It's the summer before senior year, and Nima has been "wizened by two major disappointments": her mom left inexplicably over a year ago and the straight friend she's crushed on for three years doesn't want to be her girlfriend. Wanting to escape the monotony of what life has become, she seeks a way to prove she's not just "simple, awkward, humdrum Nima," but instead a person worthy of "framing and displaying on someone's wall."
When she dares to attend a drag show, Nima is befriended by the "gregarious and beautiful" drag queen Deidre, a "glittering being" with a "thrilling laugh" who convinces Nima she can add excitement to her "sad clown existence." But things continue to backfire: her best friend stops speaking to her after she pushes him into an embarrassing situation; she tries too hard to impress a new girl; and she receives a terse note from her mom requesting they meet. Nima is coping with so many heartaches, she believes her heart is "starting to develop some pretty solid calluses." But she welcomes Deidre's uplifting guidance and dazzling bravada, eager to find the courage to face life's madness and even command the drag stage herself.
At once comedic and heartrending, Tanya Boteju's Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens gracefully explores the fluidity of gender, sexuality and the teenage self. Nima's spirited journey to confidence should resonate with readers who have grappled with thoughts of inadequacy or low self-esteem. Told in Nima's endearingly witty voice, Boteju's debut celebrates the in-between in all of us, and the self-assurance that can be gained through self-expression. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer