When Everything Feels Like The Movies

Beautiful, screwed-up, queer - Jude is a young man determined to blow kisses to bigots and defy a lifetime of neglect through glamour. Jude will wear whatever he wants, sleep with whomever he likes and live his life like he's the star of the show. This is his brilliant, blazing story. Inspired by a true storyMy name was Jude. They called me Judy. I was beautiful either way. School was basically a movie set. We were all just playing our parts. No one was ever real . . . especially me. All the girls watched me - I could walk so much better than them in heels; and all the boys wanted to, well, you know . . . even if they didn't admit it. They loved me, they hated me, but they could never ignore me. I only had eyes for Luke and this year, I was going to ask him to be my Valentine. It would be like a dream. But my dream was going to turn into a nightmare. 'An important novel . . . raw and original' Telegraph, Best YA of 2016'Brave and caustic' Independent'Incomparable . . . It will shock, but in the best way possible' Guardian online Everyone wanted to break me. But stars aren't broken, they explode. And I was the ultimate supernova. My name was Jude. They called me Judy. I was beautiful either way.School was basically a movie set. We were all just playing our parts. The Crew, the Extras, the Movie Stars. No one was ever real . . . especially me. I didn't fit any category.All the girls watched me - I could walk so much better than them in heels, and my make-up was always flawless. All the boys wanted to, well, you know . . . even if they didn't admit it. They loved me, they hated me, but they could never ignore me.I only had eyes for Luke. A red carpet rolled out from my heart towards him and this year, on Valentine'sDay, I was going to walk that carpet and find my mark next to him. It would be like a dream.But my dream was going to turn into a nightmare. This is my story.#WEFLTM

Winner, Governor General's Literary AwardFinalist, Lambda Literary Award and Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBT Fiction"Raziel Reid is a really extraordinary guy. He's got a great thing going."—Anne RiceSchool is just like a film set: there's The Crew, who make things happen, The Extras who fill the empty desks, and The Movie Stars, whom everyone wants tagged in their Facebook photos. But Jude doesn't fit in. He's not part of The Crew because he isn't about to do anything unless it's court-appointed; he's not an Extra because nothing about him is anonymous; and he's not a Movie Star because even though everyone know his name like an A-lister, he isn't invited to the cool parties. As the director calls action, Jude is the flamer that lights the set on fire.Before everything turns to ashes from the resulting inferno, Jude drags his best friend Angela off the casting couch and into enough melodrama to incite the paparazzi, all while trying to fend off the haters and win the heart of his favourite co-star Luke Morris. It's a total train wreck!But train wrecks always make the front page.Raziel Reid is a graduate of the New York Film Academy. He currently lives in Vancouver.