Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence ed. by Marion Dane Bauer

Bauer, Marion Dane (ed.) Am I blue?: Coming out from the silence. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1994. ISBN: 0-06-024254-X

Summary

Am I Blue? Is a collection of sixteen original short stories that would be of interest to gay teens. The title story, "Am I Blue?" features a fairy godfather who turns everyone gay blue. One in ten people are deep blue, while many others are a lighter shade. Readers are asked to wonder what it would be like if sexuality couldn't be hidden. "Parent's Night" is a coming out story in which the parents are initially upset, but with the help of PFLAG, make a commitment to change their attitudes. "Holding" is a story for those whose parents are gay. These stories span the country and the last century, showing the depth and breadth of the gay community. Most of the authors are well known YA writers, only some of whom usually write gay themed stories.

Critical Evaluation

These well written stories come from respected authors, some of whom may not usually be anthologized as gay themed writers. The variety of writers and story types just goes to show the variety of the gay community. This collection has stories for every step of the coming out process, whether you are coming out as gay, or coming out as the friend or relative of someone gay. While this anthology definitely has a theme, I hope that others who are not part of the community can enjoy the book as well.

Reader's Annotation

Are you Blue? Maybe you're just a shade of blue. If you're looking for stories of other people who are blue, this collection has plenty. Whether you're out, coming out or just wondering, these stories will show you the many ways people are blue.

Genre and Subject

GLBQT. Short stories have different themes such as prejudice, romance, coming out, fantasy, death.

Bibliotherapuetic Usefulness

Allows gay teens to see themselves in literature. Provides support for coming out, or if you know someone who is out.

Why I chose it

Short stories are an easy way to approach a new subject, since you can take the book in small chunks. I wish there were more short story anthologies for young people.