The Diary of a Sugarbaby - by J Q Gagliastro (Paperback)

About the Book

NYC's Queer Book Club October 2024 book! Required reading for the queer studies program at UF! And said to be "The Handmaid's Tale on steroids!" by the Manhattan Book Review.

Book Synopsis

"I was a sugarbaby, I admit. I am not proud of it, though others seem to sensationalize the lifestyle. They see glitz and glamor, never food or a place to sleep. Film and literature have only shown one side of a sugarbaby's life. They villainize us and make us out to be either sluts or golddiggers or airheads. And well, they're right. I am no saint. I am a whore. A selfish, greedy, ageist whore who is worth nothing except in bed. Life was no fairytale as a sugarbaby. But it was one grotesque, unlawful act after another. Yet somehow, that life pales in comparison to my life as a Minor. While sugaring and Minority have similarities, no one could've prepared me for what the Divided did to us."

In J. Q. Gagliastro's dystopian future, the aging patriarchy and rising hate crimes have led to a mass genocide of queer Americans. Oppression has killed what was left of the United and sired what has now become the Divided, a world where human trafficking is legal, the youth are sexualized, and heteronormativity is enforced. Dime, a former sugarbaby, chronicles his experiences as the nation around him embraces gerontocracy, and he himself becomes the property of an Elder. Deprived of his freedoms, his family, and even music, Dime clings to his memories all the while grappling with the concepts of family, home, and depth in love. A scathing satire on queer erasure, a cautionary tale on the capitalization of American universities, and a brutally honest reflection of its time!

Review Quotes

"The Diary of a Sugarbaby is The Handmaid's Tale on steroids! Captivating and graphic." Manhattan Book Review

"If you like dystopian fiction that is thematically rich and focuses on societal issues, The Diary of a Sugarbaby is just the book for you!" Readers' Favorite (five-starred review)

"Razor sharp, timely, and written with a great deal of thought... A frightening novel about an unthinkable future!" Kirkus Reviews

"Gagliastro managed to take many modern fears and roll them together with more positive ideals, creating a complex web of realistic frankness, pessimistic anticipation, and optimistic determination... A dark satirical work of sci-fi!" The BookLife Prize

"A poignant epistolary novel... a deeply touching and thought-provoking reading experience." IndieReader

"Gruesome... Employing short chapters and much suspense, the book powerfully critiques homophobia, misogyny, and sex-shaming." BlueInk Review

"[An] incisive satire of homophobia... This provocative novel is not for the faint of heart." Publishers Weekly

"A page turner!" Writer's Digest