Publishers Weekly
03/28/2022
In an emotional free verse novel, Atta (The Black Flamingo) follows the tumultuous love life of a gay Londoner of Nigerian Yoruba descent. Nearly 16 and self-conscious about the fatphobia he experiences, narrator Mackintosh “Mack” Fadayomi is shocked when his schoolmate, Black British basketball star Karim, of Egyptian descent, expresses romantic interest in Mack. Karim is closeted, preferring “to do things quietly,” and his inconsistent attention confuses Mack. Just as they start finding a balance, Mack’s film director father announces a temporary move for the family, to Glasgow. There, Mack meets the white Scottish star of his dad’s project, transmasculine teen Finlay, whose flirting (in a voice conveyed in Scottish dialect) excites him. While Mack and Karim struggle to make their way forward, Mack justifies a growing emotional affair with Fin, until forced to make a decision. Prose-like verse traces a slow-burn love triangle that avoids excusing Mack’s actions, centering a protagonist whose emotional arc unpacks themes of young love and self-acceptance alongside intersections of body image, gender identity, race, and sexuality. Ages 14–up. (May)
From the Publisher
Stonewall winner Atta’s novel in verse is an exquisite and detailed look at friendship, compromises, family, and love, deftly capturing Mack’s insecurities in a voice authentic to the high-school experience…. The vivid, multifaceted depiction of teenage emotions makes this highly recommended.” — Booklist (starred review)
“An emotional free verse novel… traces a slow-burn love triangle that avoids excusing Mack’s actions, centering a protagonist whose emotional arc unpacks themes of young love and self-acceptance alongside intersections of body image, gender identity, race, and sexuality.” — Publishers Weekly
“This slow-burn novel in verse is a raw, real, deep dive into the messy internal world of its relatable main character. Readers will become attached to Mack and will want to know exactly how this love triangle plays out.” — School Library Journal
“Raw beauty and honesty are the verse novel’s greatest strengths.” — Kirkus Reviews
PRAISE FOR THE BLACK FLAMINGO: “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, Stonewall Honor-winning author of Like a Love Story
them
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.
Horn Book Magazine
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.”
Shelf Awareness (starred review)
The Black Flamingo presents expertly crafted, stirring poetry to portray an unforgettable teen who lives his liberation and truth in drag."
Buzzfeed
"Unexpected and beautiful."
ALA Booklist
"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.”
Booklist (starred review)
Stonewall winner Atta’s novel in verse is an exquisite and detailed look at friendship, compromises, family, and love, deftly capturing Mack’s insecurities in a voice authentic to the high-school experience…. The vivid, multifaceted depiction of teenage emotions makes this highly recommended.
Abdi Nazemian
"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."
School Library Journal
08/19/2022
Gr 9 Up—Mackintosh "Mack" Fadayomi is the neglected, gay, Nigerian son of a famous film director. With a home movie theater, all the latest game consoles, and unlimited good snacks, his life is the envy of all of his friends. But with his father always gone, and his friends always taking from him, naturally he feels alone and taken advantage of. He ventures out of his bubble and takes Food Tech at school, where he befriends Maz, the cousin of his hopeless crush, K, the star of the basketball team. K, as it turns out, is also gay and very closeted. Their romance begins, which, from Mack's side, is incredibly confusing and insecure. He struggles with body image, jealousy, and feeling "hidden" by K's being closeted. More challenges hit their relationship when Mack's dad moves them to Scotland and Mack enters a maybe more than friendship with Finn, the trans lead actor in his dad's film. This lengthy, slow-burn novel in verse is a raw, real, deep dive into the messy internal world of its relatable main character. Readers will become attached to Mack and will want to know exactly how this love triangle plays out. Nigerian, Yoruba, and Scottish cultural influences appear throughout. VERDICT Purchase where realistic fiction and novels in verse are popular.—Kayla Fontaine
Kirkus Reviews
2022-03-16
Friendship, family, and film collide in this queer love triangle.
Life in London is star-studded for 16-year-old Mack, a Black British boy of Nigerian Yoruba descent, son of film director Tejumola Fadayomi. Mack gets asked on the red carpet about his rumored relationship with Finlay, the leading actor in his father’s latest film. The book then moves back in time 18 months to when Mack gets to know Maz, a girl at school. They become fast friends, bonding over food and the shared loss of their mums to cancer. Mack sees this as an opportunity to get close to Maz’s cousin Karim, a popular athlete of Egyptian descent. They start dating but are forced to hide their relationship; K isn’t out to his basketball team. Mack’s poetry, text messages, and intimate conversations give insight into his insecurities, from wearing makeup in public to being the subject of fat jokes in the press: This raw beauty and honesty are the verse novel’s greatest strengths. When Mack and his dad temporarily move to Scotland to shoot a movie, he can only see K on the weekends. Their relationship is further tested when Mack actually begins to fall for Scottish Fin, who is White, trans, and has 2 million social media followers. Once this central tension is set, the novel, that includes diverse cultural influences in the dialogue, builds slowly and ends abruptly.(This review has been updatedfor factual accuracy.)
Emotionally frank scenes from a romance and the cutting-room floor. (Verse novel. 13-18)
