For day three, let's go back in time forty years (uh-yeah). Annie on My Mind was written by Nancy Garden in 1982, and it's credited as being one of the first teen books to feature lesbian characters in a positive light. I can't decide what's crazier, that a book portraying lesbians in a positive light was already circulating in 1982, or that it took until 1982 for a book that portrayed lesbians in a positive light to circulate. There were some very vocal people who were unhappy about it (it was banned and even burned in several cases), but there were also a lot of people who were finally reading about characters like them for the first time in print. It's an important book.
But it's also a good book! It's a testament to Garden's writing and the story she tells (and, unfortunately, to how little some aspects of society have changed sine the 80s) that it really feels timeless. It honestly felt very contemporary while reading it--perhaps not as plausible in NYC proper, but in plenty of other settings in America. Liza and Annie are delightful, endearing, heartbreaking and heartwarming. As an advisory, there is some sexual content, but not so much that I think it's inappropriate* for most teenagers (although it depends on the teenager, you know?).
In short, it's quite good, and if it remotely strikes your fancy, you should read it! 🏳️🌈
* That said, your standards of appropriateness may be very different from mine, so don't take my word for it. There's your disclaimer.
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