The FOLD Festival is an amazing literary festival celebrating diversity in literature. I always come away from the festival with new learnings and a giant Want-To-Read list. This year, author Tanya Boteju not only hosted a panel but facilitated an inspiring workshop titled Tough Topics for Teens. The workshop inspired me to check out Tanya’s writing and having just finished Kings, Queens and In-Betweens I cannot wait to read her follow up Bruised!

Kings, Queens and In-Betweens is the story of Nima Kumara-Clark. A high school senior who is stuck. Her self confidence is lower than low, she’s in love with her straight best friend and her mom just up and left out of nowhere with no warning and no explanation. Her self-talk is atrocious and she is constantly questioning whether she is interesting enough to be attractive to anyone. When one night she stumbles into a drag show her whole world opens up. She meets new friends, has cringeworthy encounters and even helps out the school bully. Throughout the story Nima blossoms.

This book was a total page turner. Nima’s experience mirrors many high school experiences. I think we all feel out of place in our teens. I’m not sure about your experiences but I really connected with Nima when she talks about feeling boring, dull and uninteresting and wanting something more but having no idea what that something more is. Through Deirdre, Nima finds a welcoming, warm and safe person to explore something new, to reveal something inside that has always been waiting to burst out, it just didn’t know how. Tanya Boteju had not only adult “beta readers” but also young adult “beta readers”, She’s also a high school teacher so the voice and the experiences in the story felt honest and realistic. It wasn’t patronizing and those cringeworthy moments were so authentic.

While Nima is exploring her sexuality, she also realizes that bully Gordon Grant is having a hard time. When she happens upon some of his photography, she understands he is struggling and tries her best to help him out. I really loved how Gordon’s story was just beginning and we only got glimpses of how he was exploring and questioning himself. I think for many readers, not having a defined conclusion for Gordon’s story leaves it open for readers who are “in-between” as well and still trying to figure out who they are.

Kings, Queens and In-Betweens is a powerful story that includes so many readers. It welcomes everyone into the story and let’s readers know that there is a place for you no matter how you identify.