Middle School's a Drag, You Better Werk!

by Greg Howard (Author)

Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade
In this heartfelt and hilarious new novel from Greg Howard, an enterprising boy starts his own junior talent agency and signs a thirteen-year-old aspiring drag queen as his first client.

Twelve-year-old Mikey Pruitt--president, founder, and CEO of Anything, Inc.--has always been an entrepreneur at heart. Inspired by his grandfather Pap Pruitt, who successfully ran all sorts of businesses from a car wash to a roadside peanut stand, Mikey is still looking for his million-dollar idea. Unfortunately, most of his ideas so far have failed. A baby tornado ran off with his general store, and the kids in his neighborhood never did come back for their second croquet lesson. But Mikey is determined to keep at it.

It isn't until kid drag queen Coco Caliente, Mistress of Madness and Mayhem (aka eighth grader Julian Vasquez) walks into his office (aka his family's storage/laundry room) looking for an agent that Mikey thinks he's finally found his million-dollar idea, and the Anything Talent and Pizzazz Agency is born!

Soon, Mikey has a whole roster of kid clients looking to hit it big or at least win the middle school talent show's hundred-dollar prize. As newly out Mikey prepares Julian for the gig of a lifetime, he realizes there's no rulebook for being gay--and if Julian can be openly gay at school, maybe Mikey can, too, and tell his crush, dreamy Colton Sanford, how he feels.

Full of laughs, sass, and hijinks, this hilarious, heartfelt story shows that with a little effort and a lot of love, anything is possible.
Select format:
Hardcover
$16.99

Kirkus

When your (current) dream is to manage the stars, as RuPaul might say, you’d better werk!

ALA/Booklist

A funny, fabulous, and ultimately life-affirming story that will uplift and entertain young readers from many different backgrounds.

Review quotes

Praise for Middle School's A Drag, You Better Werk!:

"A funny, fabulous, and ultimately life-affirming story that will uplift and entertain young readers from many different backgrounds. So, should you check this one out? Mikey says, yas queen!" —Booklist
Greg Howard
Greg Howard grew up near the coast of South Carolina. His hometown of Georgetown is known as the "Ghost Capital of the South" (seriously...there's a sign), and was always a great source of material for his overactive imagination. Raised in a staunchly religious home, Greg escaped into the arts: singing, playing piano, acting, writing songs, and making up stories. Currently, Greg resides in Nashville, Tennessee, with his husband, Steve, and their three rescued fur babies Molly, Toby, and Riley.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780525517528
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication date
February 11, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV039020 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Adolescence
JUV031060 - Juvenile Fiction | Performing Arts | Theater
JUV060000 - Juvenile Fiction | LGBT
Library of Congress categories
Schools
Middle schools
Business enterprises
Gays
Coming out (Sexual orientation)
Entrepreneurship
Female impersonators
Talent scouts

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