The Queen Bees of Tybee County

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

Better Nate Than Ever meets Dumplin’ in this charming, poignant middle grade debut following a Chinese American seventh grader as he discovers his queer identity and love for drag via contemporary southern pageant culture. 

After making the buzzer-beating shot at the Georgia basketball state championships, Derrick Chan becomes the star of Bayard Middle School and Derrick’s single dad could not be prouder. But there are parts of Derrick that no one knows about, like the toenail polish he wears under his basketball sneakers, his secret lip-sync performances in the bathroom mirror, and the feelings he’s developing for his best friend and teammate, JJ.As the school year comes to a close, Derrick’s dad takes an out-of-town job and ships Derrick off to spend the summer with his estranged, eccentric grandmother, Claudia. Soon, Claudia introduces Derrick to the world of small-town southern beauty pageants, and Derrick suddenly feels he’s found where he belongs. But when the opportunity arises to compete in the town pageant, Derrick is forced decide just how much of himself he’s ready to show the world.Can he learn to love and accept the most unique parts of himself? And what will happen if others—like his father and JJ—can’t do the same?

About the Author

Kyle Casey Chu (aka Panda Dulce) is a writer, filmmaker, and one of the founding queens of Drag Story Hour. In June 2022, far-right extremists stormed her Drag Story Hour in an attempt to silence her. She is now using her global platform to tell even gayer stories. She lives in San Francisco, within nagging distance of her families (both drag and biological). The Queen Bees of Tybee County is her first novel.