Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden tells the story of two teenage girls falling in love. This book was originally written and published in 1982 which makes this particular love story very unique. Liza meets Annie in her happy place, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is by herself as she normally is going to use the art as inspiration for her senior project. It is then that she meets this quirky and outgoing girl that she quickly befriends. Both Liza and Annie know that this is more than a normal friendship, but they struggle to say it aloud.
This story show the struggle of the LGBT community during the time this book was set. Liza barely knew what homosexuality was or gay meant when she realized she was in love with Annie. Liza goes through a journey of guilt, acceptance, and self discovery throughout this book. Liza recognizes as she recalls her memories of Annie in short flashbacks or vignettes that she still has some growing to do when it comes to accepting and embracing her sexuality. Liza is a freshman in college trying to figure out why she cannot write back to her best friend and love of her life, Annie. She runs through all of the events that happened over the last year since they met to identify why she just can't send anything she writes. Eventually, she identifies it as guilt. After Annie and Liza are caught at Liza's teacher's house, Liza feels an immense shame and guilt in regards to her sexuality. She blames herself for the pain and worry she saw in Annie's eyes when they were caught. She blames herself for the consequences others faced because of their actions.
This is a beautifully written story showing a girl growing into her own sexuality. She knows deep down that she is who she is and she loves who she loves and nothing would change that; even when sometimes that is hard to admit to oneself. The edition of this book I got to read included an interview with the author, Nancy Garden. This interview helps put the book more into perspective of how it was like growing up and realizing that not everyone could accept you for who you are because of their own ignorance. This story not only revolves around her sexuality but also her coming of age. I feel that one of the things that is uniquely YA is the ease of how adolescents can recognize ignorance and hypocrisy in adults. YA books more and more show how young adults recognize what is wrong and sometimes they have a hard time fighting it, but not letting the thoughts or ideas of adults and the so called "wise elders" define who they are.
Other books that you might like that deal with coming of age and love are:- Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
- Every Day by David Levithan
- Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
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