All Boys Aren't Blue

Score: 4/5 Bookmarks

Thank you to Libro.fm for gifting me a free review copy of the audiobook All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson.

I believe this is an important book, one that LGBTQIA+ teens and young adults can read and know that they aren’t alone, that others have gone through struggles of identity and discovery, prejudice, and finding and building support systems. It’s also a great book for those outside the LGBTQIA+ community to help increase understanding and awareness.

I liked this book a lot, and the author is obviously a gifted storyteller. This memoir is a collection of essays, and while they are laid out in parts and chapters there was a bit of jumping around in terms of timeline and several parts repeated earlier things we were told in the book, which I felt made it a little less smooth than it could have been. That’s my only complaint though, I definitely recommend you pick this one up, either as a physical book (it has an amazing cover) or grab the audiobook via the button below (it is narrated by the author, and it’s a quick listen at just over five hours).

Synopsis:

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his 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.