Jackson Bright in the Spotlight

From drag superstar Eureka O’Hara and bestselling author Dan Poblocki comes a beautiful, buoyant middle-grade novel about a boy who enters a local pageant—as a drag queen!

When Jackson Bright wears a dress to the last day of school, he expects to be complimented on the cute polka-dot design. Instead, he gets sent to the principal’s office. Jackson doesn’t understand why people are saying that he needs to “dress like a boy.” With all the discussions of “dressing like a boy” and “dressing like a girl,” he wonders where people like his best friend Eva, who’s nonbinary, fit into all of this. He also questions why he felt so confident and happy while wearing that dress.

So when Jackson sees a flyer for the town’s beloved Little Miss pageant, he devises a plan: dress in drag to compete and show the town just how fabulous he can be! More than anything, though, he wants to push the boundaries of gender and learn how to better support Eva and other nonbinary kids like them, which is more challenging than he realises.

Before he knows it, he’s thrust into a world of rhinestone gowns and fiercely applied makeup. With the help of Eva and Uncle Aaron, Jackson scrambles to come up with an array of dazzling costumes, a crowd-winning speech, and a killer talent act.

As he navigates the ups and downs of the competition—all while keeping his real identity a secret and hiding a growing crush on his rival’s brother—Jackson must figure out how to stand beside his friend and show his small town that #nonbinaryteaisvalid. He will need to unpack questions about his family and identity that he’s been hiding from and learn how to stay true to himself and hold his head high no matter what!

Jackson Bright in the Spotlight is a heartfelt story of self-discovery and the courage it takes to stand out and stand proudly in one’s truth.