It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living Edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller 306.7660835 IT

In September of 2010, in response to several stories of teen suicides in response to bullying and harassment made national news, author Dan Savage and his husband, Terry Miller, uploaded a video to YouTube called "It Gets Better." It was their personal story of how they were bullied and how coming out and surviving eventually allowed them to make their dreams come true. They called for other people to upload their stories of how life got better. In 24 hours, someone uploaded a second video. In less than 3 days, there were several hundred videos. By the end of one week, there were 1,000. In less than a month, the White House called with a request to add a video from President Obama. This book is a collection of messages from people of all walks of life and touches all aspects of growing up gay, bi, or trans. Everything from faith, family, romance, friendship, jobs, dreams, and anything and everything in between. It shows that as long as someone doesn’t give in to despair it really does get better.

This is an absolute must read. Not just for teens that deal with issues of sexuality and gender, but their families, anyone that has friends that deal with these issues, anyone that feels like an outsider, anyone that knows what is like to be an outsider, or just anyone that wants to be inspired by stories of overcoming pain, hatred, intolerance, bigotry, loneliness, and confusion to achieve dreams they once thought impossible. This is a truly powerful book and wonderful companion the Youtube channel’s videos. Definitely take a look at both, because they really do complement each other very well. You can find the Youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/itgetsbetterproject

Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn YP FIC COHN

Very LeFreak is very Very. Very busy (starting flash mobs, making playlists, planning parties), very connected (iPod: check, iPhone: check, laptop: check), and very popular (with a trail of broken. Unfortunately, this doesn’t make much time for studying and she’s also very close to flunking and her love them, leave them, forget them attitude is leaving her with almost no real friends. When all this catches up with her it’s time for a very dramatic breakdown and a mandatory trip to Electronics Detox. When Very is unplugged for the first time in years she has to decide if she’s ever really connected to anything or anyone.

I found Very fun, funny, and interesting but not terribly likeable. It’s not just that she has a pretty scandalous life, but also that she just doesn’t treat people very well. As I read the whole story and learned Very’s past I found myself understanding her, but still not entirely liking her. I think the problem is that Cohn has Very’s rehabilitation happen pretty fast and that always seems sort of fake to me. On the bright side the book is filled with Cohn’s excellent dialogue and realistic characters, so if you are a fan of her work you may find plenty to enjoy in this book as well. Overall I like but not loved this one. Like most Cohn novels it’s a good for older readers that like witty gals and their wild lives.