Glitter Boy

11-year-old James loves to sing, to dance, to shimmy. He takes Mariah Carey fandom to the next level. But, lately, a pile on of obstacles is tarnishing his shine: his mum has left; his dad can’t communicate; his beloved nan is getting frail; his friendship group is shifting; he’s having brand new… feelings, especially around his friend, Joel. And then, there is classmate Paul, who is escalating his bullying campaign and calling James that word.

This is former teacher Ian Eagleton’s debut novel (his picture book, Nen and the Lonely Fisherman, won the 2022 Polari Prize). The opening chapters are loud with high octane references to James’ ‘fabulousness’, shot through with knowing nods to Mariah Carey. But the narrative soon settles into very readable middle grade territory of a just pre-teen child navigating complex family and friendship transitions.

Paul’s homophobic targeting of James is skilfully described with the smallest of actions carrying real menace and with scattergun impact.  Not only are James’ anxieties about his own identity exacerbated. His dad and his male friends’ views of him are also altered. The story becomes a powerful, credible, exposition of how boys and men so often police each other’s gender expressions and sexuality and how this risks strangling a child’s sense of self. We witness James’ internalised homophobia grow, culminating in his poem, ‘Instructions to Make It Through’, which reads like a manual on how to ‘do’ straight-acting, how to pass, how to, effectively, shut down.

It is a wonderful thing that we finally have some UK authors writing stories starring LGBT characters in the middle grade space. (And not just the lone queer characters of old; some even star within a broader queer community). This is the age range where so often complicated desires, early crushes, romantic attachments are being felt but are not always understood. Where children are just on the edge of forming an identity and are doing so at different paces. It is a very deft touch that at the end of the novel, James’ friend, Joel, comes out with confidence while we leave James still wondering about himself but now doing so patiently, happily and with ease. This is the age group who need a gentle hand not so much to lead them as to walk side by side with them, opening up possibilities for them. While we have much fabulousness in our popular culture right now – even our long history of uniquely ‘British’ camp and drag blazes from our prime-time screens- this gloss hasn’t triumphed over homophobia. Glitter Boy is testament to that and may also become a child’s best friend in getting through, surviving and, even, shining bright.