Annie on My Mind

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
Original ISBN 978-0-374-4011-8
Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1982
233 pages

Plot Summary: “It’s raining, Annie” Liza subconsciously writes.  This begins Liza Winthrop’s reminiscing of when she and Annie Kenyon, both age seventeen, meet in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.  They become instant friends despite their differing backgrounds.  Since the girls go to different schools (Liza at a stuffy private academy while Annie attends a raucous public school), they spend most nights and weekends touring the city.  Before too long, the girls develop strong, romantic feelings for each other.  While Annie believes that she may be a lesbian, Liza is very unsure of where her feelings are taking her for she has never before considered her sexual orientation.  A teacher at Liza’s prestigious academy discovers the girls’ relationship and Liza is in jeopardy of being expelled from the school.  Shortly after, the girls graduate high school and go to college on opposing coasts.  Liza has not communicated with Annie since; she has been trying to understand her feelings and what being gay entails.  While she doesn’t communicate with Annie, Annie is always on Liza’s mind.

Critical Evaluation: Annie on My Mind is positively ground-breaking as it was the first novel to show a gay protagonist in a positive light.  But the novel is much more than a “lesbian story.” Garden’s writing accurately describes the uncertainty and anticipation one feels when falling in love for the first time. Anyone – regardless of sexual orientation – can relate to the feelings associated with first love.

Reader’s Annotation: You never forget your first love.

Author Information: Garden was born in Boston on May 15, 1938.  Of the 35 books she has written, many contain gay and lesbian characters or themes.  She was awarded the 2003 Margaret A. Edwards Award for her contribution to YA literature. She is also an active supporter of intellectual freedom.  In 2000, she was awarded the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award and in 2009, received the Johnson County First Amendment Foundation Liberty Award.

Her website can be found at http://www.nancygarden.com/

Genre: LGBT; Realistic fiction; Coming-of-age

Curriculum Ties: English Language Arts

Booktalking Ideas: I would read Liza’s letter (to Annie) in the first few pages of the book. We would also discuss first love.

Reading Level / Interest Age: Grade 9 and up

Lexile: 1000

Challenge Issues: Annie on My Mind was listed as number 44 on the American Library Association’s frequently challenged books for 1990-1999 due to its homosexual content.  In 1994, the book was removed from school libraries, and subsequently burned (yes, you read that right, burned), in Olathe, Kansas.  The book was ordered back on shelves after parents and students sued the school district for violation of their First Amendment rights. 

Reason for Item’s Inclusion: Annie on My Mind is a beautiful, poignant story of first love. It also deals with the uncertainty teens face when coming to terms with their sexuality.  The book sends a positive message to LGBT youth, as well as straight youth, and exemplifies the concept that love knows no gender. In 2000, School Library Journal named Annie on My Mind as one of the “One Hundred Books That Shaped the [20^th] Century.”

References:

American Library Association. (n.d.). 100 most frequently challenged books: 1990-1999.   
          Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_1999

American Library Association Young Adult Library Services Association. (n. d.)
Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/margaretaedwards/maeprevious/2003nancygarden

Leitich Smith, C. (interview conducted June 2001). Interview with children’s and YA book author Nancy Garden [Web log]. Retrieved from

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/authors/interviews/NancyGarden.html

School Library Journal. (2000, January). One hundred books that shaped the century. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA153035.html

 Teacher Librarian. (2011, October). Much more than Annie on her mind. Teacher Librarian, 39(1), 50-54.