this kiddie porn for some of the readers?

2 people found this helpful

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Alexa Telfer

Inspiring

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2021

Verified Purchase

Fun

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Love this book

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2023

This book! Omg this book it was so good. A young lesbian of color discovering drag for the first time. It also showed so much love and found family in the LGBTQIA2S+ COMMUNITY. It had unrequited love, it had representation from all walks of the community. It had unconditional love and support of a parent. It shows heartbreak, loss,anger, finding yourself, it even had a character dealing with early gender identity. This book is a banned book. It is written by a lesbian drag king of color and it is absolutely marvelous. Nima is a great first view into the world and family of drag. DeeDee is her drag mother who teaches her the keys to performing while also being a friend helping Nima through a really rough time in her life. This book is written with so much love compassion and empathy for others. It was quick paced and a genuine pleasure to read I highly recommend this book for anyone to read. It did leave one unanswered question but I think it meant more to leave it open. Life doesn't always tie up in a neat little package. Either way it was an 11 out of ten and 5 stars. I love this book.

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2019

So I almost got an ARC of this book, but then I missed out due to my inability to prepare for a vacation and make sure I download everything in time. Please forgive me publishers! I still got a copy of the book and I am glad I did.

When I first came out as a lesbian when I was like 12. I learned about drag kings on Youtube. There was one king, Rider Gently, that just amazed me in so many ways. There was no way I was ever going to see him perform, but I watched every video uploaded dozens of times. He once even went in a dress and had a fight with wig snatching with a queen. I was OBSESSED. So Nima instantly falling in love with drag hit so close to home that I just immediately liked her. She was me at 12, but also so much more.

This book was just fantastic in so many ways. The cast was diverse in a way that felt real and didn't feel like an author or publisher checking boxes. There was a drag queen, who seemed like she was also a trans woman (HELL YEAH!) who was by far the star of the show. She was brave, she was confident, she was bold, but most of all, she was kind. She took people under her wing and I just loved her more than anyone else in the book. I would love another book that explained her and her backstory. I need more of her. I teared up when she bestowed a special present on Nima at the end of the book. She was the drag mom and older sister (a lot of trans people I know refer to someone who is older in trans years as an older sibling, no matter what the actual age of the person is. I have no idea why, but it is also really comforting to have family that just gets it) I always needed in my life, but never got to have.

There was a LOT of emotion and drama in the book, but it didn't feel like it was over the top or all that crazy. It seemed possible that everything in this book happened (though if I am being honest, it is kind of weird that a 35 year old woman was hanging out alone with a 17 year old girl and that the 17 year old girl was actually getting with 21+ people throughout the book). So ignoring the issues of ages of people, I loved that this book helped to show that people were complex. That someone who was a jerk might be experiencing trauma and doubt, that if they actually try and deal with their stuff they may get better. There was a character that appeared male, but was having serious body dysphoria. Nothing is decided in the book or revealed, but there was just so much pain from his character. It hurt my heart so much. I loved how part of his plot was meeting a drag queen that was into women. The amount of diversity was just what I always wanted in a book. It was just what my teen years felt like. I was pretty much the only out person, I was for sure the only out trans person in my school. Then I would go to True Colors (HUGE queer youth conference. They saved my life) and be surrounded by so much queerness that I would be overwhelmed, fall in love with every person I saw, and just see the world as this drastically different place. Nima's entrance into the drag world was everything. I felt at home in this book.

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

sharkravingmad

Wish I had this book when I was a teen

Reviewed in Canada on July 7, 2020

Verified Purchase

If I'd had this book when I was 17, or had a Diedre in my life (!), I would have figured myself out much sooner. This book should be added to high school curricula.

Amazon Customer

Incredible!!

Reviewed in Canada on May 19, 2019

Verified Purchase

I loved this book so much I can't even form word yet!!! I read it cover to cover in one sitting and it filled my with so many emotions.

One person found this helpful

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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

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About the author

Tanya Boteju

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