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Summary
Summary
Chris Bellows is just trying to get through high school and survive being the only stepchild in the social-climbing Fontaine family, whose recently diminished fortune hasn't dimmed their desire to mingle with Upper East Side society. Chris sometimes feels more like a maid than part of the family. But when Chris's stepsister Kimberly begins dating golden boy J. J. Kennerly, heir to a political dynasty, everything changes. Because Chris and J. J. fall in love . . . with each other.
With the help of a new friend, Coco Chanel Jones, Chris learns to be comfortable in his own skin, let himself fall in love and be loved, and discovers that maybe he was wrong about his step-family all along. All it takes is one fairy godmother dressed as Diana Ross to change the course of his life.
My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen is a Cinderella retelling for the modern reader. The novel expertly balances issues like sexuality, family and financial troubles, and self-discovery with more lighthearted moments like how one rogue shoe can launch a secret, whirlwind romance and a chance meeting with a drag queen can spark magic and light in a once dark reality.
Author Notes
David Clawson attended the USC Graduate Screenwriting Program, where he received the Jack Oakie Comedy Writing Award, a 20th Century Fox Fellowship, and had his sitcom pilot, BALANCING ACTS, produced. David teaches screenwriting at the LMU School of Film and Television. This is his first novel.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Chris is a high school senior caught in a Cinderella-like role at home and afraid to reveal his sexual orientation there or anywhere else. He narrates the story of the winter when he found love, self-respect, his stepsiblings' esteem, and a true friend in fashionista drag queen Duane/Coco Chanel Jones. Clawson deftly walks a thin line between realism and wish fulfillment, and readers will happily suspend disbelief. Chris is complex, admirable, and wholly likable, while the equally sharp and more acid-tongued Duane/Coco leavens the plot with enough humor and meddling to keep Chris buoyed up even when the rich, politically poised guy of Chris's dreams-who also happens to be the designated escort of his vapid stepsister-seems to choose the closet over true love and honesty. In this endearingly reconceived version of the fairy tale, the stepmother isn't cruel but rather a thoughtless drunk, the shoe is thrown more often than simply lost, and the fairy godmother spends more time helping stepfamily members apply makeup than dolling up Chris himself. In short, it's a spot-on modern version for contemporary teens, with an artful balance of serious insights about being true to oneself and riffs on pop culture. -VERDICT A fun, lighthearted YA retelling that's an especially strong choice for collections in need of LGBTQ romances.-Francisca Goldsmith, Worcester, MA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In a contemporary gay riff on Cinderella, 17-year-old Manhattanite Chris Bellows attends a high-society ball with the help of a drag queen, Ms. Coco Chanel Jones. Soon after, Chris begins a secret romance with a young political hopeful, J.J. Kennerly, even though J.J. is dating Chris's stepsister Kimberly. First-time novelist Clawson touches on topics of class, sexuality, and politics, but the story's pacing and characterizations leave much to be desired. Chris and J.J.'s romance is kept so hidden that their chemistry is nearly nonexistent, and while Chris's complicated relationship with his stepfamily could be discussion worthy, the secondary characters are largely one-dimensional. Chris's relationship with Coco is more interesting, but the language surrounding their interactions reads as stereotypical and off-putting (Chris's first impression of Coco when she's not in drag is of a "slightly thuggish-looking black guy in oversized hip-hop clothes... dressed in a way that would have made me wonder if I was being racist or just reasonably cautious if I tried to avoid crossing his path too closely"), even if it's intended to reflect Chris's naiveté. Ages 14-up. Agent: Claire Abramowitz, Cartel Entertainment. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
When Prince Charming meets his beau. Seventeen-year-old Chris Bellows is pretty much a modern-day, white, male Cinderella. He's at the beck and call of his WASP-y, boozy, socialite stepmom, Iris, his bitchy, attention-hungry stepsister, Kimberly, and his jock douchebag stepbrother, Buck, who has an endless supply of gross one-liners on tap. The novel opens with Chris helping his family get ready for New York City's most elite social event, The Autumnal Ball at The Plaza. Once the steps are on their way, Chris runs into a fabulous, shade-throwing, foulmouthed African-American drag queen named Coco Chanel Jones, who, in true fairy-godmother form, decks him out in some oversized Ferragamos plus a fancy suit. Before he knows it, he's inside the party making googly eyes at the prince of New York City society, dreamy, white J.J. Kennerly. Readers can imagine what happens next. Clawson clearly loves all of his characters, as they are eloquently drawn, with just as many reasons for readers to love them as faults. He also knows how to spin double-edged zingers that are simultaneously gross yet witty: "You're later than my first period." What ensues is a fast-paced, riotous, laugh-out-loud yet insightful story of secret love between two closeted gay teens, with Kimberly unknowingly serving as J.J.'s beard. A fresh, funny, new twist on a classic fairy tale. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
It's a classic Cinderella story but with a boy. No, really: his parents dead, 17-year-old Chris lives in Manhattan with his stepfamily, for whom he is a combination maid and captive (though generally a willing one). And, yes, he goes to a fancy dress ball thanks to a fairy godmother, a drag queen named Coco Chanel Jones, who, when not in costume, is a teen named Duane, who becomes Chris' good friend. There is, of course, also a handsome prince, J.J. Kennerly, the most eligible bachelor alive, and, yes, the boys' eyes meet and, yes, Chris flees, leaving a shoe behind. Will the prince er, J.J. subsequently find Chris, and, if so, how do you keep a relationship with one of the most famous people in America a secret? Because Clawson has lots of clever, inventive fun with fairy-tale conventions, so do his readers. Chris, who tells the story in his own agreeable first-person voice, is a thoroughly likable character, as is J.J. Now as for that fairy godmother . . .--Cart, Michael Copyright 2010 Booklist