Boy Erased

Conley, Garrard. Boy Erased. Riverhead Books, 2016.

This is Garrard Conley's story of his time in an outpatient program through Love In Action (LIA), a "restorative therapy" program meant to turn gay kids into straight kids. Conley grew up in the American South, aka the Bible Belt, and as such was highly involved in Baptist-esque Christian values that pervade nearly everything in that part of the country. After he was raped in college, his rapist called his parents and outed him; the result of this is his brief visit to the LIA program before he decided it was baloney and chose to leave the program.

I was so excited to read this story because, like Conley, I too was raised in a fundamentalist Christian church. I, too, knew I was gay but kept it hidden because I knew what my church thought about that, so I had the internalized homophobia to the degree that only fundamentalists experience. Not only was my gayness wrong, but it was so wrong it could ACTUALLY CONDEMN ME TO HELL, regardless of my current relationship with Jesus or the fact that I had never acted on my feelings. I, too, came to the conclusion that I needed help with healing from my "same-sex attraction (SSA)." I, too, attempted to use a program like LIA, although mine was entirely online.

So what I can tell you is that his description of the way they treat people at these programs - from dress codes to strict rules to emphasis on finding the source of a person's gayness - rings entirely true. The idea that you just need to pray harder or try harder or want to be straight more in order to be healed by God - this is what was pounded in my head, too. Like Conley, I too decided that this was a lie fed to me by the church, although it took me a good deal longer than Conley.

I feel for Conley in his feeling that he needed to choose: abandon his sexuality and his new found ideas and things he's learned outside his church circle, or abandon his family/faith/church community, the community he grew up in.

So why only three stars? The book itself jumps around from Conley's time in LIA to the time beforehand, including a large portion of time he spent with his father. It's too long to tell his story, and the middle of the book focuses almost exclusively on the past, when I was reading to understand how LIA would be similar to the program I went through. If Conley had followed a typical memoir timeline by starting with a brief peek at his LIA time, then reversing to his childhood and zipping through to the LIA visit again, this would have made sense. But all of that could have been maybe two chapters, not the entire center of the book.

Overall, this is a good book, but not a GREAT book.

Recommended for: adults, particularly those who were raised as Christian fundamentalists
Red Flags: lots of homophobic language
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Does Jesus Really Love Me?, Rapture Practice, Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays vs Christians Debate

I Fired God

Zichterman, Jocelyn. I Fired God: My Life Inside - and Escape From - the Secret World of the Independent Fundamental Baptist Cult. St. Martin's Press, 2013

This memoir details Zichterman's childhood in an abusive IFB home, her marriage to an IFB man, and their eventual escape from the cult, along with details of Zichterman's mission to help rescue those who have been abused within the IFB.

As a person who also grew up in the IFB, attending camp at the Wilds of the Rockies, at Northland Baptist Bible College (now the defunct Northland International University); spending six years earning two "degrees" from Bob Jones University, and leaving the world of the IFB behind after six additional years teaching at an IFB school, I can attest that Zichterman details accurately the life within the IFB. To be sure, her home life was more extremely abusive than may be typical, but the church politics, the breaking of a child's will, the focus on women staying home to serve their men - all of this is seen throughout various sub-cultures of the overall IFB culture as a whole.

I myself have interacted with many of the people Zichterman mentions in her book and was not remotely surprised at the character abuse she endured upon her escape, along with multiple pleas to return to "the truth that she knew." I myself was chastised for not tithing exactly ten percent of my paycheck, which was easily discoverable at my church since one of the deacons was also the school principal. I, too, was chastised for being female and wanting to think or learn or have opinions. I, too, experience flashbacks to childhood abuse and was told the most important thing was to forgive my abuser and ask for forgiveness for any sin I may have committed while having the flashbacks to being raped as a 6-year old child. I also left the IFB behind, discovered my "degrees" from Bob Jones University were worthless, and was forced to start over again, working multiple jobs while I put myself through an accredited university education so I could get a new position outside of fundamentalism.

This book isn't an easy one to read, and I'm certain it wasn't an easy story for Zichterman to tell. But it is the truth, and it behooves us to remember that there are many of these churches scattered throughout the country where children are growing up uneducated, abused, and virtually trapped because they cannot imagine a way out and have no support system in place should they choose to leave. Recommended

Recommended for: adults, those who wish to learn more about the IFB or Bob Jones University, etc.
Red Flags: lots of descriptions of abuse, language
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Laughing at My Nightmare

Burcaw, Shane. Laughing at My Nightmare. Roaring Brook Press, 2014.

Shane Burcaw was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), but rather than focusing on what he cannot do, Burcaw focuses on what he can do and has accomplished a lot in his twenty-one years. This book stems from his very popular blog of the same name and discusses his life so far, including learning to drive his wheelchair, going to college, dating, and Burcaw's views on facing adversity in his life. Burcaw's sarcasm and dry humor will be a hit with teens who want to read this book, and his intimate portrayal of life with a disability will serve as both a mirror and a window for readers. Recommended.

Recommended for: teens and adults
Red Flags: frank discussions of sex, how Burcaw uses the toilet; lots of profanity
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave

Hall, Shyima. Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave. Simon and Schuster BFYR, 2014.

Shyima Hall was born in Egypt, a middle child in a very large, very poor family. Her parents sold her into slavery to repay her sister's debt. She worked for a rich family for several years, even moving with them to the United States when they sold their house in Egypt. She only has time to eat one meal a day, never goes to school, and sleeps about four hours a night. Eventually someone calls Child Protective Services, which leads to Shyima's rescue and the incarceration of her captors.

I wanted to give this book a full five stars because this is a topic that is too-rarely addressed, but Shyima's retelling of the five years she spent as a child slave and her recovery afterward was just too clinical and detached. The writing was very dry, and I found myself skimming much of the last third of the book, just so I could be done. This book certainly fills a niche in juvenile/young adult literature, but it would be great if it were more readable.

Recommended for: young adults, tweens
Red Flags: Shyima is slapped and called stupid; she briefly mentions childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her brother, but it isn't graphic or explicit
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Sold

Elena Vanishing

Dunkle, Elena. Elena Vanishing. Chronicle Books, 2015.

Elena is a teen who is suffering from anorexia, although she wouldn't tell you she is suffering. She is battling the number on the scale and attaining perfection through control of her food. This is Elena's story, told in Elena's voice as she recalls her ongoing struggle against an eating disorder.

This isn't an easy book to read, but it's a timely one, and the fact that the author is also a teen/new adult will make this book appeal to a teen audience. Elena's mother has also written a book about the same time period, Hope and Other Luxuries: A Mother's Life with a Daughter's Anorexia. It would be interesting to read both books back to back and see the same story from two different perspectives.

Recommended for: teens and those who work with them
Red Flags: discussion of eating disorders, rape, drug use, language
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Wintergirls, Skinny, Purge

Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen

Andrews, Arin. Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen. Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2014.

Arin Andrews is transgender. He was born with a female body, but eventually realized that he is, in fact, male, and was able to transition while still a teen. This is his story, intertwined with that of his former girlfriend, Katie Rain Hill. The teens were the poster children of the trans* community and have worked hard for trans* awareness and equal rights.

Arin's story is uniquely his own, and as I read this book immediately after finishing Katie's memoir, it was interesting to note both the differences in their individual experiences and the different ways the two of them experienced the same event or same conversation. I am glad that Arin has been able to tell his story and give greater visibility to the trans* community.

Recommended for: teens, adults, those who work with teens
Red Flags: Arin discusses the options regarding his "bottom surgery" in fairly explicit detail; he also has sex with several people and gives a few vague details about those experiences
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Rethinking Normal: A Memoir in Transition,Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out

Rethinking Normal: A Memoir in Transition

Hill, Katie Rain. Rethinking Normal: A Memoir in Transition. Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2014.

Katie Rain Hill is transgender - she was born with a male body, but discovered that she is actually a girl on the inside, and was able to obtain the therapy, hormones, surgery, etc. to make her body match what her brain thought it should. This is Katie's story as told by Katie, who began writing this memoir when she was still in high school. Interestingly enough, Katie's former boyfriend, who is also transgender, also wrote his memoir - Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen. For a while Arin and Katie were the poster children for the trans* community. This book is Katie's story in Katie's words.

I am so glad that there is finally a memoir written by a teen about a teen who is transgender. There are many memoirs of adults who are transgender, but it is only now that there are children in our society who are trans*, who identify early enough as trans* to be able to begin transitioning before they are adults. Katie's story is one that will bring hope to other teens and also expand their worldview. My only issue with the book is that several times Katie refers to transgender people as "transgenders," which is actually very offensive to many trans* people. "Transgender" is an adjective, not a noun. Throughout the memoir, Katie's teen voice rings true, and many teens will find this book to be easy to read. Recommended.

Recommended for: teens, adults, those who work with teens,
Red Flags: Katie does discuss her "bottom surgery" in fairly explicit detail, but that part of the book is easy to skip if necessary
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen, Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out

Brown Girl Dreaming

Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014.

Woodson grew up both in South Carolina and New York, different places with very different cultures and issues of race. With a foot in each place, Woodson tells the story of her childhood and the things she loved about living in the city and about living with her grandmother in the deep south.

Wow. A memoir/autobiography written by a young adult author and the book is written in blank verse. There's a lot to love here. The lyrical quality of the writing makes this book very easy to read, and the poetic style will draw fans of Ellen Hopkins and other authors of novels in verse. I shelved this book in the biographies, but it doesn't spend much time on the shelf. Strongly recommended.

Recommended for: middle grade, tweens, teens, fans of Woodson's other work
Red Flags: racist language (used appropriately for the time/place)
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Dark Sons, October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard, Miracle's Boys

The Reappearing Act

Fagan, Kate. The Reappearing Act: Coming Out as Gay on a College Basketball Team Led by Born-Again Christians. Skyhorse Publishing. 2014. $24.95. 200p. HC 978-1-62914-205-0.

Kate Fagan’s memoir recounts her life on the University of Colorado’s women’s basketball team. Though not from a religious family, Fagan aligned herself with the evangelical Christians on her team, attending Bible studies and worship services and attempting to convince others to repent. However, Fagan soon realized that she was a lesbian, and she found her new-found faith to be in conflict with her newly-discovered orientation. This memoir describes her struggles to reconcile her beliefs and her orientation and the effect of those choices on her relationship with her teammates.

This is an unusual memoir, not because of Fagan’s struggle with her beliefs and her orientation, but rather because Fagan was not raised in a religious home. Rather than growing up with internalized homophobia, as many religious persons do, Fagan chose to spend time with evangelical Christians during college because they were part of her basketball team. Although she recounts many occasions where she attended Bible studies or prayed or worshiped with others, Fagan never states that she had a conversion experience. In the language of the evangelical Christians whom she befriended, she was never “saved” or “born again.” So her struggle with her orientation focused more on how her teammates would react, rather than how God would react. Also, although she did, in fact, come out to a couple of teammates, there was never a big “coming out” experience where she admitted to the entire team that she was a lesbian and had to deal with the ramifications. Fagan herself states that she has chosen, as she posits many others in college sports do, to keep her orientation to herself and a few close friends. In spite of the somewhat misleading title, this book will be popular among college basketball fans and would be a good addition to a public library’s collection.

Recommended for: basketball fans, teens and adults
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Teaching the Cat to Sit

Theall, Michelle. Teaching the Cat to Sit: A Memoir.Gallery Books, 2014.

In alternating chapters, Theall tells the story of growing up in a very religious Catholic family and realizing that she is a lesbian while also telling the story of her son, Connor, and the choice she and her partner made to remove him from his Catholic preschool. Throughout her memoir, the theme of what makes a family - whether it be our family of origin or our family of choice - prevails.

As a lesbian who grew up in a very religious family, I can relate to Theall's story of her family's repeated rejection of her "lifestyle" as well as her struggle to reconcile the faith tradition she was raised in with her sexual orientation. Theall's story will ring true with many readers, and not just those among the LGBT community. This book would be an excellent addition to a public library's collection.

Recommended for: adults
Red Flags: Theall is raped by a neighbor when she is 11. The rape scene in this book is not graphic, but it is sudden, so readers who are abuse survivors should take gentle care in approaching this book.
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alike Suggestions: Rapture Practice: A True Story About Growing Up Gay in an Evangelical Family, Love Makes a Family

March

Lewis, John Robert. March. Top Shelf Productions, 2013.

This book describes John Lewis's involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. The art is well done, the story and historical context are interesting, and it was easy to read in e-format. I would love to have a copy of this book in my school's library, especially during Black History Month.

Recommended for: teens, tweens
Red Flags: violence
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Relish

Knisley, Lucy. Relish: My Life in the Kitchen. Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, 2013.

This book tells the story of Lucy and her love of gourmet food. Interspersed throughout the memoir are recipes for various items mentioned in the story. Similar to Bechdel's Fun Home, this book is a memoir with no discernible plot or storyline to follow.

The art in this book is appropriate to the story. The story itself is mildly interesting, and the recipes are genuine. (My wife made one of them for dinner last night.) I don't see this book being popular with my junior high patrons, but high school students and new adults would definitely enjoy it.

Recommended for: young adults, adults
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

American Born Chinese

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. First Second, 2006.

I read this book because I really enjoyed Boxers and Saints, but I didn't find this one as enjoyable at all. There were multiple storylines which were difficult to separate, the one kid's cousin who visits from China I found simply appalling - he was so stereotyped it wasn't even funny anymore. I can't speak to the experience of growing up in a different culture, but this book was simply not my favorite. That being said, the art is very nicely done, the colors are appealing, and it is a Printz award winner.

Recommended for: fans of multicultural lit and graphic novels
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Relish

Knisley, Lucy. Relish: My Life in the Kitchen. Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, 2013.

This book tells the story of Lucy and her love of gourmet food. Interspersed throughout the memoir are recipes for various items mentioned in the story. Similar to Bechdel's Fun Home, this book is a memoir with no discernible plot or storyline to follow.

The art in this book is appropriate to the story. The story itself is mildly interesting, and the recipes are genuine. (My wife made one of them for dinner last night.) I don't see this book being popular with my junior high patrons, but high school students and new adults would definitely enjoy it.

Recommended for: young adults, adults
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

unSweetined

Sweetin, Jodi. unSweetined. Gallery Books, 2009.

This is Jodie Sweetin's memoir of growing up on Full House and the life she led afterward.

I'm not impressed.

I could sum up this book in just a paragraph: "I was a cute kid on Full House, but then I lost my way and did drugs. I sobered up, then I did drugs again. I sobered up, then I did drugs again. I got pregnant and had a cute baby, but then I drank again. Now I'm not drinking or doing drugs. Maybe."

Seriously, the entire book was about her addiction, and there isn't really any recovery going on, because she always goes back to the drugs. The book was actually pretty depressing and repetitive, except for the first couple of chapters where she talks about her time on Full House.

Recommended for: fans of celebrity memoirs

Red Flags: language, drugs, drinking, - this is not a book for children

Overall Rating: 2/5 stars

Warrior Princess

Beck, Kristin. Warrior Princess. Advances Press, 2013.

Kristin Beck is a transgender woman who was able to come out - to herself, to her family, and ultimately to the world - after retiring from service as a Navy SEAL. This book chronicle's Kristen's journey to become herself.

I really, really wanted this book to be good. There aren't enough good trans books in the world. However, this book is not worth the electronic space it takes up on my Kindle.

1. It is narrated in third person, presumably because someone else wrote the book and just tacked on Kristen's name to make it more appealing. It is really hard to read about a person's struggles and difficulties but not be in their head space. That kind of distance made me not care as much about the story.

2. There are many, many grammar and other writing errors. Not only is "transgender" used as a noun (it's not), but Kristen is said to have given "1000%" on several occasions. Also, this author needs to learn how to use the word "literally." Overall, the book is trying too hard, similar to the first few essays I received from my eleventh grade honors English students when I taught high school.

3. This book spends way too much time 1) introducing itself (5% of the space), 2) telling about the history of Kristen's family (another 15%), and 3) focusing on her time in the SEALs (probably 30-40% of the space). Very little of the book has anything to do with Kristen's struggle, which is what I really wanted to read about.

The moral of the story is this: don't read this book, but if you must, then check it out from the library. At least then it won't be a waste of money.

Recommended for: People who've read everything else about the trans community.

Red Flags: language, abominable grammar errors

Overall rating: 1/5 stars

My Friend Dahmer

Backderf, Derf.  My Friend Dahmer. Harry N. Abrams, 2012.

I almost didn't read this book.  I'm not interested in serial killers, I found the art in this work to be a bit creepy, and the author's first name is the same as that of my stuffed turtle.

Even though this book is about a serial killer, it ended up being fairly enjoyable. The creepy art matches the creepy tone of the story, and the author did not go into much detail about Dahmer's crimes, instead demonstrating that Dahmer's home situation combined with his lack of popularity at school may have led him to do what he did. I can understand why this book has been popular, even if it wasn't my favorite.

Beyond Belief

Hill, Jenna. Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape. William Morrow, 2013.

Jenna Miscavige Hill grew up in the world of Scientology as created by L. Ron Hubbard. She embraced the doctrines unquestioningly until her adult years, when she chose to leave.  Now she describes her life as a Scientologist and what caused her to leave behind everything she'd known.

This is another great "escape from a cult" books, similar to those written by people fleeing the FLDS church.  I enjoyed this book and could relate to some of Hill's experiences.  I think it's interesting to have this perspective on Scientology, from someone who not only was part of the elite in-group, but who was also a relative of the head of the church.

Does Jesus Really Love Me?

Chu, Jeff. Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America. Harper, 2013.

Jeff Chu embarks on a search throughout the United States to see what different organizations and denominations believe about the intersection of faith and sexuality, specifically whether God does indeed love gay people. He visits the infamous Westborough Baptist Church, Exodus (an ex-gay organization), the Metropolitan Community Church, the Gay Christian Network, and many other organizations on various ends of the spectrum. His research is thorough and he tells the stories of many individuals he encounters on his travels. Interspersed throughout the book are Chu's email conversations with Gideon, a young man from a very conservative Christian family who has recently come out to himself and is considering coming out to his parents.

This book is very thorough; I can tell that Chu has done his research. I can also tell that this topic is very important to him, as is his faith. My coming out and "counseling" sessions were very similar to Gideon's, and I did enjoy this book as a description of the current pulse of the faith community of the United States, although much of the information was not new to me. I would recommend this book along with Justin Lee's Torn and John Shore's Unfair! to those who are interested in the Gay/Christian debate.

Brain on Fire

Cahalan, Susannah. Brain on Fire. Free Press, 2012. 

Susannah Cahalan was a successful journalist with the New York Post when she was struck with a strange illness that caused seizures, hallucinations, and a host of other symptoms. No one could figure out what was wrong, but it was clear that Cahalan needed serious medical assistance. It was only after a doctor performed a simple test that she was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder.

This book stems from the combination of interviews of the medical staff, Cahalan's parents' journal, and thousands of pages of medical records. Cahalan describes her month of madness when her brain truly seemed to be on fire.

This was a very interesting book, made even better by an excellent narrator. The story is well-told, engrossing, and only near the end does Cahalan mount a soap box and advocate for others who may have her same illness. I'd recommend this book in a heartbeat, especially to fans of narrative nonfiction.