April 15, 2025 by Quill Tree Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Derrick Chan and his friend JJ have a fantastic basketball season, and their team wins the local championship for their Bayard, Georgia area. The two friends have an awesome summer planned, but Derrick’s father’s work throws a wrench into this. Instead of going to basketball camp and hanging out with JJ, he will be going to the country to stay with his grandmother, Claudia, whom he hasn’t seen since his mother passed away from breast cancer when he was six. His father is reluctant to spend any time with Claudia, and Derrick is curious as to why. Claudia is nothing like he expected a grandmother to be; she is in charge of the junior Queen Bee pageant, does alterations of gowns, and has young friends like Ro and Giles, whom she feeds guacamole and her fantastic Chinese cooking. Derrick feels oddly at home in the pageant scene, and even gets dragged into some of the dances when a contestant has an appointment. He also is enthralled with the clothing, and makes a design decision on Ro’s gown that even she “doesn’t hate”. Ro would rather be skateboarding or participating in roller derby than the pageant, but she doesn’t have a choice. Her best friend, Giles, is a photographer, and when Derrick finds out that Giles is gay, handles it badly, saying that he’s never met anyone who is gay before. Giles assures him that he HAS, and Derrick starts to examine his own feelings, especially for JJ. The two have a moment when JJ visits on his way to camp, further confusing Derrick. After some heart to heart conversations with Claudia, he decides to be his authentic self and participate in the junior Queen Bee competition, in drag, as Bee Daring. He finds out that the rift between his father and grandmother was caused by his interests in clothing, so when his father arrives early and is going to see the pageant, Derrick panics. What is the price for being your true self? Will his father, and JJ, ever understand?
This was an engaging middle school novel, written by one of the founders of Drag Queen story times, Panda Dulce. Readers who enjoy drag queen themed novels like Howard’s Middle School's a Drag, You Better Werk or Zaczek’s Martin McLean, Middle School Queen are the most obvious choices to recommend this to, but it will also do well with those who are looking for nuanced representations of boys who are looking into first queer romances, like Lucas’ Thanks a Lot, Universe, Leali’s Civil War of Amos Abernathy or The Trouble with Triangles, or Penny’s Green Eyes and Ham.
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Just as he did in Kevin Durrant, LeBron James and Stephen Curry, Wetzel does an outstanding job at delving into the history of this extraordinary young player who has captured the public's interest. Starting from a young age, Clark was encouraged to do multiple sports, including soccer, by her supportive parents who thought it was better to not specialize in one sport. Basketball seemed to click best, and Clark certainly excelled in high school and college, and is now playing with the Indiana Fever team of the WNBA. Information is factual and balanced, and there is even a very brief mention of the momentary drama with player Angel Reese. Family photos are included.
I bought several of these Wetzel titles even though my collection development policy for biographies is generally to wait until the person depicted has passed away. This was motivated by the 1980s biography of Michael Jackson that I weeded from the shelves. Since several of the players were at the end of their careers, it felt like they were reasonable purchases that wouldn't date too badly. Some of the titles have circulated better than others. Since Clark is just beginning her career, and I haven't had any students express interest in her (I had dozens of girls begging for Taylor Swift bios, so I buckled), I may not purchase this. If I were in a larger school or public library, this would be an excellent addition.
I can think of several young people who would love to read these basketball titles.
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