The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities (Paperback)

by David Levithan (Author), Billy Merrell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up–Using works submitted anonymously through the Web site the authors created in conjunction with the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Levithan and Merrell have selected 40 essays, mini-autobiographies, poems, and photographs that chronicle the lives of 21st-century young people, ages 13 to 23. The handsomely dense package includes real-life stories about coming out, falling in and out of love, mistaken identities, families and friends, misplaced affection, confronting homophobia, and more. A female-to-male transsexual teen describes a first trip into the men's restroom. A young man recalls his close relationship with a trash-talking, pot-smoking, horror-movie-loving burnout, illustrating the blurry lines that exist between romance and friendship. While nearly half of the installments tell the stories of young gay men, a sizable chunk is devoted to lesbians, and more than half a dozen pieces are about transgendered youth. While many of the stories recall memories of isolation, others delve into a young person's awareness and involvement in a queer community. As a whole, the collection is comprehensive, complex, and the perfect title to put into the hands of teens who approach the information desk asking for real stories about coming out and coming to terms with anything remotely GLBTQ.–Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 8-11. The 40 contributions to this invaluable collection about personal identity have two things in common: all are nonfiction and all are by writers under the age of 23. Beyond that, diversity is the order of the day, and the result is a vivid demonstration of how extraordinarily broad the spectrum of sexual identity is among today's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. That said, some of the topics addressed in these essays and poems are familiar (the agony of coming out, the heartbreak of religious opprobrium). What is new and encouraging, however, is that so many young people have felt free enough to share the truth about themselves in print and under their own names; as coeditor Levithan notes in his introduction, "One way to effect change is to share truths. To tell our stories." Insightful, extraordinarily well written, and emotionally mature, the selections offer compelling, dramatic evidence that what is important is not what we are but who we are. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (May 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375832904
• ISBN-13: 978-0375832901
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #679,938 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Full Spectrum, April 23, 2006

By	OhLourdi "Lo" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities (Library Binding)

So what happens when you gather up a group of young, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and other label-full or label-free writers and ask them to share a real life experience to be published in a book?
ANSWER:
The Full Spectrum.
A collection of non-fiction stories that can be found in the fiction section of your favorite library or bookstore.
Why the fiction section you ask?
Fiction sells.
Anthologies come and go, come and go, usually unnoticed and dammit!- we don't want this book to just `go'. We need its readers to find it first. This book is out there so that you realize, finally realize that you're not alone. Oh sure, your closet's cramped, there's no leg room in that 4X4 box that only fits you and your fears but...the book is small. Structured perfectly to fit the hands of anyone who wants to let a little laughter, a little heartache, a little hope and reality into their life.
The writers...yes, we're young. Teenagers and random 20-somethin' year olds, but our stories(experiences) are ageless.
So, look for the heartbreakingly beautiful book chock-full `o non-fiction in the fiction section of any store that sells books.
We wanted to share a little piece of ourselves with you and if you go to [...], you're welcome to share with each of us as well.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 25, 2006

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

Amazon doesn't seem to like my review of THE FULL SPECTRUM, so please check it out on the TeensReadToo dot com website. This is a great book, and you deserve to read the review.