5/21/2023 0 Comments Dean atta the black flamingo![]() ![]() I think fans of Elizabeth Acevedo will love THE BLACK FLAMINGO. I liked having that long span of time to see different moments in Michael’s life and how they affected him at the time and upon reflection.Īll in all, this is a powerful story about self-discovery and courage and learning how to be true to yourself. The story begins when Michael is a child and runs through his early time at college, so I think it’s more of a coming-of-age story than traditional young adult fiction. Even the characters who only appeared for a few moments seemed rich and knowable. I also loved the characters, from Michael’s mom and sister, Anna, to his best friend Daisy, to Jack, the repressed construction worker. I felt like that made the story a lot more intimate if that makes sense? ![]() Some of the poems are meant to be his, things he has written and performs. ![]() ![]() I think part of what makes that work is that he’s a poet himself, and the novel is written in verse, too. One of my favorite things about this book is how personal Michael’s journey is. The Black Flamingo is his debut YA novel. He regularly performs across the UK and internationally and his work has been shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize and appeared on MTV and BET. Obviously it took me a while to read it, but I’m so glad I finally did. Dean Atta’s poems deal with themes of race, gender, and identity. Early on in the pandemic, I placed a couple of book orders with independent bookstores, and THE BLACK FLAMINGO is one of the books I ordered. ![]()
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