Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens

Tanya Boteju — 2019

“Poignant and important.” —Refinery29 Judy Blume meets RuPaul’s Drag Race in this funny, feel-good debut novel about a queer teen who navigates questions of identity and self-acceptance while discovering the magical world of drag. Perpetually awkward Nima Kumara-Clark is bored with her insular community of Bridgeton, in love with her straight girlfriend, and trying to move past her mother’s unexpected departure. After a bewildering encounter at a local festival, Nima finds herself suddenly immersed in the drag scene on the other side of town. Macho drag kings, magical queens, new love interests, and surprising allies propel Nima both painfully and hilariously closer to a self she never knew she could be—one that can confidently express and accept love. But she’ll have to learn to accept lost love to get there. From debut author Tanya Boteju comes a poignant, laugh-out-loud tale of acceptance, self-expression, and the colorful worlds that await when we’re brave enough to look.

Reviews

*＊✿❀ Gray ❀✿＊*@cupid_cutie

Feb 1, 2025

CUTE

Ana Salas@anitaluvs2read

Oct 21, 2023

3.5

mia ¿@uncertainseas

Feb 16, 2022

i simply don't know how to feel about this one... i'd probably give it a 3.5 cuz it was good but i was expecting more. i'm not sure why, but this book just felt like it had a sad tone. maybe cuz i read an ebook and i don't really like ebooks, but the whole book just felt sad when it was supposed to feel fun. and i thought the ending was extremely sudden. so many conflicts in the book were just not resolved, so the ending didn't feel satisfying. i get why things were left unresolved with nima's mom, and maybe even with gordon, but it felt weird that things with her friend ginny were left like they were. also i thought more would have happened with devi. honestly a lot was going on in this book and that's fine but it was also kinda annoying to read about so many different things. the characters that were fleshed out were great and the drag scene was fun, so the author should have maybe just stuck with that. mixed feelings.

Geneviève Rouleau@thefreckledbookworm

Aug 30, 2021

I enjoyed listening to this, but I think I would've preferred reading a physical copy!!

Kate@girlreading

Aug 12, 2021

This was an absolute delight from start to finish. From the Nima, the instantly loveable awkward, shy biracial, Sri Lankan lesbian protagonist on a journey of self discovery to the low-key but adorable romance to the discussions surrounding sexuality and gender identity to the wonderful introduction to drag, there was so much about this book to love. I can't wait to see what Tanya Boteju writes next. TW: homophobia, homophobic slurs