She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: Romantic Fiction

by Lesléa Newman

Here is a new collection of Lesléa Newman's fiction at its finest. In A Stone's Throw, two butch buddies become more than buddies, though neither of them will admit it. In Mothers of Invention, one woman in a relationship wants a child, but her partner won't learn the true meaning of compromise and commitment. And in Girls Will Be Boys , a straight woman-at least she thinks she's straight-discovers a shocking fact about her "boyfriend." Whether the stories are serious, as in Keeping a Breast when a woman discovers a lump in her breast while making love, or hilarious, as in Flights of Fancy when a femme surprises herself by being attracted to another femme, She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not showcases Newman's talent for portraying the lesbian community in all its glory with compassion, wit, and heart.
Marketing National The Advocate, Girlfriends, Sojourner, The Lesbian Review of Books Advance Reader Copies Author Boston, Amherst, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles Lesléa Newman has written and edited more than 20 books. Four of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists.

Genres: LGBT, Lesbian, Fiction, Anthologies, Romance

328 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Lesléa Newman (born 1955, Brooklyn, NY) is the author of over 50 books including Heather Has Two Mommies, A Letter To Harvey Milk, Writing From The Heart, In Every Laugh a Tear, The Femme Mystique, Still Life with Buddy, Fat Chance and Out of the Closet and Nothing to Wear.
She has received many literary awards including Poetry Fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Highlights for Children Fiction Writing Award, the James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement, and two Pushcart Prize Nominations.
Nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists.
Ms. Newman wrote Heather Has Two Mommies, the first children's book to portray lesbian families in a positive way, and has followed up this pioneering work with several more children's books on lesbian and gay families: Gloria Goes To Gay Pride, Belinda's Bouquet, Too Far Away to Touch, and Saturday Is Pattyday.
She is also the author of many books for adults that deal with lesbian identity, Jewish identity and the intersection and collision between the two. Other topics Ms. Newman explores include AIDS, eating disorders, butch/femme relationships and sexual abuse. Her award-winning short story, A Letter To Harvey Milk has been made into a film and adapted for the stage.
In addition to being an author, Ms. Newman is a popular guest lecturer, and has spoken on college campuses across the country including Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Oregon, Bryn Mawr College, Smith College and the University of Judaism. From 2005-2009, Lesléa was a faculty member of the Stonecoast MFA program at the University of Southern Maine. Currently, she is the Poet Laureate of Northampton, MA.

Reviews

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved many many many things about this book.

there are so many short stories that filled me with so many emotions. I almost started crying at the first story and by the ending of the books. I didn't love every story, there were a few that not only could i not relate too I just found them not interesting but none of them were really bad in hindsight

I'm going to write more of a review later when I have the book with me.

Overall, I loved this book. thank you Leslea. Excellently written, I'll be looking for more of her work. Loved and appreciated the lesbian representation, can't ask for more from an author

[Kassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

most of the stories are very masc for fem, knowing it was written in the early 2000s that’s fine I’ll let it slide. Aside from that I loved every short story, some made me gasp and turn the page and others had me crying😭 super glad I read this tho (:

[Rachael Prewitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

very outdated ofc as it was published in '02, and it seemed like every story had femme vs. butch tropes involved, but other than that it's a great read!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice fiction read of a bunch of different short stories! very butch/femme roles for a lot of them

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not usually swayed by famous names, but when I realized that the author of this book also wrote the classic, "Heather Has Two Mommies" I grew to like it a little bit more.

The stories all have different themes, but Newman's writing uses the same language, and some of it is outdated. I wished, for instance, that she wasn't so dependent on the labels of "Butch" and "Femme" to describe her characters. Like astrological signs, these labels influence how we understand people, but they shouldn't be a person (or a literary character)'s most defining feature. Whatever happened to liberation from gender roles in relationships?

I think if you are secure in your own identity, this book is a fun, romantic romp. But if you're newly coming out, please don't take it too seriously. The real world (for the most part, if you avoid the drama queens) isn't like most of these stories.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm on a kick to find lesbian romance novels/stories that are sweet, intense and hot. But more than anything I want the stories to be realistic. These short stories are generally real but not to me. It's mainstream gay. And that's not what I'm looking for.

With that said I liked it. "The Mother of Invention" was the most real (if you tone down said butch's ego) in terms of life struggles. The story that threw me for a loop was "Stranger than Fiction" The age difference bothered me but you seriously have to read the story to understand why. I read most of the stories and I would recommend if you are in the mood for stories that are like coming out tales but not first time stories.

[Gaines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't mind the butch vs. femme binary opposition, but nearly every story played into that trope. Other than that, very moving stuff!