When Everything Feels Like the Movies facts for kids
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Cover (1st ed.)
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| Author | Raziel Reid |
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| Cover artist | Photograph copyright Getty Images (by Frank P. Wartenberg) Cover design by Gerilee McBride |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young Adult |
| Published | 2014 (Arsenal Pulp Press) |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 171 pp. (1st paperback edition) |
| ISBN | 978-1-55152-574-7 |
When Everything Feels Like the Movies is the debut young adult novel by Raziel Reid. The novel is narrated by the protagonist, Jude Rothesay, from a first-person perspective, and details his experiences and difficulties over a few days as a gay teenager in school. Reid was inspired by the events leading up to the 2008 murder of Larry King in Oxnard, California, as he perceived parallels between his life and King's life.
Plot
Jude Rothesay struggles with relationships at school (where he has unrequited crushes on boys, which he discusses his best friend, Angela) and at home (where he steals tips and clothes from his exotic dancer mother and tries to avoid his uninterested stepfather, Ray). The story, as narrated by Jude, recasts his reality as the set of a movie starring Jude, with other students playing bit parts ("The Extras"), as central to his life and fantasies ("The Movie Stars"), or as heckling bullies ("The Paparazzi").
Awards and nominations
When Everything Feels Like the Movies received the Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature in 2014. Despite the Clark petition, the Canada Council backed the judges' award and refused to rescind the prize.
The novel, defended by Elaine Lui, was a runner up in the CBC Canada Reads competition in 2015.
Adaptations
Raziel Reid has adapted the novel into a screenplay; the movie option is held by Random Bench.
