Two Teenagers in Twenty: Writings by Gay & Lesbian Youth - Softcover

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9781555832827: Two Teenagers in Twenty: Writings by Gay & Lesbian Youth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1555832822 ISBN 13: 9781555832827

Publisher: Alyson Pubns, 1995

"This consistently absorbing and frequently moving collection soberingly documents the damaging consequences of the homophobia that pervades even purportedly enlightened families and schools. These stories are overwhelmingly affirmative, buoyed by the authors' new self-awareness and the determination to find a place for themselves in an often hostile country."--Publishers Weekly

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 8 Up-Designed to inform and support teenagers dealing on their own with minority sexual indentification, this book contains personal narratives written by and for gay and lesbian teens. It is a revision of One in Ten (Alyson, 1983). The thoughtful, readable accounts focus on feelings about being homosexual, reactions of friends and family, and first encounters with other gay people. Interspersed with 24 stories reprinted from the earlier book are 19 new ones. The teen lesbian in one of them finds acceptance from her family, but many other additions read like the old stories of confusion and ostracism, underscoring the need to make this update available to young people and adults who work with them all over the country. One 16-year-old lesbian writes, "SHAME. FAILURE. These words passed through my head every day." She reports being denied access to One in Ten at her local public library, and killed herself before publication of her story here. The gay teen perspective is not available in many other places.
Claudia Morrow, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Gr. 7-12. This long-awaited new edition of One Teenager in Ten (1983), a collection of totally unpretentious personal testimonies from gay and lesbian youth, retains more than 20 of those heartfelt entries and adds some 19 more. The original ones have lost none of their power and poignancy; the new ones, though similar, occasionally address recent issues, such as AIDS. As before, the emphasis is on sexuality, not sex, with a majority of the testimonies concerned with coming out to oneself and to others. Although the book leads off with the words of a young person whose coming out was met with support and understanding, both Jones' introduction and afterword, and many of the responses of the teens themselves, speak to the anxiety, isolation, and sorrow that can still be a significant part of growing up gay. Even so, this is not a totally downbeat book. Mixed in with a sense of what gay teens face are pride and determination and, also, relief at finally discovering and accepting oneself. A selection of annotated adult and YA fiction and nonfiction titles is appended. Stephanie Zvirin

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