ANNIE ON MY MIND

Garden, N. (1982). Annie on My Mind. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Lisa and Annie are 17-year-old seniors.  Lisa is school president in a private school and wants to be an architect, while Annie attends a public high school and wants to be an artist. 

Their friendship started in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lisa stopped doing her project to see Annie sing.  Even though they came from different backgrounds, they shared an interest in history. They started doing what friends do, hang out, go to movies, and meet the parents.   

Unsure of their feelings and afraid of what others would say, they pretend to be just friends, and hide what they really feel.  While housesitting for Ms. Stevenson and Ms. Widmer, the girls get caught in the act and Liza is forced to “come out.” Because Mrs. Pondexter . headmaster, is closed minded, Liza is expelled and her teachers, Ms. Stevenson and Ms. Widmer must hear from the school board for being gay themselves.  Which has nothing to do with the way they teach.

Things don’t get any easier, where Annie has had some feelings about women, Lisa is trying to explain to herself what she should do and if what she feels is real.  One side

Lisa is confused about her sexuality, not knowing if it was okay to accept herself that way or if she should push her feelings aside.  When people start judging her, she fights back, saying it’s not a disease and it won’t affect her school life.  Finally, Liza accepts herself for being gay, the love she has for Annie sets her free of that fear.  She becomes an adult and accepts the consequences shows the coming of age of the story.

This YA Lesbian fiction novel is realistic appropriate for grades 7th – 12th. A perfect book for teens to read where they can see themselves like the characters in the story.

One theme of the book is that friendships can change your life. The friendship Liza has with Annie changes her life, they start off as friends and end up falling in love. Love is powerful is another theme, Liza and Annie were ridiculed by family, teachers and friends, though hard, their love surpassed it all.

High school kids deal with so many issues as it is, their sexuality shouldn’t be one of them. I enjoyed reading this book, it has such a positive message, homosexuality is not wrong or perverted and love always wins. Annie on My Mind is a required YA novel.

Here’s a movie trailer for the book"Annie on My Mind" by mspadafora

Learn more about the author of Annie on My Mind Nancy Garden.

Read NYT Article on Nancy Garden, she passed away on June 23, 2017 at the age of 76 or article in the School Library Journal by Mahnaz Dar.