Book Bites: All Boys Aren't Blue

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Given how often "All Boys Aren't Blue" is challenged and removed from school and public libraries, George Johnson's coming of age memoir as a gay black young adult is surprisingly chaste, family-affirming and, dare I say...normal? Outside of a (very frank) chapter showing how conservative mis-teaching of sexuality and reproduction leads to predatory behaviors and fumbling sexual encounters--especially so among queer youth--Johnson's book mostly centers on the importance of family and how utterly affirming it is to be allowed the space and grace to grow and make mistakes and learn. It is ironically because of wine-moms (who, by the way, read just the dirtiest smut) and lifted-pickup-truck-dads (with toxic browser histories), who are constantly trying to silence Johnson's voice, that this touching and honest queer coming-of-age story is so important.

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