The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questio...
Teens are more aware of sexuality and identity than ever, and they’re looking for answers and insights, as well as a community of others. In ...
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reviews
Oct 18, 2011
Julia
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A collection of 40 essays about the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered teens and young adults. Each of these essays is heartbreaking in its own special way. The topics covered include family acceptance to abuse along with the typical dramatics of the teenage years magnified by a knowledge of being different. The editors clearly made a point of selecting a variety of perspectives and a variety of ages. One of the essays is written by a woman I knew in high school, and it was eye o
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Apr 09, 2010
Molly
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This non-fiction book is a collection of essays, poems, IM chats and true stories submitted by young people, ages about 16 to 23, detailing their experiences of growing up and coming out queer. There's plenty of what you'd expect in terms of parental anger, rejection by friends, and harassment by peers, but I was struck by the overwhelming optimism of many of the pieces. It is wonderful to know that there are numerous young people who have had a positive experience of growing up queer in Ameri
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Nov 26, 2008
Sarah
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I read this book because I realized that I don't know much about personal stories of people coming out and living as LBGTQ's -- how do they feel as part of society? Family? Religion? Peers? And this was just the book for that, I guess. Some of the essays were pretty good, but others were just painful -- poorly written or overdramatic or underdramatic. Everything was written by people under the age of 24, and I found myself wishing that they had written essays when they were older, with the wis
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Jun 10, 2010
Patty
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I read this book because it was banned in New Jersey - not far from where I grew up. A high school library was asked to remove this from the shelves. I just wanted to see what caused all the fuss. I believe that the book should not have been banned.
Yes, some of these issues have to be hard to deal with in high school. I am sorry for any one of any age who has to deal with the reality of glbqt in their life. This country is so fearful of the whole issue of sex.
However, More...
Yes, some of these issues have to be hard to deal with in high school. I am sorry for any one of any age who has to deal with the reality of glbqt in their life. This country is so fearful of the whole issue of sex.
However, More...
May 25, 2010
Lawral
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The pieces in this anthology tackle a myriad of topics: coming out, religion, first love, unaccepting parents/peers, religion, supportive parents/peers, the Boy Scouts, the military, religion(!); in a variety of settings: high school, New Your City, college, junior high, Egypt. They are written by young people who fall under the umbrella term "queer," but identify as gay, bi, trans, lesbian, gender-variant, and more. Some of the pieces are positive and affirming, some speak of overcomi
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Jul 04, 2008
Chris
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With The Full Spectrum, editors David Levithan and Billy Merrill provide an open forum for GLBTQ teenagers and early twenty-somethings with an assortment of personal stories, essays, and poems. The works range in theme from self-acceptance and first-time experiences to the coming-out process and future obstacles, both personally and politically. The collection is refreshing, harrowing, glib and thought-provoking, a catalogue of first-person accounts told in a variety of formats including email e
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Dec 21, 2011
Jennifer
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Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
It was only a few weeks ago that I read AM I BLUE?: COMING OUT OF THE SILENCE edited by Marion Dane Bauer. That book is filled with fictional stories dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues, and is a book I highly recommend. I was very happy to see THE FULL SPECTRUM, edited by the talented authors David Levithan and Billy Merrell, hit the shelves. THE FULL SPECTRUM is not fiction. It's filled with many, many stories--some long, s More...
It was only a few weeks ago that I read AM I BLUE?: COMING OUT OF THE SILENCE edited by Marion Dane Bauer. That book is filled with fictional stories dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues, and is a book I highly recommend. I was very happy to see THE FULL SPECTRUM, edited by the talented authors David Levithan and Billy Merrell, hit the shelves. THE FULL SPECTRUM is not fiction. It's filled with many, many stories--some long, s More...
Jun 05, 2009
Kathryn
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i literally judged this book by its cover. it was one of those the library puts out on a table randomly and it was so pretty i had to pick it up. it's a bunch of short stories written by teenagers, which i always find fascinating because most teenagers i know can barely spell their names. some of the stories were sad and touching..others were whiny and repetitious. all in all not too bad.
Oct 20, 2009
Rosalía
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Although an important book in understanding the GLBT community and especially the psychology and politics about the whole thing, I thought the writing left much to be desired. I learned quite a bit about the transgender culture/politics but I honestly skipped a few pages here and there. I would skim the writing to better understand the people but I wouldn't invest a lot of time on the writing.
Jun 30, 2011
Kelly
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Lovely collection. Some voices are represented more (and better) than others and the writing is not consistently of high quality, but I appreciate hearing the true stories of young people in their own words.
Dec 27, 2011
Olga
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Anyone who has ever questioned or struggled or debated their sexuality will find a bit of themselves in this book. An excellent collection!
Jul 28, 2011
Emily (Lihua Lili)
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A marvelous array of personal accounts about being homosexual, bisexual, transgender, and beyond and in between by brilliant young writers. This is inspiring and uplifting, but raw: some of the stories only remind the reader of the vast cruelty of prejudice among people of all ages. Ultimately, however, "The Full Spectrum" is ripe with encouragement and creativity - both that of the young, multilayered human mind and that of the many corners of the human race.
Jul 20, 2010
I think the stories shared were just out of the ordinary. You'll learn from them even if you're not a homosexual.
Dec 17, 2009
Ashley
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Wow, I was caught off guard. I'm not usually a fan of gay lit but I definitely enjoyed this!
Apr 27, 2010
Jamie
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I could relate to some of the stories in this book. It was a good read for me
Oct 20, 2011
Nicole
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A great book for teens to either relate to the stories or to hear what it's like to try and come out to family and friends.
Nov 07, 2008
Josie
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A mix of writing styles and pieces from across identity spectrum. I didn't read them all, but the thing that will stick we me as that I need to try not to put everyone in a neat little box, it's too limiting in a variety of ways.
Some of the pieces were well written, and others a little stilted, but still interesting.
We have it in the SCCS library, if you're interested.
Some of the pieces were well written, and others a little stilted, but still interesting.
We have it in the SCCS library, if you're interested.
Dec 17, 2009
Stacy
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I was expecting a lot of this book, but I was let down. The title is pretty bold, so one would think that the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning community could really find sanctity in this book. The stories are safe--not honest, and they seem completely edited so that they sound like an after school special...Very disappointing!
Apr 18, 2008
Anina
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I've been meaning to read this for a while. The personal stories of teens growing up gay were very uniquely voiced and I'm glad I have this in the library for kids that may need to read about others going through the same thing they are. However it is not exactly happy times to read true account after true account of homophobia.
Aug 07, 2011
Alienne
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I wish there were more stories in here written by bi and (especially) questioning authors. That said, this is a great anthology and I enjoyed reading it.
Mar 08, 2008
Christy
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An interesting anthology of writings centering around the issue of sexual orientation. Some are thoughtful, some aren't. In the end, it got a bit repetitive. Probably not such a fantastic idea to sit and read it all at once as I did. But, definitely an interesting subject matter here.
Jul 04, 2008
Christy
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This might have been a better read if I fit the intended age audience. A book about teens, by teens, for teens. Some of the stories were really touching.
Oct 06, 2007
Abby
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This book was amazing. Queer or not the essays in this book will move you. A great look at the queer expirience of the past 10 years.
Aug 19, 2008
Alanna
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This is an amazing book. This is the book of LGBTQ youth. This is us. This is our lives. Read it. Now!
Feb 12, 2012
Feb 10, 2012
