Jackson Bright in the Spotlight

By Abrams Books

Book Overview

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 know why people are saying that he needs to "dress like a boy." And 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. Or 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 comes up with a plan: dress in drag in order 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 harder than he realizes.

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 will have to figure out how to stand beside his friend and show his small town that #nonbinaryteaisvalid, 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

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1419773658
• ISBN13: 9781419773655
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9