October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman YP FIC NEWMAN

Then and Now -Lesléa Newman

Then I was a son

Now I am a symbol

Then I was a brother

Now I am an absence

Then I was a friend

Now I am a memory

Then I was a person

Now I am a headline

Then I was a guy

Now I am a ghost

Then I was a student

Now I am a lesson

On October 6, 1998 a 21 year old young man was brutally beaten, tied to a fence, and left for dead. Matthew Shepard became a symbol of victims of hate crimes everywhere and his case drew worldwide attention.  This book of poems from Lesléa Newman looks back at the crime, its aftermath, and the person behind the symbol.  Poems from the perspective of Matthew, the killers, the community, and the silent witnesses of the fence and other inanimate objects paint a chilling and heartbreaking picture of a life tragically lost.

This is an absolutely stunning work of poetry.  Lesléa Newman uses different voices, styles, and structures to approach the crime and tragedy form many different angles.  This works to make the story about more than a crime, but also to bring the person of Matthew to the forefront.  The poem above is an excellent example of her sparse language and use of pounding repetition to hammer hard truths home.  In other poems she uses a completely different style and structure.  She also uses poems taken from almost random inspirations like Now Showing, a list of film titles that appeared in theaters in 1998 formed into a poem. The variation is key to capturing different feelings, ideas, voices, and moods.  She does a wonderful job of giving voice to not just many people, but also things like the fence Matthew was tied to, the rope that tied him, the gun of his killers, their truck, the road they drove on, and more.  I think this should be read by just about everyone, because regardless of your feelings on homosexuality we can all come together to agree that no one should be murdered for who they are, what they believe, or how they love. This is a slender volume that you could easily read in a few hours, but will stay with you long after.  

You can check our catalog for October Mourning here.

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

How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity edited by Michael Cart YP FIC HOW

How Beautiful the Ordinary is a collection of twelve stories about struggles of identity for gay, lesbian and transgender teens. It is told through a variety of formats including comics, poem, and short stories. The title refers to how the struggles and problems gay, lesbian, and transgender teens go through are very similar to problems everyone experiences. These stories show that the ordinary truly is beautiful and far more complicated than we think.

This is a really strong collection of stories from some of the best Young Adult writers. All the stories deal with coming to terms with identity and issues such as love, sex, guilt, and fear. The themes of these stories are universal and can be understood by all teens or any former teens. My favorite were Dear Lang and My Life as a Dog. Dear Lang is in the form of a letter from a mother that has had her daughter hidden from her for 14 years and is legally powerless to do anything about. My Life as a Dog is about a young man named Noah in a coma imagining his life as a dog’s. It is cleverly told through the main character’s view as a dog alternated by little scenes in the format of a script in Noah’s hospital room. All the stories show a different facet of life and different perspectives. This is a good read for just about anyone that likes stories about teens learning about themselves regardless of the reader's gender or orientation.