Reviews tagging 'Deadnaming'

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

115 reviews

zachzakku's review against another edition

hopeful reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Deadnaming

laurensgaylife's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Homophobia

Moderate: Grief, Death, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Medical content, Alcohol, Deadnaming, and Drug use

mari1532's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

I listened to this audiobook through my library on Libby. 

Brief Summary: A memoir that explores the experience of a Black, Queer person growing up. Johnson provides essays about their life that include experiences navigating racism, homophobia, sex, love, and joy.

Thoughts: This is a beautifully written book. Johnson has such a clear understanding of how growing up can be such a difficult process and how learning to love yourself is truly the first step to an enlightened understanding of the world. 

I really loved every essay that included stories of Johnson's grandmother. The love and admiration that they have for each other was so touching to read. I also think that it is so important that Johnson highlighted how their grandmother and others in their family may not have had a perfect response to the queer members of the family, but that their love for each other always came first and that love allowed for growth and acceptance on all sides.

I also appreciate the way that Johson discusses their sexual experiences. I think that even in a young adult book it is important to discuss topics like these because making them taboo makes it difficult for people to feel comfortable discussing the topic and asking questions. 

Even if you are not a young adult this is a great book to read. It is beautifully and thoughtfully written. I would highly recommend this book  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Transphobia, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Incest, Homophobia, Bullying, Racism, Violence, Rape, and Deadnaming

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

kjofalltrades's review

emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Homophobia, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Incest, Deadnaming, and Death

Moderate: Cancer, Outing, and Transphobia

Minor: Alcohol

gabs_loc's review

challenging inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Deadnaming

sarahc_v's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

3.75

I will start by saying that I don’t think I am the target audience for this book which did impact my experience reading it. I think it’s very important that this book exists and that it will be so incredibly beneficial to queer teens, black teens, and especially black queer teens. It was interesting to see George’s experience growing up in the 90s as a queer person which is very different from how younger people experience it. I liked overall the concepts and the meaning/significance of the book, but I wasn’t wild about the writing style. As other reviews pointed out, the sentences were very choppy and because I was listening to the audiobook that was especially noticeable. I’d say that the first 3/4 of the book weren’t anything extraordinary to me, but I really enjoyed the last 1/4 and hearing about the college experience and everything about Kenny. Having also

built a very close friend group in college who became my family (and whom my parents had met many times) and the one of those friends died

the section about

Kenny’s death

really deeply resonated with me and I found George’s reflection on it very insightful. So if only for that section, I am very glad to have read this book. I would also recommend this book to those trying to learn more about the black queer experience - obviously George’s journey isn’t universal but it is a good introduction for those who want to learn more (having already been pretty familiar through other books and media, this wasn’t as impactful to me). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual assault, and Death

Moderate: Deadnaming

jouljet's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Racism, Sexual assault, Deadnaming, Death, Racial slurs, Homophobia, and Bullying

ekmoore11's review

informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism, Deadnaming, and Death

bookwormcat's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Bullying

Moderate: Blood, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Cursing, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Injury/Injury detail

blue_is_at_sea's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

I had a great experience reading this book. It’s one of the first memoirs I’ve ever read and I have to say I think it’s a great one to start with. 
It deals with so much: race, gender sexuality, death, trauma, family and friendship. 
I like that the prose is very accessible and the chapters are short. The subject matter can be fun and lighthearted but can also be heavy at times. 
It’s a great read and I do recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Sexual assault, and Homophobia

Minor: Incest, Dysphoria, Outing, Deadnaming, and Grief