SuitabookIdentity and self-definition
Johnny wants to adopt aspects of Debbie Harry’s appearance and persona while questioning what this means for his sexuality and gender.
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Book details
Meagan Brothers - Author
This is a coming-of-age novel about self-understanding through music, style and relationships, with family history and recovery shaping Johnny’s unsettled new start. Its central questions leave room for identity to be explored rather than reduced to a simple label.
Johnny’s had kind of a tough life so far, and he’s always been a bit of a freak. His goth look usually includes black nail polish and a little mascara.When he discovers Debbie Harry, the lead singer of Blondie, he not only likes her music but realizes that he kind of, sort of, wants to BE her. He’d like to be cool and tough and beautiful like her. He’d like to dress like her. He’s not gay, at least he doesn’t think so. So what does it mean? And what should he tell his amazing new girlfriend? This wise, hip novel introduces shades of gray into the black-and-white ideas of sexuality and gender. Anyone who has ever wished they could be a little bit tough and a little bit glamorous will recognize themselves in Johnny.
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Sign in for personalised guidanceThis is a coming-of-age novel about self-understanding through music, style and relationships, with family history and recovery shaping Johnny’s unsettled new start. Its central questions leave room for identity to be explored rather than reduced to a simple label.
Johnny wants to adopt aspects of Debbie Harry’s appearance and persona while questioning what this means for his sexuality and gender.
After an emergency-room incident involving drugs and alcohol, Johnny completes rehabilitation and moves to his uncle’s home; his father’s past also becomes significant.
Johnny meets Maria, who shares his interest in punk music, while he also has a girlfriend and becomes involved in conflict with Maria’s bullying ex-partner.
Parents may wish to know that the story includes an emergency-room visit after a drug-and-alcohol interaction, a rehabilitation programme, a deceased father, and conflict involving a bullying ex-partner.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: the book’s treatment of its main themes is not yet firm enough; some draft conclusions still depend on unresolved evidence.
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Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers | Open Library
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Checked: 19 September 2026.
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