All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto

by George M Johnson and Johnson, George M

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 going to flea markets 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.

• ISBN10: 0374312710
• ISBN13: 9780374312718
• Publish Date: 17 June 2020 (first published 28 April 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 1 October 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

I'm not sure I can accurately review this book. It's not that I don't have words to describe what I am feeling, merely that I might have too many words and it won't come out in any sort of coherent form. My journey with queerness is different from George's, as all journeys are different, but at the same time, there was so much that I have felt and dealt with on the page. Our coming into our own is certainly different, but seeing someone else describe the same thoughts and feelings they had growing up as I did has brought and unexpected healing of sorts.

I am so thankful that George shared their story with us.

[nannah]

I’ve been really looking forward to reading this book, and now that I’ve read it, I have some mixed feelings. On one hand, I do think his story should be shared and his commentary very important to a young adult audience -- especially those who, like him, are young, black, and lgbt, and who don’t know where to turn for advice. Also, especially white lgbt kids who don’t understand how being black can affect what it's like being lgbt. But on the other hand, the formatting and style really got to me and dimmed the reading experience somewhat.

Content warnings (which by the way, he lists some himself, bless him):
- the n word
- f slur
- q slur
-sexual assault
- incest

Representation:
- the author (and, since this is a memoir, “main character”) is black and q*eer
- everyone else in the memoir is black as well, with varying sexualities and identities

The first thing that really resonated with me was the author’s note saying he wasn’t going to stay away from things that are usually considered “too heavy” for teens -- because these things happened to him when he was a teen! And they have and will happen to other teens and children. As a survivor, I can really appreciate this. And, like he says, as heavy as the topics are, it’s necessary that teens read this, because it may help them if they’ve experienced anything similar (or may guide them if they do experience them in the future).

This sort of guidance becomes a theme throughout his memoir: gentle life lessons (and some not so gentle) at the end of each chapter teaching the newer generation of black and/or lgbt kids -- or anyone who wants to listen -- on how to be better people or how to take a situation better. It’s that sort of format that makes me wish he’d written a series of essays and letters, since half the book consists of letters to his loved ones, anyway. A sort of looking inward and then expressing his thoughts outward.

However, as important and lovely his lessons are (he really is one incredible person), the whole thing could’ve used a lot more polish and editing. Half the time it seems written in a stream-of-consciousness sort of way, feeling very disjointed. At the end of one paragraph, he’d say, “And we got to be the center of attention for a change”, and then it would take him another long paragraph to get back to the idea of being the center of attention. Normally, a paragraph in between isn’t that long, but that paragraph didn't relate to the idea at all. Or he’d stop what he was saying completely for a side note, and then get back to it. This can be charming for a while, but when it’s all throughout the narration, it can get a little exhausting to read and reminds me of a first draft.

But though things made reading this a bit aggravating, the stories were worth it; his commentary made it worth it. I think this one paragraph at the very end sums up nicely: “There were no books for me to read in order to understand what I was going through as a kid. There were no heroes or icons to look up to and emulate. There were no road maps or guidelines for the journey. And again, because I know there wasn’t and still isn’t much out there, I made it my original goal to get this right.”