The Heart Has Its Reasons: Young Adult Literature with Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-2004 (Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature) [Hardcover]

Cart Michael (Author), Christine A Jenkins (Author)

Book Description

Series: Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature | Publication Date: May 1, 2006

Society does not make it easy for young people, regardless of their sexual orientation, to find accurate, nonjudgmental information about homosexuality. It makes it even more difficult for young homosexuals to find positive role models in fiction either written or published expressly for them or—if published for adults—relevant to them and their lives.

The Heart Has Its Reasons examines these issues and critically evaluates the body of literature published for young adults that offers homosexual themes and characters. Cart and Jenkins chart the evolution of the field of YA literature having GLBTQ (gay/lesbian/bisexual, transgendered, and/or queer/questioning) content. They identify titles that are remarkable either for their excellence or failures, noting the stereotypic, wrongheaded, and outdated books as well as the accurate, thoughtful, and tactful titles. Useful criteria for evaluating books with GLBTQ content are provided. Books and resources of all types are reviewed based on a model that uses the category descriptors of Homosexual Visibility, Gay Assimilation, and Queer Consciousness/Community. An annotated bibliography and a number of author-title lists of books discussed in the text arranged by subject round out this valuable reference for teachers, librarians, parents, and young adults.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

This terrific and long-overdue resource chronicles the development of GLBTQ-themed young adult literature over time and intersperses critical commentary with annotated bibliographies of related fiction. Cart and Jenkins use a three-part framework to describe the historical changes in content and the depiction of gays and lesbians in terms of what they call "homosexual visibility," "gay assimilation," and "queer consciousness/community." The authors take a historical approach and examine GLBTQ-themed young adult literature decade by decade, discussing pivotal works in detail, and conclude each chapter with an annotated bibliography and a list of notes or works cited. Well organized and easy to read, Heart is a valuable, semi-scholarly reference for both collection development and research.—Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Both a comprehensive overview and a lively, detailed discussion of individual landmark books, this highly readable title in the Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature series discusses 35 years of YA books with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (GLBTQ) content. Booklist columnist Cart, a groundbreaking YALSA leader, and Jenkins, a well-known academic, have long played crucial roles in raising standards and gaining recognition for YA literature, and they speak with authority and personal experience about the history of the field, candid about the stereotypes and enthusiastic about what is "accurate, thoughtful, and artful." They note the long invisibility of GLBTQ themes in YA fiction and then chart the great breakthrough titles as well as the range from simplistic "problem" scenarios to gays as complex protagonists and part of the gay community--though the cliches are still with us, including the gay as sad-eyed loner. With fully annotated bibliographies, including a chronological list, this is a valuable YA and adult resource, sure to be in great demand for personal reference and group discussion. For more on this book, see Books by Booklist Authors on p.128. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press; First Edition first Printing edition (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810850710
• ISBN-13: 978-0810850712
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,515,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive overview of GLBTQ YA literature with thoughtful discussion, November 5, 2006

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This review is from: The Heart Has Its Reasons: Young Adult Literature with Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-2004 (Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature) (Hardcover)

I purchased this book to use for my MA thesis on lesbian YA literature, and I can't say enough about how helpful a resource it is. The annotated bibliography alone is worth the price of the book.