Customer Reviews

Annie on My Mind

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Published in 1982, Annie on My Mind remains one of the most censored and controversial teen novels, but it is, even after twenty years, remarkable for two reasons: its emphasis on the healing (even redemptive) power of love and its departure from young adult books that, as Michael Cart has observed, subscribed to "the idea that to be homosexual is to be doomed, either to a premature death or to a life of despair at the darkest margins of society." (Booklist Youth, v. 95)

Annie On My Mind tells the story of two young women, each with loving families but outsiders at their respective schools, who meet at a museum in New York, quickly becoming friends and, later, lovers. The book is told from the perspective of Liza, a student at a private high school governed by an authoritarian principal. When Liza and Annie get caught making love in the house of two lesbian teachers, not just their lives but others' are irrevocably changed.

The book is certainly dated (it reminds me of books like The Cat Ate My Gymsuit and others of the same general era) and flat in places, and some aspects are painted with rather broad strokes - without much attention to the complexities of class and ethnicity, for example. But it is a moving and honest invocation of teenaged angst, one that captures the tentativeness of new love.

One strength is that the book offers a sympathetic portrayal of the various characters. They are, in the end, human - flawed, ambiguous, cautious. There is no one villain; most of the characters are well-meaning, if painfully awkward.

Overall, even after two decades, the book still stands as a sensitive portrayal of the naturalness of young love and one young woman's emerging understanding that the private is, if not political, then politicized.

Annie on My Mind is not hip. It is not the seminal (excuse me, ovarial) novel Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown. It is not the 1995 film "The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love." It is not a sexy, rollicking romp that takes us from the softball field into the bedroom. It is not a political/erotic expose of young New York lesbians.

What Annie on My Mind is is a gentle love story told with restraint and tenderness by Nancy Garden. Liza and Annie are two 17-year-old New Yorkers who meet, become friends, and slowly realize that their feelings encompass more than friendship. They are confused, curious, tentative and intense with each other. They have no road map to guide their emotions and behavior, no understanding friends or adults to reassure them or to celebrate their relationship. Their love for each other feels so natural and good that neither is ashamed of the relationship, but they still keep it a secret from everyone in their lives.

Many of us wish to find ourselves in literature, to have our own story reflected in the pages of the novels we read. When we do find such stories, the experience is so exciting and validating that we are willing to forgive any imperfections in the book. It's just so wonderful to discover kindred souls, and to find out that others have been through similar experiences.

Such is the case with Annie on My Mind. It tells the story that many young LBQ (Lesbian, Bisexual, Questioning) women experience, and as such is the kind of "normalizing" of homosexuality that many teenagers can't get elsewhere. The imperfections are minor, but worth noting, particularly in today's irony-saturated media. While many young adult novels feature characters that are smart (and smart-aleck), socially savvy, blasé about sex and drugs, Liza and Annie are almost implausibly innocent and naïve. When the two girls initially meet by chance in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Annie is unselfconsciously singing to a painting in the American Wing. Soon after, they sword fight as imaginary knights in the Arms and Armor room, complete with "chivalrous insults." When the guard admonishes them, Annie explains, "The knights are so-so splendid! I've never seen them before-I got carried away." The guard actually says, "Harrumph!" Who talks like this? Liza almost gets expelled from her private school for not reporting another student who is offering cheap ear piercing at school. Hello, modern life? This kind of preciousness persists throughout the book, as Liza nicknames Annie "Unicorn," the private school students go door to door trying to raise money to save the school, and the total absence of any contemporary teenage culture. These teenagers listen to classical music and linger over Egyptian antiquities. The diversity and energy of New York is silent.

And aside from the girl love, there isn't a whiff of controversy in Annie on My Mind. Both girls are feminine, with long hair. Neither is an athlete, outspoken feminist, or otherwise "butch." We know they make love, but it is not described. No older women "recruit" them, although they accidentally discover that two teachers at Liza's school have been romantically partnered for decades. These two dignified, private women serve as supportive, understanding adults who reassure Liza and Annie that their love for each other is just fine.

But we don't mind these unhip details because the real point of this book is the relationship between Liza and Annie, how they dance around each other for months before the first tentative kiss, how they both fear and long for more than kissing and holding hands, how they learn to trust each other, and finally, how they learn to trust their love in the face of narrow-minded schoolmates, teachers and family.

At this point, Annie on My Mind is dated. I suspect most teens would find it corny. However, it is the young adult novel that began a trend of high quality YA lit with homosexual protagonists who are not punished for their sexuality. The world of Annie and Liza is a far cry from today's world where gay teens populate WB dramas and teen movies (not to mention are out and proud in high schools everywhere). These girls had no role models on TV, in novels, in movies, or, really, in life. They depended on each other to explore questions of sexuality--I won't say they actually explore their sexuality, as there is little more than a chaste kiss in all of the novel. They were isolated and made mistakes. Anyone reading this can see how far the country has come in its attitudes towards homosexuals. Annie on My Mind is a bittersweet love story worth the read.

I first read this book over the summer between 8th and 9th grade. That was four years ago. At that time, I was struggling with my sexuality. I immediately fell in love with this book and I read it over and over. The experiences between Annie and Liza in the early stages of their romance were exactly what I had been dreaming about. For those of you who have not read this book, it is told alternately third-person limited and first-person, as a retrospective journey through the senior year of a young girl. Eliza, or Liza, is a thoughtful, outgoing girl who meets Annie, an introspective thinker in a museum. Through a series of events, they realize their mutual attraction, following a kiss on the beach. Their romance is mired by cover-ups and secrets, but, as they profess their love for one another in central park, they know they'll try to make it work. When Eliza has the opportunity to house-sit for two of her teachers, she invites Annie along. What follows is a story of injustice, close-mindedness, and the desire to "Know the truth and the truth will set you free". This book has inspired me to seek the truth, and it has been an experience I will not soon forget. I recommend this book to everyone and anyone. You cannot leave your teens without having read this book. and i

The story "Annie on My Mine" is about Liza, a senior in high school who met and fell in love with Annie. They have gone through discrimination and pressures from their families and friends. This story is mostly about how Liza and Annie have to overcome the problems they would face because they are not considered normal people. It is really a great story in which we could learn not to dicriminate people just because they are different from you. We should treat everyone with respect and treat everyone equally. I like this book and would recommend everyone to read it because whether you are gay or straight, it gives lots of helpful and accurate information about homosexuality. Then that way, we won't have to look at others differently from us. This book is worth reading because it helps you to find out more and understand better things about different people.

I have to start by stating that I thought this was a well written, and quite inspiring tale of love developing between two teenage girls. I know a lot of people who think that romance stories are trash, but they are usually the people who have never seemed to have picked one up and read it, particularly one as well done as this one. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't technically perfect, but it had a good story to tell, and within that framework, it did a good job.

I myself was in high school at the time this novel was published, since I saw the copyright was originally in 1982. I attended private(catholic) school for ten years, and switched to public school for my last two years so I could associate with what both girls were going through. Not living in New York, my public school was not quite as bad as Annie's, but we had our share of violence and drugs there too. The prvate school was also more restrictive and selective than the public school, with the snobs and rich kids, so I could identify with some of the problems that Liza had too. Those who have never attended a private school might have thought that some of the things Liza went through there were exaggerated, and to a degree, they may have been, but a lot of it seemed very true to life to me.

I particularly liked the way that the girls slowly developed their bond of love, instead of jumping right into it. So many novels feel that they need to throw their characters together too fast, or treat love like a kleenex, something easily disposable when you're through with it. I had quit reading teenage type romances years ago because they had all seemed to be so much alike, without any real substance to them. This novel is different, and I can recommend it to anyone, gay or straight, teen or adult, because it has something worthwhile to say about both love and acceptance.

I looked at the trial aspect as a sort of allegory of life. To me it represented more than just a trial of whether Liza would be let back into school, and if she would get a mark against her that would be reported to the college she was trying to get into. I looked at it as a sort of trial of life, the way that friends, family, and even the world can seem to judge us by what we do or who we are, without really knowing us. It's these trials that we have to overcome constantly, but getting through them always makes us stronger, and teaches us something about ourselves.

The story also does a good job of showing the girls hesitancy in acknowledging their relationship to their families, or even to themselves for awhile. I can sympathize with that, even though I've never had to go through it. I can just think back and imagine the reaction I would have gotten from my family and friends if I had ever come home, and announced that I was gay. It's really not a pretty picture, even in my mind.

If I had to list the single biggest complaint I had about the book, it would have to be the way in which the girls were discovered. That part seemed to suggest a weakness in the story itself, a sort of need to happen, particularly on the last day that Liza was supposed to be feeding the cats. However, for the story to really progress, some sort of crisis had to occur, and since I really couldn't think of a better one myself, it didn't detract that much from my enjoyment of the novel. All considered, that was really the only thing that didn't really seem to ring true to me, so I can't really complain. In other words, I recommend you to go out and pick up a copy of this book yourself, and see how you like it. If you're anything like me, you won't be disappointed.

After setting out on a quest to read all types of literature, I picked this book up. I'll admit, it's the first of it's nature I ever read, but even after having read several others (including other titles from Ms. Garden) it is my favorite.

I would recommend this book to anyone, not merely people who are homosexual or bisexual In fact, I'd even go so far as to say this belongs on summer reading lists for high school students. There is nothing explicit in it, and has a nice soft quality about it that draws the reader deep into the book. I simply couldn't put it down. The teen angst is not overwhelming, it is well-placed and adds to the tone of the book, and reminds the reader of the fact that when this book takes place homosexuality wasn't as visible or acceptable as it is now.

There is also none of this pervading sense of doom as is found in so many toher books of this nature. Yes, you can sense that bad things will befall our heroines, but the books ends on a higher note that assures the reader that there can be a bright future for the girls.

A wonderful read.

I sat down and read this book in about three hours and it was sheerly amazing. I can not find a bad word to say about it. It moved me, almost to the verge of tears. This is a must read for any one. Especially young lesbian and bisexual women. This was good literature, hands down.

My school psychologist managed to find me a copy of Annie on my Mind after I told him that I was desparately searching for books that dealt with gay teens coming to age. I found, to my delight, that this book was different than any other that I had read. It told what it was actually like for two girls to fall in love. When you are a teen and in the closet like I am, books like these are treasured. Don't mistake Annie for a gay book, however. It is much more than that. It is a beautifully crafted love story that makes its message known without being preachy. It puts faces and names on people that some would have remain nameless. Everyone should read it and remember its messages- the most touching one being: "Know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

"Annie on My Mind" is one of the few gay/lesbian books I've ever read, and I was really impressed by it. It takes place in New York City, where two 17-year-old girls--Eliza "Liza" Winthrop (the protagonist) and Annie Kenyon--meet one day in a museum and pretty much fall in love at first sight, though their relationship starts out as "just friends". But, gradually, during their museum visits and medieval improvs, it develops into more--and, not surprisingly, there's a homophobic reaction to it, particularly at Liza's school (Foster Academy).

Though "Annie on My Mind" is considered YA fiction, I'd recommend this book to adults as well, and not just lesbian/gay readers. I'm neither, yet I was quite moved by this story. Nancy Garden is a talented writer, and draws the reader right into Liza and Annie's world--their feelings, doubts, etc.--with such depth, it's hard not to be moved by this book. All around, this is a remarkable story worth checking out. Recommended.