Informative, heartbreaking, and inspiring.
A comprehensive sociopolitical history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic through an American lens.
“Today, more than one million people in the United States have HIV. About 30,000 people are infected each year, and the highest rates of infection are among Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and people who live in poor communities,” writes Long. These statistics show how timely this book is, challenging the view that the threat from HIV/AIDS ended decades ago. In “Basic Facts,” the opening section, the author uses precise, value-neutral language to answer questions readers might have. In 10 subsequent sections, he packs in well-researched accounts of various individuals and collectives responsible for demanding swift, affordable, and inclusive healthcare for people with AIDS. In addition to well-known groups, like ACT UP and Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the book celebrates initiatives such as Blood Sisters (“a group of lesbian women in San Diego who designated their blood donations for local gay men”) and Mothers of AIDS Patients. This work will provide readers with hope as they learn about their fierce ancestors who fought for dignity in the face of institutionalized homophobia from the government and medical establishment. Long clearly shows how these activists effectively asserted their right to have a say in their own healthcare through marches, civil disobedience, fundraising and the arts. Photographs throughout enhance the storytelling by providing glimpses of the passionate and committed organizing that forced America to act against AIDS.
Informative, heartbreaking, and inspiring. (notes, image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9781324053538
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
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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