Two Teenagers in Twenty: Writings by Gay & Lesbian Youth

by Ann Heron (Editor)

Gay and lesbian teenagers describe their personal experiences and provide insight into their feelings of despair and isolation as well as their struggles for support and a sense of self-worth.

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Queer, Gay, Lesbian, Self Help

182 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

Reviews

[Bella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Turns out, untrained teenagers? Not the best writers! This book was very repetitive, with lots of the stories touching on the same things. Parts that could have been interesting went unexplored, and mundane details were dragged out. All the dialogue was really badly written, and again, I get that these are teenagers, so I shouldn’t be too judgmental, but this was also a published book! Could’ve used a little more editing.

[Caitlyn Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, you should keep your opinions to yourself. However, upon reading this fascinating, heartbreaking, inspiring book, my opinions cannot be suppressed. At the same time, I find my opinions difficult to fathom in comprehensible context, because this book left me in complete awe.

I believe that love is love, and no matter what race, gender, or religion you are, you can love whoever you want. So, with this belief at hand, I found myself immersed in this book almost immediately. Most likely, this was the only non-fiction book I'd ever taken a liking to.

Reading about the several teens' and young adults' experiences in realizing they liked the same sex and coming out to their friends and families did, indeed, send me into an emotional roller-coaster. There are so many hardships involved in the lives of people in these situations. It's touching. It's heart-wrenching. It's mind-blowing.

Being able to go through the mindsets of the youth that went through the turmoil of discrimination for the sexual orientation is an experience I will never forget. This book is a book I will never forget. It made me feel strongly about those who are not accepted into society for their differences. As sappy as it may sound, it changed my perspective of the world, in a sense; I find myself more supportive of the LGBT community than I already was.

I recommend this book to all. Young, old; gay, straight--I feel that if every person takes the time to read such an exhilarating, inspirational book, more eyes would be opened to those in the situations presented in this very book.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ia book that covers the stories of many different lives that were affected by their homosexuality. The stories can be great to read for improving one's self-esteem and, at other times, hard to read for the harsh reailty some have had to live, many trying to take their own life. The stories range in age from 12 to 24 and cover a wide range of experiences of growing up in a small rural town to living in the king of all cities, NYC. The one issue that was brought up more than any other was that each youth wished that there was some place, other than bars and clubs, that they could go to and meet other gay youth at. It is surprising still to this day that not many places like that are around, except for more support but simple hangout places for gay youth almost does not exist.

This is a book for any gay youth to read if they are struggling with coming to terms with their identity or just having trouble understanding life in general. For some its that connection they are longing for to know that they are not alone and the only one dealing with those kind of problems. The stories are short to read and interesting at times. This would also be a good book for a parent of a child who is gay to give to. Just that one action alone would mean so much to that child.

[Duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you know a gay teenager, this is a nice book to give them to read. It is outdated, but it's still relevant because it shows that average teenagers struggle with understanding who they are and how to get the ones they care about to continue to love them. Each chapter is a letter written by a gay teenager describing how they're trying to cope with their sexuality. My only negative comment is the fact it's terribly outdated.

[Willow · Rating 2 out of 5]

ugh. so far ridiculously outdated. haven't really found anything I would copy for my students yet.... but I'll read the whole book before I conclude it useless... haven't found anything relating to transfolk either. grrrr

finally read as much as I could. Perused the rest to see any of the above changed. Sadly, it didn't.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit outdated - all the kids refer to boyfriends/girlfriends as lover. Who does that anymore?
Despite this, I think it could be a valuable read for my student who's starting to come out.