The Black Flamingo

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This book is all about identity and self-discovery. Why wasn’t belonging simple for Michael? How did he find the freedom to be himself? People could think about how identities are really complex and how things like racism make it even more difficult of people to explore their identity safely. LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. Melanism can help birds blend into their surroundings, making it a useful anti-predator defence for some species. But since adult flamingos don’t have many natural predators in the region, this bird’s plumage could be more bane than boon: Too much pigment makes feathers brittle and prone to breakage.

He goes in depth into his thoughts and feelings surrounding his family, his heritage of being part-Greek Cypriot and part-Jamaican, his heartache over his absentee father, his discovery of his sexuality and many other topical issues. Upon conclusion, I know that was the correct decision for me. I definitely recommend the audiobook for other readers who may be apprehensive about a novel written in verse. I did really enjoy this book though - Michael's story was compelling and beautifully told. I loved watching him grow and develop throughout. This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. Flamingoes can migrate long distances, so it’s “definitely possible,” that the Cyprus sighting is actually the same bird, says Felicity Arengo, a conservationist at the American Museum of Natural History.I could tell that the sentence structure was different from a regular novel but I think I would have had more of an impact if I had read it (especially considering the regular book apparently had a pictures and other visual formats to enhance the story). Also, talk about an important piece of the YA contemporary canon. It's important to have queer tales that focus on all aspects of the teen experience, and this was a wonderful piece of the pie. It was uplifting, lighthearted, filled with positive and loving family relationships, and full of the usual bits of teen life: am I liked? am I loved? who am I? who do I want to be? do I be what my family is, do I follow their path? can I do both? do I need to choose now? Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - I’m not the best person to review the reflection of the drag aspect but I related to it a lot as a performer and I don’t know.... a person. When he gets to university, he’s ready for freedom, but he still feels out of place until he finds The Drag Society. It is there he learns exactly how amazing and fierce he is, how much the only person’s opinion that matters is his own, and that when you love yourself it makes it easier to love others and be loved by them.

Winner of the 2020 Stonewall Book Award, this British verse novel by a poet and drag performer offers a welcome exploration of the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality…[A] memorable YA debut." - Horn Book Magazine My only complaint about this book and the reason that I couldn't give this book a 5 star rating is the writing style. Before you say anything, it's not a bad writing style by any means. It actually is an amazingly written book, but it's told in verse and I tend to feel a bit disconnected because of that with these type of stories. I just feel that I don't get the full picture, the full story because of it. It can be very lyrical and I just find it too hard sometimes to actually connect with anything happening in the story.

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. I loved how this book challenged things as "ordinary" and showed us how Michael embraced his uniqueness. We are all unique, no person is the same, but because we want to fit in this world we tend to hide that and just be "ordinary". I loved how this book challenged this idea and showed us why is good to be your own unique person.

This story follows Michael, a mixed race, gay boy growing up in the UK. The narrative follows him from the very beginning, up through his time at University; although the bulk of it does take place during his teen years. Everyone should make a pledge to support others as they explore their identity and think about how they’ll do it (for example, they could pledge to listen without judging). Everyone should make a second pledge to support themselves as they explore their identity (for example, they could pledge to remind themselves that questioning who you are is normal and OK). People could write their pledge down, say it out loud, or just think about it quietly. Michael is half-Jamaican and half-Greek, and growing up in London during the 2010s. His Greek mother raises him and his half-sister surrounded with love and expectations. (One of the most important things to pull from Michael's earlier life is the importance of his mother's presence in his life—I loved its realness and its love.)

I love the front cover and illustrations by Anshika Khullar! What do you feel they bring to Michael’s story? Can you remember how you felt when you saw the front cover of your book for the first time? What an incredible, emotional, powerful book. This is a novel-in-verse interspersed with poems Michael writes, but it doesn’t read any differently than a traditional novel.