Martin McLean, Middle School Queen by Alyssa Zaczek (review)

Zaczek, Alyssa Martin McLean, Middle School Queen. Sterling, 2020 [272p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4549-3570-4 $16.95 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4549-3571-1 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-7

On the first day of seventh grade, Martin McLean panics when a class bully calls him "McLean the Queen." Martin is afraid of being labeled gay by unaccepting classmates, but he's even more afraid of the thought that he actually might be gay. He doesn't want to talk to his single Cuban-American mother, but he finds support from his Tío Billy, and when Tío Billy takes him to a drag show, Martin is entranced. Martin's journey to becoming a drag queen is also a journey towards self-acceptance that is sweet and glittery. Friends and family are steady with humor and love, portrayed in scenes like the final school-bus sprint across town where members of the math team do Martin's makeup so he can arrive in the nick of time for his (or rather, Ms. Lottie León's) drag competition. While Martin's emotional outbursts are sometimes incongruent with the situation and dialogue is sometimes stiff, the pacing builds steadily towards the finale. This coming of age novel reminds readers that identity doesn't have to fall into place all at once.