Nancy Garden

This groundbreaking book is the story of two teenage girls whose friendship blossoms into love and who, despite pressures from family and school that threaten their relationship, promise to be true to each other and their feelings. The book has been banned from many school libraries and publicly burned in Kansas City.

Of the author and the book, the Margaret A. Edwards Award committee said, “Using a fluid, readable style, Garden opens a window through which readers can find courage to be true to themselves.”

Annie on My Mind

Sarah Sammis

Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden is number 42 on the list of the most banned / challenged books and according to the description on the 1992 reissue, it was even burned in Kansas City. For all of that publicity, it's an absolutely charming story of love.

The book opens with Liza in college writing a lengthy letter to Annie. The letter is the segue into a number of flashbacks about how Liza and Annie met. Just as Claudia (From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konisburg) finds herself through her adventures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Liza finds Annie.

Although both young ladies are in high school, they like to partake in roll playing and other childish behavior. While it may strike some readers as quaint or unrealistic, it struck a chord with me. My then boyfriend (now husband) once pretended to be Robin Hood to woo me. We were in college at the time — only a year or two removed from Liza and Annie.

As far as the romance goes, it's a pretty tame book. There's one mostly hinted at scene near the end. What is more shocking and saddening (because of its continued timeliness in some parts of the country) is the bigotry Liza faces at her private school.

I read the novel on a BART ride to and from San Francisco. It made an hour and a half round trip journey go by quickly. I plan to check out more of Nancy Garden's novels as I have time.

Recommended by Smells Like Library

This is a stunning and incredibly comforting novel; it was revolutionary at the time of its publication and in spite of the palpably 80's setting, it still reads as relevant today. There is a lot of gentleness in the way Garden describes Annie and Liza's relationship and you can tell she intended it as a gift to her own community. Garden seems to care deeply about the wellbeing of her characters and manages to entirely convince the reader to care for them too, with softness and warmth.

A modern-day author who compares, to me, would be Nina LaCour, so if you are someone who enjoys her work and it is reluctant to pick up an LGBT+ classic because you are afraid of how outdated it would be, I could not encourage you enough to pick this book up.

This is a stunning and incredibly comforting novel; it was revolutionary at the time of its publication and in spite of the palpably 80's setting, it still reads as relevant today. There is a lot of gentleness in the way Garden describes Annie and Liza's relationship and you can tell she intended it as a gift to her own community. Garden seems to care deeply about the wellbeing of her characters and manages to entirely convince the reader to care for them too, with softness and warmth.

A modern-day author who compares, to me, would be Nina LaCour, so if you are someone who enjoys her work and it is reluctant to pick up an LGBT+ classic because you are afraid of how outdated it would be, I could not encourage you enough to pick this book up.

"the first day, i stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter watching annie feed the cats, and i knew i wanted to be able to do that forever: stand in kitchens watching annie feed cats. our kitchens. our cats."

it's such a cute and simple book i'm so soft

Tess

As soon as i heard the first words, "It's raining annie", i was captured. I was transported instantly into the hearts and souls of these two young girls in love. She was able to convey the love and joy underneath the confusion and difficult situations, and not in a sad depressing way. It was 7 hours of melancholy, a deeply personal and touching tale.

This is one of those books that cannot be forgotten. I can see the characters, feel what they felt, and would insist to anyone that i know, that they haven't read or listened to a story of quality quite like this. It's also one of those books that cannot be reviewed with words, it's one of those things you just have to experience for yourself.

“I read somewhere the other day that love is good as long as it’s honest and unselfish and hurts no one.”

Ruby Long

Steffi

3.5 cause it only starts to get interesting during the middle of the book.

Carolina

Viste cuando son las 5 de la mañana y llevas una hora intentando dormir porque tus gatos te despertaron y decís al carajo y te ponés a leer y sos tan capa que no podés soltar el libro hasta que lo terminás a las nueve de la mañana? Bueno, así.

Sahi K

This is a beautiful love story between two girls and the writing is very sublime. The tale of close friendship and intense first love is depicted in a very endearing way and I found myself rooting for the pair right from the beginning. The characters, their confusion, their pain - everything is very realistic and empathetic. 

There is some homophobia in the story from other characters but it’s kinda true to the times but the girls also receive guidance and support from unexpected quarters. The ending is slightly bittersweet but also hopeful and we can definitely see why this book has had so much impact even after more than two decades of its publication.

hope

la cosa más linda que he leído en mi vida probablemente

This is a near-perfect YA lesbian book. The framing of it was intriguing but didn't overstep the actual plot of the book, which was how they got together. It added mystery, as in "how did they get to this point?" The events as they unfolded felt incredibly realistic and the characters all felt well thought out. I especially appreciated how there were a mix of side characters who were accepting, acted accepting but inevitably said homophobic or annoying things, and those that were certainly not. It all felt very genuine.

Annie and Liza falling in love also felt very natural, and it was a very cute story at the same time. I definitely cried at the end, and this is definitely a book I'd recommend to anyone interested. The fact that it was written in 1982 makes it even more appealing, as it was a true trailblazer. Amazing book!

adria

Reading this novel was such an emotionally charged experience for me. I closed the book 5 minutes ago and I'm still crying. Not because it was sad, but because of how much it spoke to me, how much I could relate to Liza and Annie, and, most of all, how relieved I am I don't live in their time, and that society is so much more accepting nowadays (for the most part- there's still too many Baxters and Pointdexters running around, imparting their self-righteous "wisdom" onto unwilling targets)
'Annie on my mind' is such a sweet love story. Every person who's ever fallen for their best friend will undoubtedly find themselves in this. Liza and Annie's love for each other is so pure and heartwarming. I just wish I could read it for the first time, all over again.

Elena Enns

At first I didn’t know what to think. The beginning annoyed me slightly, not completely sure why, but soon I got so into it I couldn’t put it down. I love the love story and how it shows how life was like in the 70/80s.

Elli

So in the name of honesty I didn't finish this. It got to a point (with about 40 pages left) when I felt like I knew what was coming and I didn't want to read any further. I thought the writing was okay at best. The most important part of this book is certainly the plot. As a love story I thought it was mildly compelling. I felt like Liza and Annie were not fully formed characters, I don't feel like I knew them, not even Liza who is narrating the story. Of course I understand the importance of this book but that does not mean that I had to love it, and unfortunately I didn't.

Ariel Himboi

I've been on an extremely weird reading slump lately. I've felt better than I ever have in a very long time, but reading wise I'm not doing well at all. I had high hopes for Annie On My Mind. It was pitched to me by many saphic readers to be a classic story about two young girls learning that they love each other- and the same gender, in a time where it is still looked down upon. I was excited to get to this book because I knew that A) It was going to be filled with love, and probably many sweet scenes. And B) That it was going to wreck me. It did a little of the first but overall I was disappointed. 

Half way through this book I got bored. On one hand, I loved seeing Annie and Liza's friendship go to relationship, and I loved the bits where her family and Annie's family were involved in their life and their relationship and how supportive they were. However, I absolutely dreaded reading the bits about the school and the long dialogue given by the antagonist and mean principle who I wish would just get hit by a car! It was agonizing and made the last half of the book drag on forever. 

The ending of this book was abrupt and felt entirely rushed. It felt out of place and too 'We did all the realistic stuff, why not throw in a happy ever after' that didn't fit the writing style.

Overall....cute... but very disappointed.

Chelsea Breher

Overall this was a cute read, it wasn't spectacular but its a very important piece of literature being a lbgt novel. The relationship in the novel grew organically and was totally believable.

Jia Lopez

An amazing easy read that brought me out of my reading slump. The story is equal parts heartwarming and heart-wrenching. It's nice to be able to catch a glimpse of what it may have been like for queer people of the past, as well as hear (or rather read) the author's own thoughts and experiences. This is most definitely a book that I will continue coming back to for years to come.

Erin 

What a lovely, lovely book. This book is special. From it, so many stories have been able to be told. The relationship between Liza and Annie is so beautiful, so budding. It's not really a gay love story - although believe me, the gayness of it certainly becomes a major part of the plot - but at its very core it is a story about two teenagers learning how to fall in love. And that alone is beautifully written. What's also interesting is the relationship between Liza's two teachers, who are also gay (I use the word "gay" because that is what they use in the book - and in the author's more recent interview in the back). It really made the story interesting because it didn't single out the girls as the only gay couple in the world, which sometimes books do. I did find the beginning part a bit slower, but this is almost required in order to properly portray the relationship, as the girls start by becoming friends. I also found I like the contrast in reactions once they had been "found out." Some of those at the school were harsh opponents, but Liza still didn't get expelled. And her classmates were more-or-less welcoming when she returned. Liza's parents especially seemed to take it well - well for the 1980s, I suppose. From a 2018 perspective, clearly all of the opposition is absurd - the idea of having a college offer rescinded just because one is in love with a girl! - but it works for this book, because it's obvious that it was written in a time where the world was a bit closeted itself. I do think it's a wonderful, lovely story. It has a fairly happy ending, and I agree with the author quite staunchly - I hope Liza and Annie spend the rest of their lives together, happy and in love, but most importantly, with each other.

Neeti Choudhari

It was a great story very lovingly written

Shannon Leigh Williams

What can I even say? I've never identified more with a character than I do to Annie. This book is one of my absolute favorites of all time. A full video review will be on my YouTube channel, because I have so much to say.

Annie on My Mind

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