The Adventures of DeeBug: A Queer Young Adult Novel

BookLife review, 8/22/2025

"In this poignant, sometimes devastating coming-of-age tale, DeeShawn, who prefers to be called DeeBug, announces himself as “a bisexual-going-on-gay albino Black teenager” living at Mrs. B’s home for queer youth in Los Angeles. DeeBug makes ends meet by turning tricks on the street with random men, but his dream is to be a best-selling author. When he meets Pierre, a wealthy man into a lifestyle of kinks, DeeBug trades sex for mentorship on his writing and storytelling, receiving feedback and notes as he writes his life story, excerpts of which appear throughout. As DeeBug shares his story—in lively first-person present throughout, with flashbacks from his memoir-in-progress—readers get a gritty yet sensitive narrative of a runaway sorting through his identity, both as a young Black man with white skin and as a bisexual seeking real connection.

Harrowing and at times graphic, DeeBug’s story proves redemptive as he strives to find his way and make amends with those he has wronged. LeVay (The Donation of Constantine) pens the tale with brisk authority, striking style, reportorial realism, and a big heart, especially as DeeShawn reveals all he’s endured. After a traumatic childhood and the death of his mother, DeeShawn was shuffled through multiple foster homes before winding up with an interracial couple—two dads, Andrew and Moyo—who offered a family life that DeeShawn couldn't quite believe would work out. Despite their guidance and tough love, DeeShawn lit out on his own after a shocking development, roughing it on the streets until he moved into Mrs. B's house and found hope in friendship with Juan, who sometimes dresses as a girl and goes by Juanita.

LeVay’s powerful tale of identity, family, and unconditional love touchingly explores how these two lean on each other for strength and camaraderie that begins to bud into something more. Readers will root for DeeShawn as LeVay offers a frank, convincing portrayal of boyhood, street life, and the acceptance of self."