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The Black Flamingo

by Dean Atta

Narrator Dean Atta

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Length 3 hours 40 minutes

Language English

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Bookseller recommendation

“Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London who goes to college and can't find a place to fit in, until he discovers The Drag Society. This story, told in poetry, is full of stunning language and the joy of finding your place in the world.”
— Ann • Blue Willow Bookshop

Bookseller recommendation

“This beautiful novel in verse has a tender, loving lens on the toxic directions we're sometimes forced to grow in before we are able to come into our own. In that way, it reminds me of Moonlight. The epilogue is beautiful and stands on its own—I want to print it out and pin it up in every middle and high school.”
— Miriasha • Phoenix Books

Summary
About the author
About the narrator

Stonewall Book Award Winner * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time

A fierce coming-of-age verse novel about identity and the power of drag, from acclaimed poet and performer Dean Atta. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Jason Reynolds, and Kacen Callender.

Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he’s navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican—but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough.

As he gets older, Michael’s coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs—and the Black Flamingo is born.

Told with raw honesty, insight, and lyricism, this debut explores the layers of identity that make us who we are—and allow us to shine.

""In this uplifting coming-of-age novel told in accessible verse, Atta chronicles the growth and glory of Michael Angeli, a mixed-race kid from London, as he navigates his cultural identity as Cypriot and Jamaican as well as his emerging sexuality."" (Publishers Weekly, ""An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List"")

LGBTQIA+ Fiction YA Fiction

Dean Atta’s poems deal with themes of race, gender, and identity. He regularly performs across the UK and internationally, and his work has been shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize and has appeared on MTV and BET. The Black Flamingo, his debut YA novel, won the Stonewall Award. He is also the author of Only on the Weekends. You can find him online at deanatta.com.