Rainbow Book List

Garsee, Jeannine. Say the Word. 2009. 360p. Bloomsbury, $16.99. (978-1-599990-333-0). Gr. 11-12: The “perfect” Shawna Gallagher finds her life turned upside down when she is 17 after her estranged lesbian mother dies and she discovers a family in the mother’s partner and two sons. The book covers a lot of ground—religion (Shawna is Roman Catholic and mother is transitioning into Judaism complete with kosher culture); lesbian lack of rights (the mother’s partner loses everything because the mother didn’t leave a will and they weren’t legally married); freakish control from a wealthy father who gives her everything and nothing; struggle with sexual attraction (Shawna gets tied up with ex-best friend’s twin who just wants to use her); need for family; domestic violence (one of the “sons” is actually the biological son of Shawna’s father after he raped her mother); first love (Shawna’s attraction for the son of her mother’s partner); shame (Shawna’s aunt is seriously homophobic); depression (the younger boy wants to kill himself because he cannot live with the woman he has always known as his mother). Writing moves evenly and the characters are nicely drawn—no stereotypes and lots of confusion–in this good look at children’s problems when their parents change from being hetero to homosexual.–Nel Ward

Crisis: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay in America. Ed. Mitchell Gold with Mindy Drucker. 2008. 369p. Greenleaf Book Group Press, $23.95. (978-1-929774-10-4). Gr. 11-12:
Coming-out stories from 40 Americans—many of them activists and politicians—show that attitude, not homosexuality, is not the problem in our society. The message is invaluable: no matter how much religion condemns homosexuality, gays can live a happy, productive, and if they wish, religious life. Reading this book can help young people survive the pernicious approach taken by some religions as they destroy kids’ self-esteem.–Nel Ward

Collins, Pat Lowery. Hidden Voices: The Orphan Musicians of Venice. 2009. 345p. Candlestick, $17.99. (978-0-7636-3917-4). Ages 12+:
In the early 1700s a teenage girl suffers from her unrequited love for another girl in the Ospedale della Pieta, an orphanage renowned for its extraordinary musical program. Although the love is not referred to specifically as being lesbian, there is a reference to Anetta looking more comfortable in trousers and her explanation to Luisa that, because of her feelings for Luisa, she understands the love of a man for a woman or a woman for a man. Luisa also becomes impatient with Anetta’s adoration and needs her to stop. The unique setting, vivid musical themes, and sharply realized characters make this book well worth reading.

–Nel Ward

Amateau, Gigi. A Certain Strain of Peculiar. 2009. 261p. Candlewick, $16.99. (978-0-7636-3009-6). Gr. 6-8: A Fed up with her classmates’ bullying and her increasing panic attacks, 13-year-old Mary Harold Woods runs away to live with her grandmother where she finds her place while building her muscles, caring for a Black Angus cow, helping wrangle the herd, and protecting a badly damaged girl who pretends she is a horse. Although the grandmother may come across as too understanding and the mother’s romance with the farm manager too convenient, the characters of the young people in the school ring true as they accuse Mary Harold of being a lesbian and she decides to fight back. The issues that she addresses are very real and portrayed in a clear, insightful way.–Nel Ward

D’Arcangelo, Lyndsey.  The Trouble with Emily Dickinson. Alpha World Press,
Oct. 2008.   978-0-9821044-0-8.  Grades 8 to 12.

I almost didn’t include a photo of the cover for this book because it’s so, um, ugly.  It’s a shame, because the book itself is charming.  The publishers compare the story to Romeo and Juliet,  but I think I would compare this title to that other “classic”  we all know, Annie On My Mind.  Yes, that classic 20th century love story is retold in a sweet, somewhat  utopian story about students at a boarding school who are just trying to figure out who they are, and who they love.  Nothing bad happens to any of the characters, and even when bad things happen, the problems get ironed-out in healthy, positive ways.  Utopia, right?  Both the youngsters and the adults behave appropriately for the most part, and that’s ok.  Sometimes it’s nice to read a “problem” novel where good things happen to good people, including the popular ones–enjoy!

–Arla Jones