Welcome to Litsy!

#LGBTQasMC this was my generation! I wish I still had my copy. I‘ll have to reread it. #MarchMagic @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Pride Month: Day One! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Today, on this first day of Pride, I'm featuring two books that are very important to me - Annie on my Mind, and Empress of the World! These were the first two books I read as a teen that featured gay and bisexual characters, and they helped to make me feel seen and safe! 🥰📚 Books save lives! And queer books save queer lives! 🌈 #pridemonth #queerbooks #lgbtq

#doublespin for May @TheAromaofBooks

This was well done. The language is a bit dated - written in the 1980s there are a lot of "golly gee" conversations but juxtapositioned with talk of security guards and drugs in public schools.
This was groundbreaking when written and the story still holds up well. I enjoyed it.

The copy I read was an older one that I checked out from the library: a twenty-fifth anniversary edition. It‘s hard to believe that this book will be celebrating it‘s fortieth anniversary next year! I really enjoyed this book, and the interview with the author in the back. My one note is that I wish that there was a prequel following Ms. Stevenson and Ms. Widmer when they were teens. 5⭐️

We went camping this weekend, so here‘s my Sunday post... these are #3books that are banned books I‘ve read. Annie on my Mind is the first YA lesbian novel to have a happy ending where the characters end up together. It was published in 1982.... it was banned in a lot of states. Some groups of people (most religious) would burn copies of the books on the steps of schools and libraries.

There are things I‘m going to have to work hard at remembering.

I had no know idea this book was published back in 1982, nor did I know it was the first and only YA novel published about teen lesbian love at that time. It definitely felt dated and the writing reflected the age group it was intended for, but I still enjoyed watching the heartfelt and pure exploration of friendship, turn crush, turn love for Annie and Liza. I can appreciate the importance of this book for the time it was published.

This book helped me a lot when I was confused with my sexual orientation. It‘s quite dated now but nevertheless a good YA read.

#essentialbooks. Inspired by @kgriffith ‘s post. The tagged book changed my life. Others made it safe to explore who I was, filled me with rage, spoke to that part of me that will always be a dancer, is still interested in education and equality. One I hold up as my gold standard for nonfiction, and all of them make me want to write like that when I grow up. Slightly missing: Autoboyography and Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir.

This was really excellent. The writing, the story, the characters. All of it was exceptional. It really shows the difficulties of growing up and falling in love especially when it isn‘t in the way that people accept generally. I really felt this book and the characters and their emotions. It will definitely stay with me.

Currently reading 💖💖

Day 6! Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

@hes7 it‘s your turn! For 10 days post the cover of a book that changed you, without context

#ikissedagirl #heatofjuly something I read a few years ago that I liked and thought of for this prompt.

#IKissedaGirl

Classic YA coming out novel, it's been burned, it's been banned, but most importantly it's been read.

#HeatofJuly @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB

I didn‘t like this book at first, and I still think the writing, particularly the dialogue, is a bit forced... but the overarching themes are very important, and the emotion is real.
#riotgrams #queerreads #pride #loveislove

#pinkcover #aprilbookishmadness a few pink books I own.

❤💛💚💙💜

I wasn't expecting to finish another book so quickly, but I devoured this one. This book was a much needed breath of fresh air. I am positive I will be returning to Annie over and over for many years to come. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #LitsyAtoZ

The kitchen is a mess and I have plenty of cleaning up to do, but I can't stop admiring my #Christmasbookhaul My family knows me so well (so much so that I got two copies of the same book!) I am really excited about all of them. I'm not sure where to start first...

I finally got my hands on this #lesbian classic! I really hope I like it because it‘s important to me for personal reasons. Let‘s read!

I read this for the @bookriot #readharder challenge, book that has been frequently challenged. It was a little dated, and because of growing up in a small southern town with a lesbian mother, the story of the teachers resonated with me more than the love story. One of my biggest fears from ages 8-15 was that someone would take issue with who my mother loved and take us from her, so all of the discussion of hiding and fear was painful.

Eliza has never really given much thought to her sexual identity. Then, on a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she meets Annie, a talented singer from the poor side of town. The zing of attraction hits her right away, although she doesn't acknowledge it for what it is.

The girls' friendship gradually morphs into love. Garden beautifully captures the sweetness of first love and this is where this story shines and feels timeless.

For my Social Justice in Youth Literature class, we were assigned a thematic book talk project. We chose a theme, then selected 8-10 titles to book talk and include on a list of recommendations. My theme was "Girl + Girl," and I picked these titles (plus Goldie Vance). (That's Raven: The Pirate Princess, Book One at the bottom of the stack.) #girlfriends #anditsaugust @RealLifeReading

?✨
“The first day, I stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter watching Annie feed the cats, and I knew I wanted to be able to do that forever: stand in kitchens watching Annie feed cats. Our kitchens. Our cats.” .
~ Nancy Garden, Annie on My Mind

This book is one of my absolutely favorites! ❤️
Its such a gorgeous story, and I fell in love over and over again while reading it. ✨

"Don't let ignorance win. Let love"
~ Nancy Garden

When two young girls love each other what could possibly stop them? Unles, well, themselves?

Probably best to read at 14 so you can stick to the hopefull parts of it and ignore the drama.

Annie and Liza are every teen girl fallen in love with their best friend. They are every teen girl who felt excluded once realized what's diferent about them.
They are every girl in love with another girl that never wants to go out in the real world again.

I really enjoyed this book. Even though I'm straight, those feelings of first love and being unsure of who you are and how to meet your parent's expectations were so relatable. I felt like a teenager again.

I'm revisiting this book today for a library school project on challenged books and realized it totally fits the bill for #Riotgrams Day 14, #KissingBooks! This was the first YA that had a happy ending for a same-sex couple and is thus one of the most important kissing books of all time.

I've never hit double digits in a month before. I've also never finished an audiobook before. #januarystats

Time for a bit more sleep. Question: does anyone else find it harder to concentrate on audiobooks as opposed to print books or ebooks? #24in48 #sleep @24in48

I love this book. It's so innocent, although i definitely recognize it as a product of different times. Things were so different for gay people when I was in high school. I'm glad that there is more authenticity now. #lgbtq #diversereads #lgbtqhistory #24in48

So behind. Back to reading. #24in48

This came recommended by @bookishkris when I said I wanted to explore more #queerbooks and it didn't disappoint! This is also my "A" for #LitsyAtoZ which I started a couple of weeks early. At first I was disappointed at the lack of support these young women got in their love story, but since it was written in 92, that made sense. It's a touching tale of first love, and coming to know oneself. ??

My library #bookhaul today! It's looking like a weekend full of winter weather, which is perfect for coffee, books, and staying in! ☕️❄️📚

I tend to not be as interested in books where being gay is the central conflict; I'd really rather see them being happy and living life at this point, but I think this one was done so well and could be so great for girls who are going through similar experiences!
Also, it's just such a sweet romance so as someone who can't relate to this experience it was still really enjoyable for me to read!
❤❤❤❤

The first #LGBTQ book I ever read, and it's probably my favourite at the moment. Completely raw, beautifully written, incredibly relatable. I love this book to death 💜

My snow monster was pure and white and guiltless, and I looked at it, Annie, and it struck me that it can never turn black and ugly like the monster of my childhood, because what is guiltless about it is what it is, not necessarily what it does. Even if sometimes what it does is bad, or cowardly, or foolish, it itself is still okay, not evil. It can be good, and brave, and wise, as long as it goes on trying.
#bannedbooksweek

My #24in48readathon pile

Because it's Pride Month, I'll be re-reading this book that I was really obsessed with in 8th grade!

The book that changed my life. I was fifteen and found myself in these pages in so very many ways.