Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - All Boys Aren't Blue

I've always said it feels so wrong to rate memoirs/biographies because they are so personal and it takes a certain amount of bravery and vulnerability from the author to be willing to share this with the entire world. However, this feels like a solid five stars simply because I loved everything about this and how it was written. This is an important book and I think should be required reading, even if it was difficult/challenging to read at times but that doesn't mean we just don't read it. We just take the time to ask ourselves why it was challenging and have open discussions with others about it.

pre-review: This book spoke to me on so many different levels, my heart hurts.

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kteliza28's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

Really enjoyed this memoir about growing up black and queer. The first 2/3 of this book were the best: the childhood upbringing, growing into oneself and trying to understand identity, family dynamics and dealing with hate in all its forms (especially the emphasis on micro aggressions). It was actually the most informative part for me, especially the un-learning of what we’ve been taught in our history classes. This story was different to me because not everything was a struggle. At first I was so surprised that the authors family was pretty much fully supportive from the get go (some members more than others but mostly supportive). You read books like this and think everything has to be a downhill battle the whole time and how the author preserved and came out of it heroic, but it was a really nice change of pace to hear the story of someone who didn’t have it all bad but still dealt with very negative things and also still hasn’t figured everything out yet. As someone not black and not gay, reading someone’s story of sexuality and their feelings around sex in general was actually something I could connect with. I do think this book kinda loses me a little around the time the author goes to college. There were some elements of the story that played into the theme of the book but at times felt like I was just hearing a day to day recall of a pretty mundane college life. But maybe that’s the point. Again, you don’t need to struggle 100% of the time or have a drama filled life 100% of the time to write about it. This is not to detract from what the author went through. There are MANY times throughout this memoir where I was shaking my head in sadness and disgust for what he went through. But there was hope and happiness here too.

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maggieperrien's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

While this book is a YA memoir of a black queer man, so I realize I am not the target audience, I appreciated hearing his experience and reflecting on what I can do to be a better friend and stand up for people whose voices are so often ignored.

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siobhanward's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

Johnson has a talent for drawing in readers and creating a narrative that feels like a conversation. I appreciated that they didn't shy away from challenges, while at the same time sharing stories of Black and queer joy in their life. I only wish that they could have shared more about their journey to who they are today. Johnson talked a lot about their life as a young adult, but didn't talk much about what happened between then and now. This was still a beautifully written read and I'm really happy to have read it. I think it's a great story of hope for any young person who may be struggling with their identity, as Johnson reminds us that it's not a smooth journey, but its a worthwhile one.

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rhiannon814r's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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