I've Known Since I Was Eight

by Sophie Glasser

Action-packed, fast-paced, and captivating, I've Known Since I Was Eight tells the story of a down-to-earth teenage girl's first lesbian relationship and the reactions of her family, friends, and community.Sarah Goldberg is a high school student who has known she was gay since she was eight. With a little help from her bisexual friend Jarod and her grandmother's love, she forms a friendship with the girl of her dreams, and they ultimately get involved. Sarah's new relationship forces her to finally deal with coming out to family, friends, and ultimately the entire school. As Sarah grows stronger in herself and in her identity as a lesbian, she deals with homophobia, threats of violence, as well as a surprising amount of tolerance and support.A "must-have" on any young-adult reading list, this book is sure to be a hit for readers both gay and straight.

Genres: LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Young Adult

126 pages, Paperback

First published November 16, 2003

About the author

Sophie Glasser loves reading and writing young adult novels. A creative artist and teacher, she lives in Somerville, Massachusetts with her partner and cat. She adores dancing, singing, swimming, and birdwatching.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarah, an eleventh grader, has known that she was a lesbian since she was eight, but this is the year when she finally comes to terms with it. With the support of her bisexual friend Jarod, the only person she feels she can talk to about her feelings, she attends a support group for LGBT teens, and finally manages to come out to the girl she has a crush on, and finally her parents.

Most of her friends are accepting, but Sarah, Jarod, and their dates the prom have to deal with some homophobic violence from other students. Fortunately, their straight friends stand by them, and the teachers are responsive when approached for help.

While there is nothing outstanding about this book, its thin 126 page format is sure to be attractive to reluctant readers.

[Thorn MotherIssues · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is basically a bad book, but that's because it was written in 1990 and about 1990 or even earlier, so a world with no internet and no cellphones and just a couple of girls trying to figure out how to be gay in a world where they sort of expect gay-bashing. The writing is very basic, the story is very basic, but I don't want to be too hard on it since I assume it was basically self-published.

[Richard Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! It was an quick, enjoyable read and very gay-positive! I definitely recommend it!