Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
It was only a few weeks ago that I read AM I BLUE?: COMING OUT OF THE SILENCE edited by Marion Dane Bauer. That book is filled with fictional stories dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues, and is a book I highly recommend. I was very happy to see THE FULL SPECTRUM, edited by the talented authors David Levithan and Billy Merrell, hit the...
more Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
It was only a few weeks ago that I read AM I BLUE?: COMING OUT OF THE SILENCE edited by Marion Dane Bauer. That book is filled with fictional stories dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues, and is a book I highly recommend. I was very happy to see THE FULL SPECTRUM, edited by the talented authors David Levithan and Billy Merrell, hit the shelves. THE FULL SPECTRUM is not fiction. It's filled with many, many stories--some long, some very short--that are mini-memoirs of the individual author. This book covers all of the ups and downs, the sadness and joy, of being homosexual, transgender, questioning, or bisexual.
There are so many great personal stories in this book that I'm unable to choose a favorite. Instead, I'm going to list every entry that is included, for the simple fact that these authors, these very real individuals speaking from personal experience, deserve a round of applause for bringing these issues to the awareness of each and every one of us.
O.K. by Courtney Gillette
A GAY GRAMMAR by Gabe Bloomfield
IT'S NOT CONFIDENTIAL, I'VE GOT POTENTIAL by Eugenides Fico
SNOW AND HOT ASPHALT by Benjamin Zumsteg
WHEN YOU'RE A GAY BOY IN AMERICA by Danny Zaccagnino
I SMELL THE GAS OF MY FATHER'S FISHING BOAT by Adam K. Boehmer
FOURTH OF JULY by Lauren Rile Smith
MY DIARY: DOCUMENTED. DONE. by L. Canale
CRYING WOLFE by Jack Lienke
TRANS-VENTURES OF AN F2M by Alexzander Colin Rasmussen
QUEER: FIVE LETTERS by Kat Wilson
FALLING OFF MY BIKE AND RIDING INTO THE SUNSET by Christopher Wilcox
THE NIGHT MARC HALL WENT TO THE PROM by J. J. Deogracias
DON'T TELL ME THAT I'M OVERLY SENSITIVE AND PARANOID by Alex Weissman
MY POEMS by Isaac Oliver
SACAGAWEA by Laura Heston
A FAIRY'S TALE by Travis Stanton
A BOY IN THE GIRLS' BATHROOM by Dylan Forest
OUR SPACE by Jovencio de la Paz
FOUR PHOTOS by Justin Levesque
BREAK-UP IN SLOW MOTION by Joshua Dalton
A STORY CALLED "HER" by Alison Young
MOMENT: THIS COULD'VE BEEN ME by Evin Hunter
A QUIETLY QUEER REVOLUTION by Laci Lee Adams
HATCHBACK by Kaitlyn Tierney Duggan
WALKING THE TRACKS by Eric Knudsen
THE MOST IMPORTANT LETTER OF OUR LIFE by JoSelle Vanderhooft
WITHOUT A TRACE by Anthony Rella
BODY ISN'T THIS by Zara Iris
NICE ASS by Jesse Cameron Alick
"GIRL + FAGGOTS" by Caspian Gray
SOMETHING FOR THE LADIES by Danny Thanh
CLICK AND DRAG by Joel de Vera Moncada
JILL SOBULE AND FOUR OTHER TORTURE DEVICES by Ella Pye
GAYDAR by Jesse Bernstein
THE SHORT VERSION by Grover Wehman
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE by Stefanie Davis
THAT NIGHT by Matthew Mayo
CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE by Tyrell Pough
THREE SUNSETS by Robert Brittain
The truly wonderful thing about this book isn't just that it deals with issues that many people still feel are taboo, but the fact that they raise awareness in everyone who reads it that being different doesn't really mean being different. Whether you're heterosexual or homosexual, male or female or transgender, clear in your sexuality or questioning, there are things that everyone can learn from reading the stories included in THE FULL SPECTRUM. Add to that fact that part of the proceeds of the sale of the book are being donated to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and you have one more reason to pick up a copy.
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