Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 9))
On the first day of school, Billy Bloom arrives on the scene decked out in full Vivienne Westwood pirate regalia, complete with tights, pearls, a sword, gold teeth and a Cap'n Crunch hat. He's an artist, a rebel, a metamorph and self-described gender-obscurist—the first and, to date, the most lovably entertaining and fully realized of his kind to grace the first-person protagonist role of a YA novel. To say that he's out of his element at his new high school—in a Stepford-ish, swampy, podunk Florida town—would be an understatement, and he's met with the to-be-expected slew of verbal torments from his classmates. Soon the homophobia escalates to violence, and, after recovering, he devises a plan to barge his way straight through the close-minded hearts of his community to Prom Queen notoriety. His platform? "Tease hair, not homos," and "Gender is a choice, not a life sentence." Only St. James, an artist not unlike Billy, could compose such an accessible, deliciously outrageous, machine-gun barrage of bitchy, button-pushing drag queen humor packed with snarky innuendos and tongue-in-cheek one-liners. The results? A groundbreaking, eye-opening, romantic, bittersweet story of one boy's determination to seek acceptance for who he is and right the wrongs of his world, one dress at a time. 2007, Dutton, 356p, $18.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 13 up. Starred Review. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Loretta Berrigan (Kutztown Book Review, Spring 2008)
The fabulous Billy Bloom has just moved to Florida to live with his father who doesn’t really have much time for his flamboyant, cross-dressing son. Billy is the new student at the ultra-conservative and ultra-white Dwight D. Eisenhower Academy. Billy immediately falls for the school’s Golden Boy, Flip Kelly. But life at his new school is going to be far from peaches and cream for Billy Bloom. This was the best book I’ve read in a long time. I think I actually read it in about 3 days. James St. James writes with such flair and drama, comedy and tragedy. It is surely a book you won’t want to put down. For anyone who is an underdog and just doesn’t want to or seem to fit in, you will see some of yourself in our hero/heroine Billy. This book explodes with creativity and fabulous detail. You’ll find yourself rooting for Billy and hoping that he will come out on top. James St. James is a wonderful author and I look forward to reading more from him. Category: Fiction/Coming of Age. 2007, Penguin Group. Ages 14 to 18.

April Spisak (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, September 2007 (Vol. 61, No. 1))
Billy Bloom is a fiercely independent seventeen-year-old headed for serious trouble: rather than downplaying his eccentricities in his new ultra-rich and conservative school, he goes all in, showing up for the first day in full pirate regalia. Still reeling from his mother’s rejection after she found him in drag (resulting in his current stay with his old-money Southern father), Billy is fully aware that shoving boundaries will almost certainly not end well, though it is also clear that he wouldn’t mind being the ambassador for all gender nonconformists either. Things get even more dangerous than he expected, however, when a preplanned attack results in Billy being put into a coma with several broken bones. While no one would fault Billy if he acquiesced to conformity, few who’ve followed his saga will be surprised to learn that he emerges even more determined to force the world (or at least his own piece of it) to embrace difference. As Billy acknowledges himself to be an unreliable narrator early on, it is occasionally difficult to sort out the truth from his frequently exaggerated takes on reality. Of course, this is exactly the point, as accepting his version as his truth requires two things of the reader: a recognition of Billy’s jaded but ultimately optimistic worldview as a valid one, and a willingness to dive into the stream of consciousness of a self-proclaimed “twinkle queen.” Billy himself is memorable and, behind the sarcastic wit, touchingly vulnerable; readers will find him admirable as well as sympathetic. Although comparisons with Levithan’s gaytopia Boy Meets Boy (BCCB 9/03) will be rampant and certainly apt, St. James’ novel will likely emerge as groundbreaking, daring, and memorable in its own right. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, Dutton, 298p, $18.99. Grades 9-12.

Kimberly Paone (VOYA, June 2007 (Vol. 30, No. 2))
Billy Bloom has just moved from liberal Connecticut, where he lived with his unstable but usually fun mother. He now lives with his very serious and not fun at all father in a conservative Florida town. Billy is a teenage drag queen. Needless to say, his new classmates, the Barbies and Kens at Dwight D. Eisenhower Academy, are shocked to see Billy on the first day of school-sashaying in a ruffly pirate ensemble. They also do not appreciate his goddess of the swamp gown or his pink-and-green country club clam-diggers and matching sweater set. This introduction begins a painful new year for Billy-starting with spit balls and rude whispered taunts and ending with a beating that puts him in the hospital. Billy's physical wounds heal, he gains a new friend along the way-hunky quarterback, Flip-and he decides to run for homecoming queen. One can imagine the chaos that ensues. St. James knows of what he writes; he is the author of Disco Bloodbath (Simon & Schuster, 1999), which was made into the 2002 movie Party Monster. Although this first effort for teens is noble and Billy is a loveable but sometimes clueless character, the book is more A than YA, a tad too drawn out and containing many references to '80s pop culture that today's teens just will not get. But because readers have not seen anything like this book in YA lit and if a collection's other GLTBQ books circulate, this one probably should be added. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P S A/YA (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult-marketed book recommended for Young Adults). 2007, Dutton, 295p., $18.99. Ages 15 to Adult.