Don't Be a Drag

March 15, 2024
An anxious teen comes into her own through the art of drag. Briar is leaving Texas to spend the summer in New York City with her brother, Beau, aka drag queen Bow Regard. At a show, she meets--and clashes with--Selene, Beau's infuriatingly attractive but arrogant friend, who performs as drag king Spencer Read. Briar decides to try to beat Spencer in an upcoming competition, and so begins her own drag journey. Along the way, she'll flirt with Spencer, befriend fellow drag king Achilles, bicker with her brother, and ultimately gain much-needed confidence both on and off the stage. Briar's mental health journey is at the core of the story, which accurately and unflinchingly depicts her experiences with anxiety and depression. Neither drag nor her flirtation with Spencer is able to magically cure her, but the community she finds in New York leads her to agree to pursue therapy and medication, offering hope for her future. The endearing Briar is realistically drawn, and the supporting characters are all lovable in their own ways, from cosplaying Achilles and sassy but sincere Beau to Briar's compassionate and down-to-earth mentor, Jacklynn Hyde. A host of queer identities are depicted; Briar is bisexual, and her found family includes a nonbinary person and a trans woman. Main characters present white. A joyful celebration of identity and community. (author's note, resources) (Fiction. 14-18)

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April 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 Briar's anxiety often has her imagining catastrophe from the moment she wakes up, and when it gets really bad, her older brother, Beau, flies her to N.Y.C. from Texas for a change of scenery for the summer. Briar gamely tries to put aside her dark thoughts and enjoy the glamour and exuberance of Beau's world: performing drag as Bow Regard at The Gallery. Briar finds her place within the Gallery family, but not without growing pains. She makes fast friends with Achilles, an autistic barback and sometimes performer; meanwhile, Beau's drag son, Spencer Read, is both an infuriating jerk and undeniably alluring. Briar, Achilles, and Spencer are pitted against one another when Briar reluctantly agrees to enter a drag king competition with a $5,000 grand prize. While she dives headlong into a world she'd only previously seen on TV, Briar struggles to keep anxiety and depression at bay. Quinlan's portrayal of Briar's mental health struggles may strike a chord with some readers, and their description of drag competitions will enthrall Drag Race fans.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 14, 2024

Gr 10 Up-After a suicidal episode, Briar's brother Beau (also known as drag queen Bow Regard) has flown her to NYC for the summer. She quickly makes an enemy in hot-headed Selene, who performs as drag king Spencer, and enters a drag competition as a rival. In a predictable trajectory, Selene drops the abrasive act, shares that her ex died by suicide, and becomes vulnerable and sweet towards Briar as their romance blossoms. Briar has anxiety about crowds, transportation, and routine disruption, as well as severe episodic depression. Her parents have allowed her to miss a month of school due to anxiety and friends are constantly noticing her discomfort and handing her fidget spinners and ice cubes unprompted, or offering sleepovers so she never has to be alone. Major plot drivers are Briar's lapses in and out of suicidality; all the characters regularly drop what they are doing to support and rally around her, which unfortunately reads as an unrealistic portrayal of support for those struggling with chronic mental health issues. While the idea of a drag queen teen romance is innovative, the writing lacks engagement and intrigue, the enemies-to-lovers plot is predictable and goes on too long, and the message about mental health ultimately may create false expectations and glorify avoidance. VERDICT This title can be skipped in favor of more engaging queer romance and more balanced representation of mental health journeys.-Mallory Weber

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