Boy Minus Girl
Posted by: blogando on: July 16, 2009
Uhlig, Richard. Boy Minus Girl. 2008 (December). 246p. Knopf, $15.99. (978-0-375-83968-9). Gr. 8-10.
Fourteen-year-old Lester’s sole goal in life is to be successful with girls, but even the tips he reads in The Seductive Man can’t help him with his friend Charity, who reveals that she is a lesbian, and Regina, who uses him to get her boyfriend back. The mix of characters—seemingly strait-laced parents, swinger Uncle Ray, Ray’s pregnant stripper girlfriend, and the town bully—adds to the rich setting of a conservative South during the 1980s. With Lester, the reader learns that nothing is as it seems, as everyone grapples, sometimes unsuccessfully, with their own issues. Charity’s acceptance of her lesbianism is refreshing, and the protagonist gives this book a wide readership. -Nel Ward
Hunting with Barracudas
Posted by: blogando on: July 16, 2009
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Snyder, Chris. Hunting with Barracudas: My Life in Hollywood with the Legendary Iris Burton. 2009. 314p. Herman Graf Book/Skyhorse Publishing, $22.95. (978-1-60239-662-3). Gr. 11-12.
What happens when a young gay guy moves from a small upstate New York town to the glitzy world of a children’s talent agency? Snyder traces over a decade of personal angst in a cutthroat world of fame-obsessed wannabe actors and an unyielding, control-freak boss. The author openly discusses not only his struggles with clients, including River Phoenix, but also his attempt to personally deal with his gay sexuality and his difficulty in finding intimacy beyond sexual experiences. Throughout the book runs a common theme expressed by one of his statements: “I didn’t even accept me so how could I expect anyone else to accept me?” His entertaining experiences in both Hollywood and in Greece, where he operates a bed & breakfast on an isolated island for a few months, are shown in a frank and frequently humorous manner. -Nel Ward
Punkzilla
Posted by: blogando on: July 16, 2009
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Rapp, Adam. Punkzilla. 2009. 244p. Candlewick, $16.99. (978-0-7636-3031-7). Gr. 8-10.
On his way from Portland to Tennessee, where his gay older brother is dying of cancer, 14-year-old Jamie (aka Punkzilla) writes a series of letters about his adventures and his feelings regarding their dysfunctional family. Jamie’s personality and background are revealed through his details and ideas about the wide variety of characters he meets and other letters from family and friends, providing a great view of both adolescence and Americana. With humor and optimism, the stream-of-consciousness language rings true, and the format will appeal to young readers. -Nel Ward
In Our Mother’s House
Posted by: blogando on: July 16, 2009
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Polacco, Patricia. In Our Mother’s House. 2009. unp. Philomel, $17.99. (978-0-399-25076-7). Gr. 1-3.
Although the family of three children and two parents seem like any other family on the block, filled with love and respect, one woman doesn’t accept them because the two parents are both women. The narrator of the story from her adoption to her marriage is told by the oldest adopted child as she describes the joy and love in the house. The message is sweetly told with action-filled watercolors and fun experiences for the children. -Nel Ward
YSquare Plus
Posted by: blogando on: July 16, 2009
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Park, Judith. YSquare Plus. 2008 (December). 192p. Yen Press, $10.99. (978-0-7595-2927-4). Gr. 9-12.
Yagate tries to get his friend Yoshitaka help him catch the man of his dreams, but his friend Chana has her eye on the same guy, handsome college student Ra-Myun. The story shows the value of friendship, and the love triangles among several of the characters are angst-driven but humorous. The action moves quickly, and the illustrations are clean and contemporary with exaggerated faces and eyes in the tradition of manhwa (the Korean version of manga). Written and drawn by Korean-born Park, the sequel to the manhwa Y Square is translated from German. -Nel Ward
Say the Word
Posted by: blogando on: July 16, 2009
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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 Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay in America
Posted by: blogando on: July 16, 2009
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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
Hidden Voices
Posted by: blogando on: July 16, 2009
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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
A Certain Strain of Peculiar
Posted by: blogando on: July 16, 2009
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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
The Trouble with Emily Dickinson
Posted by: blogando on: July 14, 2009
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