Pageboy: A Memoir

#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.

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288 pages

Average rating: 6.91

104 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Anonymous
Mar 26, 2025
2/10 stars
Sad with too much abuse and sex for my taste.
kwhitter
Jan 22, 2025
6/10 stars
A lot spicier than I was expecting!

An important story to get out there, but sometimes difficult to follow when it came to the nonlinear storytelling.
Anonymous
Jan 08, 2025
6/10 stars
Finished “I’m glad my mom died” not too long ago and was getting so much Deja vu with this one. Abusive parents, actors coming of age…self harm/self abuse throughout. I’m glad Elliot is growing into himself.
MidnightCharcuterie
Nov 27, 2024
3.0
YvetteF
Jun 12, 2024
2/10 stars
DNF @ 73%. Back to the library with this one.

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