Scan barcode
A review by leviofmichigan
All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
5.0
This was a touching and incredibly personal account to read. I’m at the point in my life where sometimes I take for granted these stories, because they’re all accessible to me now. Back in the day, when I’d have to sneak a book like this home or read it only while at the library, I treasured stories like this one. Even so, while I take it for granted, it’s still so impactful and often incredibly relatable. I can’t relate to his experience being Black, or having close relatives die, but the knowledge, at such a young age, that you’re different, sometimes years before you ever find out what that difference really is—I felt that.
I can see why this book has caused controversy being in young teen libraries. While I feel this would have been a lot to process had I read it at 14, I do think I would have been prepared for it, and I think sometimes we assume things of children that weren’t even true for ourselves, and it’s just an ever-rolling cycle of people growing up, and turning around to say, “oh no, my kids aren’t going to see/read/hear that,” so easily forgetting what it felt like to be child before you knew how young you really were.
I can see why this book has caused controversy being in young teen libraries. While I feel this would have been a lot to process had I read it at 14, I do think I would have been prepared for it, and I think sometimes we assume things of children that weren’t even true for ourselves, and it’s just an ever-rolling cycle of people growing up, and turning around to say, “oh no, my kids aren’t going to see/read/hear that,” so easily forgetting what it felt like to be child before you knew how young you really were.