Jack Mckeever's Reviews > The Black Flamingo

Given that this is aimed at a teen/YA audience I was surprised by how much I loved it, but this is an immensely important book. Not only does Dean Atta bring out recognisable humanity in his tone and dialogue, but he also experiments with form and structure in a way that accurately mirrors real life, real-time reactions and mentality. The book beautifully uses the coming-of-age trope to relate to any black non-binary teen who might be reading, but Atta also makes many aspects of an identity crisis universal to those of us not in those categories.

The prose is direct when it needs to be and more coded when it needs to be. Through richly detailed characters and staunch politics he tackles homophobia and racism, ending in triumph of self and with a middle finger aloft to those who deny non-binary people their identity. There were a couple of references I found a little *too* obvious, but other than that I enjoyed this book hugely more than I thought I might.