Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens

fun little read. i loved the mc's development from an annoying bitch to a respectable bitch. and gordon. gordon. i was reading for him and him only. i fucking loved the dynamic between him and clark. i wish his story had you know, more of a conclusion to it or maybe a spin-off about him. charles too, his story kinda faded out towards the end.

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zohannah's review against another edition

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funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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delz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Kings, Queens, and in-Betweens is exactly what it is titled. There are drag kings, drag queens, and lots of other representation in this book. Nima is 17, living with her dad & her mother is MIA. Nima has two friends, Charles, and Ginny who she is infatuated with unfortunately she is not into girls. Nima’s dad is a real hippie so their relationship is very laid back and he is super understanding. Nima works for a close family friend, Sue, who was also Nima’s moms best friend. There’s also Gordon who’s kind of an enigma, since he likes to bully Charles and Nima but Nima keeps reaching out because she knows there is something more to Gordon. Every year a kind of fair comes through their town and that’s when the story gets interesting. Nima begins to explore her identity, she questions the status of her life and the people closest to her. She discovers some pretty big secrets and she befriends the most amazing drag queen, Deirdre, or Dee Dee, who quite literally takes her under her wing. This was a really sweet coming of age story with lots of heartache, romance, and friendship.

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someonelikeblue's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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space_bandit's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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botanicalprofanity's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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half_bloodreader's review against another edition

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DNF - 64%

Contemporary YA
Biracial sapphic girl
Written in 1st person, past tense.

"something else might be waiting for me on the other side. Something that might color me outside the lines and flow into other parts of my life."

Nima's mother suddenly left 1,5 years ago. A traumatic event that led to big feelings of inadequacy and self-consciousness, like she wasn't interesting enough to make her mother stay.

Wanting to change, she starts with the local festival, in part influenced by being rejected, in part by wanting to fill a hole inside, and in part by her mother:
"I thought about all the times she tried to drag us to see the smaller, stranger acts at the south end of the festival and how both Dad and I looked at her skeptically before leading her back to the main tent for the usual circus antics. Maybe she’d left us because we’d held her back. Maybe she needed to see something beyond our familiar, small world."

There, she watches drag for the first time, feels an intense pull towards an older girl she knows nothing about ( it's reciprocal for some reason) and meets Deidre, who's like a glittery fairy godmother and the only character I love. She's just perfect.

Deidre reminded me of how there's always welcoming people at events and communities. Of how I've been welcomed and welcomed others in return to the communities I belong.

I really wanted to finish this and see more drag and Deidre, but the characters just kept pumping my blood pressure. What was amusing at the very beginning, became second-hand embarrassment (so much), exasperation and disgust (if you know, you know).

They're all a terrible salad forced upon us, like someone just picked the worst flavoured ingredients. From mc "bad decisions" Nima, to her "if you won't cheat on my husband with me I'm leaving for greener pastures" mother, her best friend "spineless" Charles, "I kiss people I've rejected when they're vulnerable but I'm not gay" Ginny and Gordon, who's questioning his gender and for that hardship alongside his awful father gets some understanding from my part, but his queerphobia is still not a pill I'm ready to swallow, sorry, not when it hurts others.

I'm not a pearl clutching "it has underage drinking, how dare" reader, but even I was annoyed about how easily minors kept getting alcohol. Especially when it was in queer spaces, perpetuating the idea that lgbtq+ people corrupt minors!! This coming from someone whose country's legal age for drinking is 18 (legal adult age for everything really).

Cw: underage drinking

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noyastan's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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