Contouring powder, foundation stick, eyeliner, blush, lipstick. Robin’s best friend Natalie is adept at throwing others in at the deep end. Just what Robin needs after receiving a rejection from drama school and not knowing where to go after senior year. His self-confidence is on the rocks, but right now the lively Nat pulls him on a “make-up shopping spree” and thus boosts his happiness.
On his 18th birthday, the two were at the drag show “Dragcellence”. Since then he has thought of little else than dressing up and putting on glittery make-up. But he had no intention of going straight to action. It is the beginning of an ultimately successful transformation, that much can be revealed. “Open your eyes, your heart and your mind – who knows what you’ll discover,” advises a veteran queen to newcomer Robin before he finally ventures into the spotlight. “Boy Queen” is the debut of the British George Lester, who knows what he is writing about. He calls himself “That Gurrrl” as a drag queen and celebrates stage successes with it. But the German book title “In all its colors” also fits. The novel not only spreads the entire spectrum of the make-up palette before us in the very funny scene in the cosmetics shop. Superficially it’s about the conceptual art of drag, but in general it’s about finding yourself and becoming visible. In other words: to shimmer. “In All Its Colors” is in the tradition of coming-of-age stories.
Above all, the story is a truthful confrontation with bullying and homophobia.
Robin’s public appearance as a drag queen is his second coming out. His single mum and his easygoing circle of friends have known for a long time that he is gay. The subject only plays an indirect role in the novel. Robin has an affair with Connor, whose friends despise homosexuals. What’s more, you’ve beaten up Robin once before, while Connor stood by uninvolved. Despite this, Robin has fallen in love with him in hopes that one day they could openly show their affection. But Connor denies himself, and with it him, again and again. When he sees Robin wearing makeup for the first time, he thinks it’s “disgusting”. For Robin, who was willing to live a huge lie with all its consequences for Connor, the decisive word was too much. Seth, the new kid at school, seems to be of a completely different stature.
George Lester’s extremely dialogue-heavy debut – epic descriptions are not his thing – only comes across as entertaining, shrill and playful at first glance. Above all, the story is a truthful take on bullying and homophobia, with words hurting just as much as brute force. We dive into the world of drag queens, and the author clears up some clichés. For example, that it is a purely male matter. Drag is conceptual art, the name that everyone chooses for the stage character, program. In the book, one of the drags is called “Anne Drogyny” and another is called “Dory Ann Slay” in reference to “Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. Robin’s stage name will become “Mae Bee”. Derived from “maybe” because for a long time he believed he had no talent for singing, dancing and acting. “In all its colors” is a plea for courage, tolerance and gender diversity. One can only congratulate George Lester in the words of the book: “Condragulations.” (from 13 years)