Reviews with content warning for Outing - Annie on My Mind

Reviews tagging 'Outing'

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

28 reviews

literarymatcha's review against another edition

emotional hopeful relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book, I felt, became a part of me from the very first page. It contained my favorite poem, Invictus (I had it taped on my wall for the longest time), and most of all, I saw myself in the pages: a terrified, gay kid about to go to college.

I saw myself in the pages, in the way Liza talked and thought, most of all. Many years ago, I, too, was in love with a friend who sang like the sirens crafted her voice themselves. I went to all her recitals. And when Liza described Annie's singing, and how she felt at the recital, I thought, 'was this book written for me?' because that was how it felt like. And in my opinion, how phenomenal books always feel like.

I like that it ended on a happy note. With the letters and the whole house thing that happened, I was scared that it would end sadly. If it did, it would be a loss to the gay community and I would take it very personally.

Another thing that caught my heart was in the

'trial' they held for Liza

scene, her dad told her "Steady". I fixated on that word for a while, because I remember going through something similar and my dad also said something similar.

ALSO I absolutely adored

our gay teachers, Kah and Iza! I loved how they made a life for themselves and how human and real they are, and how absolutely in love with each other they were, and still are. long live my queens

I would tattoo this whole book on my skin if I could. I mean, it's already in my heart, so ink on skin is naturally the next step.

Content Warnings

callmepipes_'s review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I think without the historical context of this book being one of the first YA sapphic books where no one dies, and revolutionary for its time period, this book wouldn’t be as highly spoken of. However in its praise, it was fun for my book club and relaxing as hell! Sweet fluffy read for sure, and I enjoy that Liza and Annie discovering their queerness was a topic with a lot of development.

Content Warnings

onlyongracexm's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I get it that was much harder to be openly gay in the past than it is now. I know this book is so important in terms of its place in LGBTQ history as one of the first(?) published books for teens about lesbians.

It’s just that I, personally, don’t think this book has aged well.

It lies mostly with the writing style than the story, which was also irritating to read. The two main characters, Liza and Annie, sound more like posh British schoolgirls than American students in New York City. And they both sound like they’re twelve, instead of fifteen or seventeen or whatever they are. The writing, especially towards the end, gets so silly that I got annoyed—enough with the em dashes!

Story-wise, I understand completely that getting fired from your job for being gay is a serious issue that we’re still tackling today, but what I don’t understand is how Liza and Annie got caught by that teacher and that student in their other teachers’ house? Like? They just go over to their house? I’m under the impression that teachers generally prefer to keep work and private lives separate. And then, Liza faces expulsion from her private school for something she did off-grounds? Expulsion from the school she’s paying for, the selfsame school that’s struggling financially? The principal talks like a Southern belle who’s trying to keep a family scandal quiet, lest she risks the ire of society. But, my dudes, we’re in New York effin’ City. There are too many people to give a shit about you. And why does everybody suddenly turn Bible-thumpin’ religious? This is New York effin’ City, not Alabama!

*deep breath*

This book just wasn’t for me, personally.

Content Warnings