Publishers Weekly
★ 08/21/2023
Peter Thompkins, an openly gay high schooler, has gone viral, and not in a good way. His reputation for delivering vicious burns precedes him, but when a heated confrontation with another gay student is posted on social media, public opinion of him plummets (“That guy sucks,” one comment reads). Hoping to restore his honor, Peter turns to his drag performer best friend, YouTuber Alan Goode. Alan convinces Peter to produce a drag show in their rural hometown alongside Alan’s drag alter ego Aggie Culture and featuring House of Rural Realness, a community of local drag queens. Peter soon finds himself performing backup in drag videos, getting chased by alpaca farmers, and facing down homophobic vitriol, all while trying to repair his image, keep his friendship together, and maybe impress a cute newcomer. Peter is at once prickly and lovable, and his wry voice is equally exasperating and sympathetic. In taking a microscope to issues such as allyship, anti-fatness, anxiety, insecurity, and internalized homophobia, debut author Campbell presents an impassioned homage to queer community and culture that proffers clever and laugh-out-loud explorations of self-expression and acceptance. Characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
"Fast, witty, and full of heart, Dragging Mason County is an unflinching reflection of the prickly realities of small-town queer adolescence." —Alexandra Mae Jones, author of The Queen of Junk Island
"Painfully relatable and bitingly funny, Dragging Mason County is a timely tale of friendship, self-acceptance, and the importance of proper contouring." —Kevin Christopher Snipes, author of Milo and Marcos at the End of the World
Kirkus Reviews
2023-07-26
A small-town gay kid tries to survive.
Peter’s strategy has been to keep his head down until he can leave this Podunk place. The problem is that when pushed, he explodes in verbal assaults that draw far too much attention. When one such outburst—targeting another gay kid in a way that’s personally cruel—is caught on camera and posted to social media, people respond with outraged comments. Alan, Peter’s much more out-and-proud (not to mention confidently fat) best friend, has a YouTube channel for his drag persona, Aggie Culture. After they meet Lorne, a cute visitor to town, both boys try to impress him, and in the process, they accidentally pledge to hold Mason County’s first-ever drag show. Peter finds himself in the role of producing the event. Will the show save his reputation? It might lead to his first kiss, ruin his friendship, and destroy his carefully cultivated safe existence. Peter’s narration is fueled by resentment—for his surroundings, his emotionally evasive parents, and his own appearance (“think of me as a middle-aged man-baby”). The verbal swordplay from the drag queens plus the generally cutting remarks from the other high schoolers give the novel an edge; many of the characters’ defenses will feel relatable for some readers. The narrative could have been tightened in places, but it offers a worthwhile message of acceptance. Main characters are cued white.
Fabulously acerbic. (Fiction. 14-18)
