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The Black Flamingo Book Review

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The Black Flamingo Paperback – May 25, 2021

by Dean Atta (Author)

4.7 1,695 ratings

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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 explores the layers of identity that make us who we are—and allow us to shine.

"In this uplifting coming-of-age novel told in accessible verse, Atta chronicles the growth and glory of Michael Angeli, a mixed-race kid from London, as he navigates his cultural identity as Cypriot and Jamaican as well as his emerging sexuality." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Courage and fierceness abound in this lyrical coming-of-age story…Gripping, unflinching, and unforgettable.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Atta’s story uplifts as it informs and entertains as it affirms.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A triumphant and emotional story about standing up for and embracing oneself that readers of any orientation and ethnicity will relate to.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

"The Black Flamingo presents expertly crafted, stirring poetry to portray an unforgettable teen who lives his liberation and truth in drag." — Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“Winner of the 2020 Stonewall Book Award, this British verse novel by a poet and drag performer offers a welcome exploration of the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality…. [A] memorable YA debut.” — Horn Book Magazine

"Captures its audience from the very first page, with verse poetry that grows and matures alongside its protagonist…. Michael’s internal dissonances are relatable on the most human level, leaving readers in a state of ultimate euphoria when he finally finds family in the Drag Society.” — ALA Booklist

"Unexpected and beautiful." — Buzzfeed

“A novel in verse, Michael’s tale explores how our identities and our discomfort mold us. Winner of the prestigious Stonewall Book Award, Atta’s thick debut novel is a fast read about a young man learning to feel comfortable in his own skin.” — them.

"The Black Flamingo is an essential addition to the canon of queer coming-of-age stories. Dean Atta has gifted us with words that are lyrical, hilarious and intimate. I’m obsessed with this book and you will be too." — Abdi Nazemian, author of Like a Love Story

“Celebratory and passionate, Atta’s bold verse novel calls to its readers to find their own blazing, performative inner truth” — The Guardian

“Inspiring” — The Irish Times

“One of poetry’s greatest modern voices” — Gay Times

“Bold and joyous hymn to self-discover and acceptance” — Bookseller (UK)

“An excellent book to spark discussions, break down barriers, open peoples eyes to other lives” 4* — Independent Book Review

About the Author

Dean Atta’s poems deal with themes of race, gender, and identity. He regularly performs across the UK and internationally and his work has been shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize and appeared on MTV and BET. The Black Flamingo is his debut YA novel. You can find him online at www.deanatta.com.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Balzer + Bray (May 25, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062990306
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062990303
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 - 17 years
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 9 - 12
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #503,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #365 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Prejudice & Racism
- #572 in Teen & Young Adult LGBTQ+ Fiction (Books)
- #22,382 in LGBTQ+ Books

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4.7 1,695 ratings

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leah kelly

Great Read

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2023

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This was a lovely read about finding ones self and the crazy ups and downs that come with that. This was a written style I’d never read before but it’s a new favorite. I love poetry so the mix of poetry into the narrative was wonderful. I think this is a great read for everyone but especially those struggling with self identity. It was also a super quick and easy read

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James R. Gilligan

Out of the shadows and into the spotlight

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2021

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The Black Flamingo is the YA novel I needed to read forty years ago when I was an adolescent struggling with my sexuality. How wonderful it would have been to encounter in the pages of a beautifully written verse novel the character of Michael Angeli (yes, the name is significant), a biracial youth growing up in London with a Greek Cypriot mother and an absent father.

Michael is both attracted to and repelled by boys. He loves his best friend Daisy, but he is not sure whether he loves her “like that.” He gets along better with girls than he does with boys, yet he cannot stop fantasizing about kissing his cute classmate Rowan.

Michael continues to negotiate his shifting identities as he goes off to college. He never feels “enough” to fit in with any social group—until he finds the Drag Society. The rest is a glorious depiction of transformation, self-love, and empowerment. Precisely the kind of message queer youth need to read about.

Dean Atta has written a masterpiece. The images and cadences of his poetry perfectly express the pain and joy of Michael’s maturation. When we want to assure LGBTQ+ teenagers that “it gets better,” we should not simply promise them—we should give them books like The Black Flamingo to read.

7 people found this helpful

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Leigh

A joyful coming of age story- 4.5 stars

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2020

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Ok, so I loved this book! If I had a physical copy of it in front of me I would be hugging it tightly and squealing! It just brought me joy and made me happy. I had to force myself to put the book down so I could get some sleep. I just really enjoyed it; it made me smile and it made me laugh and I felt so light-hearted after finishing it. I was also pleasantly surprised that it was written in verse. I didn’t know this going into it but I enjoyed it. The novel also has an autobiographical tone and when I googled the author, Dean Atta, I realized that this novel is reflective of his upbringing. This is a coming-of-age story told through Michael’s poetry. It reminds me of The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo and I also loved that book so lovers of that book I highly recommend this one.

I thought Michael’s character was so relatable. I couldn’t relate to the exact events of his life but his personality and his storytelling really resonated with me. Michael is a charismatic character so I felt like I was on the journey with him. The relationships in this book are what drive the story forward. Michael has such different relationships with all of the characters so it illustrated him as a multi-dimensional character. Michael goes through the struggle that many teenagers go through from middle school through university. He is on a journey of self-exploration and reconciling his identity. His struggle to fit in with other students clashes with his self-expression. He learned that he cannot be his authentic self while trying to be what others expect of him.

Dean Atta tackles a lot of topics that are very relevant today. He discusses issues such as internalized racism, internalized homophobia, microaggressions, connecting to your ancestry, paternal abandonment (men truly ain’t sh*t), gender identity, and a lot more. Something we see Michael struggle with is reconciling his mixed-race heritage. He feels simultaneously connected and disconnected from both sides of his cultural heritage. His mother is Greek Cypriot and he has the love of her and her family but he feels disconnected because he doesn’t speak the language. His father’s side is Jamaican and his father’s side of the family loves him but he feels disconnected from the place of their origins. Not only does he grapple with his racial/ethnic identity, but his sexual identity as well. His introduction to drag forces him to ask questions about his sexuality as well as his gender expression. He alluded to a really important question that I think all cis-gender people need to ask themselves. What does it mean to be cis and what privileges come with that? We’ve never had to question our gender so it’s important to understand the implications of being cis-gender. Anyway, Michael experiences a lot of internal and external conflict concerning brace and sexuality and I just really enjoyed reading his journey.

Now I do have some criticisms of the novel. Since it covers the first 18 years of Michael’s life, the pacing of the novel is rather quick. I think that because the pacing was so quick a lot of details and moments that I would have like to have known more about were glossed over. A topic or character would be introduced, the context would be explained, and then the book would move on to the next thing. Another criticism I have is that there were some problematic things that I don’t think were entirely resolved. To start, I was concerned when Kieran, a young black student at Michael’s school, was in a fight and he was described as scary and intimidating. This might seem nit-picky but this is a real stereotype for black men and it has very real implications. I wish that was handled better. Also, Daisy, Michael’s best friend made some statements that alluded to her internalized racism, but that was never really addressed. I suppose you could make the argument that things like internalized racism/homophobia can’t be rectified overnight, but I wish Atta addressed this more head-on. Another criticism I have is that one character had an entire monologue where they said that refusing to date black men and only dating black men are both forms of racism because one is internalized racism and the other is fetishizing. However, this same character, who is black, still decided to date the girl who said that she only dates black guys. They don’t address her fetishizing black men and he seems to longer care that her dating preferences are problematic. Also, after Michael and that character (Lenny) gets kicked out of the club (basically for being black), that female character stays in at the club and abandons them. She’s clearly demonstrated that she’s a terrible ally and her relationships with black people are suspect but the author doesn’t dive deeper into this. She still ends up being one of Michael’s friends. I wasn’t very happy with that. Lastly, the writing could be a bit on the nose at times but this didn't bother me much.

With all that said, while there are problematic aspects, I still really enjoyed the book. I was a little sad when it ended because I just wanted it to keep going. I wanted to know what would happen next! It is definitely worth the read.

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2021

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This beautiful book is written in verse. But each poem is stronger than the one before. It taught me about gender not homosexuality.
Mike is still struggling about his sexuality and can't find his fit. He is gay but because he is gay doesn't mean that he fits in anything related to being gay. He is his own person and on several times Mike tells us that he isn't define by his sexuality.
Mike is mixed race, his mother is from Greece and his father is from Jamaica. His father never accepted Mike but the rest of the family do. That is one of the reasons why he can't find who he is. And then he finds drag.
This book is a lesson book about how to be your own person and many of us are struggling trying to find our own voice. The struggles are not necessarily about sexuality...they are about who you want to be and what the outside world wants to be. How many of us have had a comment like this: so you are not going to be a doctor? Why are you studying that? Where will you find a job? Why you aren't going to the university?
Most of us have to explain our decisions to other people and is not their business.
My struggle was with having children. Why don't you have children? Do you like kids? Why don't you adopt? There are so many children in need of a home. Many meant well, but it wasn't their business.
I highly recommend this book "The black flamingo".

3 people found this helpful

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Ozzy

Amazing poetry

Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2023

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A well written book about what it means to be queer and mixed. I love that it was told through poetry though I had not expected that when I ordered the book I was pleasantly surprised when I began to read it. It was a quick read and I loved this book, 5 stars ✨

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2022

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If you love poetry and great story telling, this book is for you. A love poem to The Black Flamingos of the world. I'll be thinking of these characters for years to come

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Sarah R

Black flamingo in a sea of pink

Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2021

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We are all different in some way. We want to be the flamingo who stands out while all secretly wanting to be the one who blends in at the very same time. Mike learns how to shine and finds the group that gives him voice on stage and off. By starting when Mike was very young, I felt a stronger connection to his character since I had been with him through childhood. Strange to read a book so quickly and travel from primary school to college in the blink of an eye while still feeling like ages have passed. Great read. I highly recommend.

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Faye D.

Best book I've read in a long time!

Reviewed in Canada on April 20, 2023

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Delivery. The condition of the book and the book itself was excellent AND I got a deal on the book!!!

Minerva

Calidad precio!

Reviewed in Spain on January 27, 2024

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Es un libro que habla de muchos temas importantes que quizás no tienen demasiada visibilidad. Está escrito en una narrativa en verso. El autor cuenta la historia desde que era un niño hasta que alcanza la edad adulta y se ve el proceso de cambio. Es increible como comienza a tomar sus propias decisiones.
He leido que hay gente que no está de acuerdo en que este libro se le de a niños, pero al final que sean niños no significa que no puedan entender situaciones y esto les puede llegar a abrir sus mentes. Pero es un tema con controversia, siempre los adultos tendemos a decidir que es realmente bueno para ellos cuando no pensamos como ellos, un día lo hicimos pero ya no.
P.D: Se ha convertido en uno de mis libros favoritos. Es muy bonito ver como encuentra su identidad por el camino y se hace libre.

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Ana Carolina Simões

Perfeito, amei demais!

Reviewed in Brazil on February 22, 2021

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Simplesmente amei tudo sobre esse livro!
O design é lindíssimo e o conteúdo perfeito!

One person found this helpful

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Aditya

Soooo beautifulllll!!!!

Reviewed in India on February 23, 2023

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Oh yes!! Loved each and every word of this book. It's just so neatly written and the characters are just over the top!

Angélica Obregón Ochoa

Buen regalo

Reviewed in Mexico on January 19, 2021

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Fue un regalo de cumpleaños para mi hermano, le gustó mucho. Le sorprendió que está escrito en formato poesía pero al parecer terminó por ser una grata sorpresa. Lo terminó rápido, lo que indica que lo atrapó.

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The Black Flamingo Paperback – May 25, 2021

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