A Boy Named Queen

By Sara Cassidy

A new boy named Queen challenges Evelyn's routine, sparking an unexpected friendship and new perspectives.

3.7/5 Goodreads · 810 ratings

96 pages· 9,378 words· Est. 1.5 hour read

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Bookroo's summary

Evelyn's orderly life is upended by Queen, a bold new classmate with a penchant for defying norms. Despite her mother's strict rules, Evelyn is drawn to Queen's fearless individuality. As they forge an unlikely friendship, Evelyn is invited to Queen's unconventional birthday party, where she discovers a world beyond her imagination. This newfound perspective leads her to question her own choices, especially when it comes to sharing her mother's prized antique at school. Will Evelyn embrace the change Queen represents, or retreat to her familiar routine? Dive into a story of friendship, courage, and self-discovery.

From the publisher

Evelyn is both aghast and fascinated when a new boy comes to grade five and tells everyone his name is Queen. Queen wears shiny gym shorts and wants to organize a chess/environment club. His father plays weird loud music and has tattoos.

How will the class react? How will Evelyn?

Evelyn is an only child with a strict routine and an even stricter mother. And yet in her quiet way she notices things. She takes particular notice of this boy named Queen. The way the bullies don’t seem to faze him. The way he seems to live by his own rules. When it turns out that they take the same route home from school, Evelyn and Queen become friends, almost against Evelyn’s better judgment. She even finds Queen irritating at times. Why doesn’t he just shut up and stop attracting so much attention to himself?

Yet he is the most interesting person she has ever met. So when she receives a last-minute invitation to his birthday party, she knows she must somehow persuade her mother to let her go, even if it means ignoring the No Gifts request and shopping for what her mother considers to be an appropriate gift, appropriately wrapped with “boy” wrapping paper.

Her visit to Queen’s house opens Evelyn’s eyes to a whole new world, including an unconventional goody bag (leftover potato latkes wrapped in waxed paper and a pair of barely used red sneakers). And when it comes time for her to take something to school for Hype and Share, Evelyn suddenly looks at her chosen offering — her mother’s antique cream jug — and sees new and marvelous possibilities.

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