The Black Flamingo: Dean Atta

Review Celebratory and passionate, Atta's bold verse novel calls to its readers to find their own blazing, performative inner truth ― The Guardian The short lines give Michael's story an epigrammatic quality and an urgent pace that is deeply involving. A compact hardback edition, it has been beautifully produced by Hodder ― Financial Times The heartwarming coming-of-age YA novel ― Bustle A novel told in beautifully-written verse...an uplifting coming of age story ― The Independent Beautiful...a delight to read, whatever your age ― The Independent This incredibly raw debut novel excellently captures internal struggles of growing up and learning to find your voice. Written in verse, this is one that is sure to make you shed a tear. ― Grazia A powerful and revealing young adult novel...bold, tender and full of blossoming moments of heartache and joy ― Attitude Studded with poetry and illustrations, The Black Flamingo shows us what life can look like when we begin to live in bold color. ― Buzzfeed One of poetry's greatest modern voices...The Black Flamingo is a powerful coming-of-age story about finding who you are, all told in beautifully-written verse...with an overarching message of embracing who you are and showing your true colours in the world that often imposes mundanity, it's a book that anyone can appreciate ― Gay Times A force to be reckoned with, and a voice that demands to be heard ― PRIDE magazine A deeply moving story of love, self belief and identity. It is a wonderfully honest and moving read - perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Sarah Crossan. told through beautifully constructed poetry, this is the coming of age story of Michael, a mixed race gay teen. Readers will be completely absorbed by Michael's personal journey, and will laugh, cry and cheer for him ― The Scotsman Ultimately inspiring ― Irish Times A moving coming-of-age story, written with heart and panache ― Irish Independent Beautifully constructed poetry ― Scottish Booktrust A gorgeous and moving first person exploration of sexuality, poetry, blackness and love...a nuanced piece of freeform verse that oozes with warmth, insight and forgiveness...a beautiful piece of work, filled with love and insight and words I would have longed to read as a teenager/20-something and still to hear them again as an adult ― The Queer Review Readers won't be left disappointed ― The Queerness Uplifting and dazzlingly unique ― LoveReading4Kids Big hearted and dizzyingly flamboyant ― Achuka Beautiful, sharp, bold and utterly original ― Book Riot An excellent book to spark discussions, break down barriers, open peoples eyes to other lives ― Independent Book Review One of our top reads this year ― Just Imagine This book felt both quiet and ferociously loud and proud at the same time, tackling deep emotions and giving me frequent goosebumps. It tackles toxic masculinity, internalised homophobia and racism with thought-provoking, phenomenal writing that utterly entranced me ― Suffolk Libraries A fierce, poetic, moving coming-of-age story...There's plenty of fabulous, rousing scenes to inspire, amuse and move. Lyrical, direct, honest and witty, The Black Flamingo is a breath-taking exploration of race, identity, sexuality and gender ― Pen & inc. A masterful, evocative, imperative snapshot of our time - who we are today, and everything we could be, if we gave ourselves a try...Emotionally, there are plenty of gut punches, but there's also warmth, wisdom, and hope ― Justin Myers, The Strategist UK An important, necessary and hopeful book that should be enjoyed by readers of all ages ― Wasafiri Clever and unique ― Book Clubs In Schools If you're going to read one verse novel this year, this decade, or in your life, make it this one. You won't regret it. ― Vee Bookish Blog A classic in the making ― Bookworms Anonymous Blog I adore this book...The world needs to know more about Michael. We need books like this to spread acceptance, inclusivity, diver