Pageboy - by Elliot Page

Book Synopsis

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A New York Times "100 Notable Books of 2023"
A TIME Magazine "100 Must-Read Books of 2023"
A Washington Post "50 Notable Works of Nonfiction"
An Autostraddle "Best Queer Books of 2023"

"Vivid...Moving...Juicy" - NPR

"Eloquent and enthralling..." --Washington Post

"Searing, deeply moving, and incredibly poignant... This isn't simply a book on what it means to be trans, it's about what it means to be human." --Alok Vaid-Menon

Full of intimate stories, from chasing down secret love affairs to battling body image and struggling with familial strife, Pageboy is a love letter to the power of being seen. With this evocative and lyrical debut, Oscar-nominated star Elliot Page captures the universal human experience of searching for ourselves and our place in this complicated world.

"Can I kiss you?" It was two months before the world premiere of Juno, and Elliot Page was in his first ever queer bar. The hot summer air hung heavy around him as he looked at her. And then it happened. In front of everyone. A previously unfathomable experience. Here he was on the precipice of discovering himself as a queer person, as a trans person. Getting closer to his desires, his dreams, himself, without the repression he'd carried for so long. But for Elliot, two steps forward had always come with one step back.

With Juno's massive success, Elliot became one of the world's most beloved actors. His dreams were coming true, but the pressure to perform suffocated him. He was forced to play the part of the glossy young starlet, a role that made his skin crawl, on and off set. The career that had been an escape out of his reality and into a world of imagination was suddenly a nightmare.

As he navigated criticism and abuse from some of the most powerful people in Hollywood, a past that snapped at his heels, and a society dead set on forcing him into a binary, Elliot often stayed silent, unsure of what to do. Until enough was enough.

The Oscar-nominated star who captivated the world with his performance in Juno finally shares his story in a groundbreaking and inspiring memoir about love, family, fame -- and stepping into who we truly are with strength, joy and connection.

Review Quotes

"Eloquent and enthralling....[Pageboy] is an intense, emotional read, delivered in image-drenched prose. "'Let me just exist with you, ' he writes, 'happier than ever.' Reading those words nearly made me cry. Page's plea is small. It also feels very big."
--Washington Post

"Powerful"
--New York Times Book Review

"Raw, harrowing and often heartbreaking to read... Page's book arrives, as if on cue, in a moment when the trans community is facing even more danger than when he started writing it just over a year ago."
--LA Times

"Pageboy is like listening to a friend... It's impossible to miss the truth in his words: 'I wouldn't be typing this right now if it weren't for you and your care.' ... Now is an excellent time to read this humanizing and well-written memoir."
--Associated Press

"Exquisitely written... [Elliot] doesn't flinch or equivocate."
-- Audible Best of 2023

"In his own words, Page sets the record about the pressure to perform and a society that has attempted to funnel him into a binary. Raw, searing and intimate, "Pageboy" may move you to tears, lead you to laughter and leave you with a newfound respect for actors that push the industry forward."
--The New York Post's "The 45 Best Audible books we read and loved"

"The emergence of our true selves is all of our life's work. Pageboy helps chart the course."
--Jamie Lee Curtis

"Searing, deeply moving, and incredibly poignant... This isn't simply a book on what it means to be trans, it's about what it means to be human."
--Alok Vaid-Menon

About the Author