Banned Books Week Book Review: All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: April 28, 2020
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores their childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting their teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with their loving grandmother, to their first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.
Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren’t Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson’s emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults.
(The jacket of the book uses he/him/his pronouns for George but they switched to using they/them pronouns in 2020 so that’s what I’ll be using in this review and why I changed them in the Publisher’s Description.)
Like I said the other day, I chose to read All Boys Aren’t Blue for my Banned Books Week read because it was challenged by parents in several school districts in my area. I’m so glad I chose it!
All Boys Aren’t Blue is George M. Johnson’s manifesto and coming-of-age memoir about growing up Black and queer. Even as a small child, George felt different. They didn’t feel like a typical boy so they thought maybe they were a girl. They didn’t see a place for an effeminate male in their culture. They spent recess with the girls, double Dutch jump roping until one day they accidentally discovered they were a naturally good football player and that they liked to play football as much as they liked jumping rope. Then George was even more confused. As George got older, they figured out that they weren’t sexually attracted to girls but they weren’t ready to admit to themselves that they were attracted to boys.
Teenagers going through the same struggles as Johnson will appreciate their unflinchingly honest perspective. Their recounting of an episode of sexual abuse they experienced as a child was particularly brave. This is actually one of the excerpts that the parent groups trying to get this book banned have taken out of context and circulated. The fact that these groups would equate this scene with pornography makes it clear to me that they have not read the book. It’s not erotic at all and they should be ashamed of themselves for cheapening Johnson’s experience with their ignorance.
The other passage parents are upset about is when Johnson shares about losing their virginity – in college by the way. How many YA books feature young, white straight people losing their virginity or just plain out having sex repeatedly? Where’s the outcry? Judy Blume’s Forever, anyone? And again, this is not porn. This is a person being vulnerable and sharing an experience that teenagers will read and know that they are not alone in being scared and unsure. I can only imagine the impact it has on Black LGBTQ youth to read George’s story and know that not only are they not the only one who has struggled and been confused but that someone who went through it came out the other side a successful adult person. Representation matters.
Straight teens (and adults) should read this book too. It’s important to read about other people’s experiences and be able to see the world through a different lens. Books like this one can be powerful tools to build empathy and break down barriers.
Highly recommended.
