Garden, N. (1982). Annie on My Mind. Canada: Douglas and McIntyre Ltd.
Appropriate grade levels:
9-12. The content of this book is too intense for middle school. The main character is a senior and the reading level is very appropriate for high school independent reading which is why I think this novel is best for high school students. I also think college or post high school students would be able to relate to the main character and her issues.
Summary:
Liza is a senior at an exclusive private school in New York City. She is a top-notch student with hopes of attending MIT when she graduates. She is president of her class and has always been well respected by her classmates, family, and teachers. She loves English class and looks up to her English teacher. Liza is also a lesbian in the early 1980's and struggles to feel like she fits in with her peers while she feels so different. She meets and falls in love with Annie and experiences some tragedies and hardships along with great joy that she never would have expected.
Classroom Use:
- Use with Literature Circles or for independent reading (students should choose to read this)
- Writing connection: students could create glogs or facebook profiles for Annie, Liza, Sally, or any other characters.
- Writing connection: throughout the novel Liza writes a series of letters to Annie but she does not send most of them. Students could write responses to the letters from Annie, imagining that Liza did send them.
- Reading strategies: Making connections (especially with bullying or treating people a certain way for being different), summarizing, making predictions
- Literature analysis: study time order of text. The letters take place later but the text is taking place in chronological orders. Discuss impact on the novel and reasons for the author's choice of this method.
Reader’s Response: (spoiler alert!)
This book is well written but may make some students uncomfortable as it details the relationship of two lesbians in high school, Annie and Liza. However, many heterosexual students may find connections to the book because more than struggling with feeling "different", Annie and Liza struggle with trying to have a love relationship as a teenager, a huge struggle for many teens. It's important to keep in mind that this book was published in 1982. Things have changed drastically. While bullying still occurs because of sexual orientation, it is much less accepted in most areas and some of the things that happened in this novel would not happen today.
After Liza and Annie get caught and incidentally "out" Liza's art and English teachers, Ms. Widmer and Ms. Stevenson, Annie endures quite a bit of bullying in all forms at school. It's important as teachers to think about how we support or do not support treatment of GLBT students in a classroom. Many students at the school were not mean outright to Annie, but many made her feel bad in other ways, such as refusing to sit next to her because they feared she would rape them or asking her to detail her sex life so others could "understand" how it worked. This would be considered extreme sexual harassment. Some of the worst responses were from teachers and students who wanted to "help" Liza. They said they prayed for her or told her "success" stories about how other people overcame homosexuality. Treating Liza like this is indicating that her sexual orientation is something that is wrong and that can and should be overcome. It's extremely offensive but an example of one way that people harass GLBT people while pretending (either intentionally or not) that they are being helpful.
There were several eye-opening moments in this novel. Liza, after returning to school at one point states, "But it did occur to me it was as if all three of us were trying to say: see, we're women, We wear dresses." It never occurred to me that a lesbian may not feel like a woman sometimes (due to the way people treat her.) This is something to be sensitive about when talking with students. At another point in the novel Liza writes a letter to Annie and stresses that their relationship was fine as long as it wasn't hurting anyone but now it had hurt people. Liza is referring to how her parents feel, her teachers feel, as well as the unfortunate unemployment situation of the two teachers at her school who were lesbians. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to love someone but realize that your love for someone hurt other people. I find that incredibly unfair and I think that if love hurts someone because they cannot accept who you are, then that is their problem.
I think this book is a must read for teens and teachers alike to raise awareness of issues and feelings that GLBT teens deal with on a daily basis in high school. I also think this book is a must have for all classroom libraries as it really could speak to a teen when he or she needs it the most.
Something extra:
It's important for schools to recognize and support GLBT students and the kinds of struggles they may have in our society. Here are some resources to help make sure that GLBT feel supported rather than isolated or bullied for their sexual orientation in school.
http://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/youth.htm
http://www.tolerance.org/supplement/action-steps-educators-take-stop-bullying
