JACKSON BRIGHT IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A tween boy embraces the philosophy of dressing for joy.

When Jackson Bright, a large-built, white-presenting boy, wears a borrowed pink-and-white polka-dot dress to the last day of sixth grade, he inadvertently ends up butting heads with a teacher. Miss Felton weaponizes her fear of bullying against students who don’t conform to her beliefs and disingenuously claims that she’s sending Jackson home to protect him. This sets Jackson and his best friend, nonbinary Filipino American Eva Caringal, on a path that leads to his entering the regional Our Little Miss pageant in his newly created drag persona, Sissy St. James. With help from Uncle Aaron, a burly man who looks “like a lumberjack, but, like, if lumberjacks loved Vogue magazine,” Sissy is accepted into the pageant. But how can a brand-new drag queen (even one as fabulous as Jackson/Sissy) hope to navigate a pageant, let alone life? Co-authors O’Hara (who appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race) and Poblocki excel at creating nuanced character development, which both solo readers and book clubs will appreciate. The close third-person narration follows Jackson, capturing the exuberance and insecurity of the tween years and presenting an authentic protagonist whom readers will cheer on. The supporting cast and their various subplots are equally well-developed, including Jackson’s father’s depression, Eva’s turbulent home life, and Jackson’s budding friendship with fellow pageant contestant Ciara Williams, who reads Black. Bessa’s occasional illustrations provide added interest.

A fierce and fabulous read!