Martin McLean, Middle School Queen

Martin McLean has always been surrounded by people who can express themselves.

His mother is an artist, his colourful uncle Billy works in theatre and his best friends Carmen and Pickle are outgoing and don’t care what other people think.

But Martin can only find the right words when he’s answering a problem at a Mathletes competition — until his uncle introduces him to the world of drag.

In a swirl of sequins and stilettos, Martin creates his fabulous drag queen alter ego, Lottie León.

As Lottie, he is braver than he’s ever been; but as Martin, he doesn’t have the guts to tell anyone outside his family about her — not Carmen and Pickle, not his Mathletes teammates and definitely not Chris, an older boy who gives Martin butterflies.

When Martin discovers that his first-ever drag show is the same night as the most important Mathletes tournament, he realises that he can only pull off both appearances by revealing his true self to his friends — and channelling his inner drag superstar.