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Dance on My Grave by Aidan Chambers
Title: Dance on My Grave Author: Aiden Chambers Original Publication Date: 1982 Original Publisher: Bodley Head Queer Representation: 1 teenage gay protagonist, 1 (bisexual/queer) love interest Page Length: 253 Hal, both in relation to Barry and on his own, is a psychologically rich character worthy of deeper thought and examination Memorable Quote: “Maybe I loved him. I thought I did. As much as I knew what the word means. How do you ever know? I used to think I would know when it happened. Know immediately, without having to wonder about it.” Review: When Hal Robinson capsizes in his classmate’s boat that he borrowed, he is rescued by Barry Gorman. Barry is a few years older than…
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Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
Title: Annie on My Mind Author: Nancy Garden Original Publication Date: July 1982 Original Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux Queer Representation: 2 teenage lesbian protagonists, 2 secondary lesbian adults Page Length: 234 One of the first QYA novels to offer up the revolutionary idea that you don’t have to make queer characters suffer to have a good novel. Memorable Quote: “Don’t punish yourselves for people’s ignorant reactions to what we all are. Don’t let ignorance win. Let love.” REVIEW: When Liza Winthrop first spots Annie Kenyon in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she is immediately drawn to the singing girl surrounded by quiet people. The two may have come from different backgrounds —…
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Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block
Title: Weetzie Bat Author: Francesca Lia Block Original Publication Date: 1989 Original Publisher: HarperCollins Page Length: 128 Queer Representation: 2 gay male primary characters The first modern queer young adult fairy tale and a novel that helps readers to believe in magic and happy endings. Memorable Quote: “She knew they were all afraid. But love and disease are both like electricity, Weetzie thought. They are always there — you can’t see or smell or hear, touch or taste them, but you know they are there like a current in the air. We can choose, Weetzie thought, we can choose to plug into the love current instead.” REVIEW: In the first…
