This book has the potential to save many young lives.
An updated and expanded version of Bornstein’s original 2006 guide for teenagers who may be considering suicide.
This book approaches suicide prevention from a perspective that’s rooted in the author’s experiences with suicidal ideation. Her personal struggles as a “diesel femme nonbinary transsexual” came from being bullied and excluded from an early age. This intimate connection with the subject enables Bornstein, who was born into a Jewish family in 1948, to write in a caring and nonjudgmental way that will resonate well with its target audience. The book offers over 100 alternatives to suicide—including 20 that are new to this edition—gently urging readers to “choose life over death.” They include calling a suicide hotline, paying attention to breathing, seeking inspiration from characters who surmount obstacles, staying hydrated, and rescuing stray animals. This new edition came about in response to societal and legislative hostility toward trans people as well as divisions and judgment within the LGBTQ+ community. The writing style is conversational and comforting, but some suggestions are controversial, such as using drugs and cutting oneself, both given with caveats and warnings (regarding drugs: “There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to stop. Ever,” and if “you’re cutting yourself out of anger or disgust, or you feel that it’s getting out of control, see a doctor”).
This book has the potential to save many young lives. (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781644214435
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future.
An adaptation for teens of the adult title A Queer History of the United States (2011).
Divided into thematic sections, the text filters LGBTQIA+ history through key figures in each era from the 1500s to the present. Alongside watershed moments like the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the text brings to light less well-known people, places, and events: the 1625 free love colony of Merrymount, transgender Civil War hero Albert D.J. Cashier, and the 1951 founding of the Mattachine Society, to name a few. Throughout, the author and adapter take care to use accurate pronouns and avoid imposing contemporary terminology onto historical figures. In some cases, they quote primary sources to speculate about same-sex relationships while also reminding readers of past cultural differences in expressing strong affection between friends. Black-and-white illustrations or photos augment each chapter. Though it lacks the teen appeal and personable, conversational style of Sarah Prager’s Queer, There, and Everywhere (2017), this textbook-level survey contains a surprising amount of depth. However, the mention of transgender movements and activism—in particular, contemporary issues—runs on the slim side. Whereas chapters are devoted to over 30 ethnically diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer figures, some trans pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen and Holly Woodlawn are reduced to short sidebars.
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future. (glossary, photo credits, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8070-5612-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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