A review by pucksandpaperbacks
All Boys Aren't Blue, by George M. Johnson
5.0
Trigger Warnings: Molestation/sexual assault, homophobia, racism, use of the N-word and homophobic slurs
*They are also mentioned at the beginning of the book.
I resonated with this novel in so many aspects and it taught so many crucial and valuable lessons while George told their childhood story. Through trauma, grief, loss, and coming to terms with their sexuality, Johnson shares their own life lessons and proceeds to teach a lesson to the reader. This was an incredibly thought-provoking novel. There were so many important aspects of being a queer person from the perspective of a Black non-binary person that I learned from and could reflect on in my own life.
Toward the end, I SOBBED. I didn't know I needed to hear so many of George's quotes about death and grief as much as I did right now. So, I will leave you with some of my favorites but I did highlight & tab almost every page.
Quotes
"The greatest tool you have in fighting the oppression of your Blackness and queerness and anything else within your identity is to be fully educated on it"
"If a world can have miracles, then it must have tragedy too"
"You truly never get over death. It just gets easier to live with every day"
"I saw what it looked like for people to be "slowly dying" because they never got to live in their authentic selves"
"Time and Death are much closer than many of us would ever like them to be "
*They are also mentioned at the beginning of the book.
I resonated with this novel in so many aspects and it taught so many crucial and valuable lessons while George told their childhood story. Through trauma, grief, loss, and coming to terms with their sexuality, Johnson shares their own life lessons and proceeds to teach a lesson to the reader. This was an incredibly thought-provoking novel. There were so many important aspects of being a queer person from the perspective of a Black non-binary person that I learned from and could reflect on in my own life.
Toward the end, I SOBBED. I didn't know I needed to hear so many of George's quotes about death and grief as much as I did right now. So, I will leave you with some of my favorites but I did highlight & tab almost every page.
Quotes
"The greatest tool you have in fighting the oppression of your Blackness and queerness and anything else within your identity is to be fully educated on it"
"If a world can have miracles, then it must have tragedy too"
"You truly never get over death. It just gets easier to live with every day"
"I saw what it looked like for people to be "slowly dying" because they never got to live in their authentic selves"
"Time and Death are much closer than many of us would ever like them to be "