Annie on My Mind

The writing is excellent; it portrays a lesbian teenage relationship fraught with uncertainty. I think this book would appeal to the straight teenager as well as the gay.

The uncertainty that they both feel, about what they are feeling happens to all. I found myself reading one page, racing through the text, having to re-read the pages more than once, to get to the next. Knowing that this beautiful relationship will hit a snag, wanting the snags, just so you could read it repaired.

I love this book, and I am set to read it again, and notice all the subtleties I missed in my haste to finish.

The characters are complex, which makes this book so wonderful. They are human, with human emotions that I have found to be lacking in any romance fiction. When it comes to gay or lesbian fiction, the relationships are usually described as lust filled encounters, two people meet, unexpectedly attracted to each other and end up sleeping together, thinking in their mind "oh I shouldn't be doing this" for a mere second. In this wonderful novel, the characters seem duly confused over their growing attraction to each other, and uncomfortable with themselves, trying to explain it to the other. Whether you are gay or straight, confessing that you have strong feelings for another person is difficult, adding societal pressures to the mix... Nancy Garden manages to capture it all, in her too short a book.

My measure of good characters is that long after you put the book down, you wonder what the future holds for them. i find myself wishing Nancy Garden to write a follow up, so I can find out what happens between these two.

Please read this book, I have very few favourites, and this is one of them.


Heartbreaking and beautiful   April 6, 1997
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

My school psychologist managed to find me a copy of Annie on my Mind after I told him that I was desparately searching for books that dealt with gay teens coming to age. I found, to my delight, that this book was different than any other that I had read. It told what it was actually like for two girls to fall in love. When you are a teen and in the closet like I am, books like these are treasured. Don't mistake Annie for a gay book, however. It is much more than that. It is a beautifully crafted love story that makes its message known without being preachy. It puts faces and names on people that some would have remain nameless. Everyone should read it and remember its messages- the most touching one being: "Know the truth, and the truth will set you free."


An amazingly powerful, beautiful novel   January 16, 2000
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Annie On My Mind was the first young lesbian novel I read and loved it so much I kept it from the library despite continuous threats of overdue fines! In the end they gave up and I still have that copy today. I first read the book when I was beginning to question my own sexuality and it was a welcome revelation - I realised that I was not alone - there were other young women in a similar situation to me. Annie and Liza are two vibrant, loving and perfectly "normal" young women. They are very easy to relate to and to sympathise with, which makes the novel even move moving. Nancy Garden presents them and their love in such a way that it seems almost impossible not to see their relationship as anything but a beautiful gift. Someone here said in their review that the reaction of the school is over-the-top and I agree in principle. However, I think that the "trial" is just a symbol, albeit a rather dramatic one of the persecution and misunderstanding that most gay people will unfortunately have to suffer at some time during their lives. I think it works well, and the fact that the girls eventually manage to overcome society's best efforts to separate them makes Liza and Annie perfect role models for us all. I can never thank Nancy Garden enough for her amazingly powerful novel. It has, at times, reduced me to tears but is also cathartic for me - I always fell better after reading it - even if only temporarily. In Annie On My Mind, love really does appear to conquer all. Despite all they have been through, Liza and Annie's love for each other shines through all the way to a beautiful ending.


Wonderful   April 2, 1997
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I picked up _Annie on My Mind_ with mild curiosity; no one was "out" at my high school, and I found the subject matter about two young lesbians coming to terms with themselves and homophobia interesting. After reading the book, however, I was amazed at the grace, beauty, and romance that Ms. Garden put into the novel. _Annie_ is a beautiful love story, not just a lesbian love story. I wish more of my homophobic high school friends would have read it.