TLDR: I am in love with this book, please read it NOW
I couldn't get enough of this book!!
I think this is an amazing introduction into how one can examine the sweet intersections of blackness and queer identity.
Despite this book being honest to the Author, I found myself relating to so many of the experiences he had with his family, school and coming to oneself, like MANY children. Despite this being on the chopping block for parents who want to shelter their children or ban this story for it's graphic material, this book doesn't push the boundaries in a way that's harmful to any child. It does the opposite, and validates the feelings that developing children and teens face in environments where enormous parts of their identity are not addressed. It confirms why something that might have happened to you in a confusing time, was bad and wrong. It also confirms that identity is your own- something that children need, even if their environment wants to strip that agency and identity away from them. They hold the power to their own truths and they deserve to be validated.
I absolutely loved the flow of this book. An introduction into the chapter with a personal story of George's and inside, will be something historic, and backed by facts. This is a memoir but its' also grounded in truth and confirmation from the world we live in.
I loved reading the bits about how LGBTQ culture was derived from the black queer scene, what aspects of black history we still hold onto today, and the expansion and explanation of queer theory, so that a reader who isn't caught up to speed, isn't lost!
fabulous read!!