"Ziggy, Stardust and Me" by James Brandon
SYNOPSIS (from goodreads)
The year is 1973. The Watergate hearings are in full swing. The Vietnam War is still raging. And homosexuality is still officially considered a mental illness. In the midst of these trying times is sixteen-year-old Jonathan Collins, a bullied, anxious, asthmatic kid, who aside from an alcoholic father and his sympathetic neighbor and friend Starla, is completely alone. To cope, Jonathan escapes to the safe haven of his imagination, where his hero David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and dead relatives, including his mother, guide him through the rough terrain of his life. In his alternate reality, Jonathan can be anything: a superhero, an astronaut, Ziggy Stardust, himself, or completely “normal” and not a boy who likes other boys. When he completes his treatments, he will be normal—at least he hopes. But before that can happen, Web stumbles into his life. Web is everything Jonathan wishes he could be: fearless, fearsome and, most importantly, not ashamed of being gay.
Jonathan doesn’t want to like brooding Web, who has secrets all his own. Jonathan wants nothing more than to be “fixed” once and for all. But he’s drawn to Web anyway. Web is the first person in the real world to see Jonathan completely and think he’s perfect. Web is a kind of escape Jonathan has never known. For the first time in his life, he may finally feel free enough to love and accept himself as he is.
REVIEW
As someone who has a pretty active imagination I’m bummed I didn’t connect more with Jonathan (the lead). His internal dialog was too over the top for my taste (so many “wham bam thank you ma'ams”) and it really took me out of the story. I did grow to understand him more as the book progressed and can relate to his fascination with Ziggy Stardust as this sort of ideal alter ego that is a source of comfort and hope for his future.
I also appreciated the 70s references within the book but I did find many of the dreamscapes a little frustrating. It is a compelling narrative and I felt all the glitz and glamor distracted from that a bit.
This book does have a really beautiful m/m romance at the center (one being Native American) and it hits on some big issues such as: aversion therapy, bullying, and racism.
⭐️⭐️⭐️