Annie on My Mind
In Nancy Garden's Annie on My Mind, we meet two teenaged girls Annie and Liza. Liza is a senior at a private school with plans to attend MIT to study architecture. Annie has a wonderful singing voice and attends a public school. They meet at a museum by chance (or was it fate?) and quickly become friends. As their time together goes on, Liz begins to realize and question the feelings she has for Annie. Eventually, both girls admit the feelings are mutual and they begin a relationship with each other. This type of relationship must remain a secret, though, because it was not something widely accepted in their homes or at school. In fact, when their relationship is outed by one of the teachers from Liza's school, it has dire effects on the girls' relationship as well as on the secret relationship between two teachers from the same school. The aftermath proves to be too much and Liza decides to stay away from Annie to try and make sense of her feelings. Eventually, Liza realizes that she cannot be afraid or embarrassed by who she is. She admits to herself that she is in love with Annie.
I will start by saying that I loved reading a "non-traditional" love story... and that is what this book was to me---a beautifully written love story. Nancy Garden wrote this book in a way that a heterosexual woman like myself could understand the love between two women. It was very powerful! After reading this book, I called my youngest daughter (who is lesbian) and asked her if she ever remembered reading books with gay or lesbian characters during her school years. Her answer saddened me. She said, "No. Never." She remembered having a discussion about it with her senior year English teacher and was told that there was a rule about what could or could not be read in class. I strongly believe that ALL children need to see representation in literature and am glad I was introduced to Annie on My Mind.
Learn more about Nancy Garden.
Comments
Post a Comment