Garden, N. (1982). Annie on my mind. NY: FSG. Liza Winthrop, 17, is the protagonist in Annie on My Mind. In the novel, Liza meets and befriends Annie Kenyon, also 17, but they both come from different lives and have different goals. Throughout the novel, Liza and Annie quickly turn their close friendship into a relationship and they admit to each other that they are gay. Liza and Annie’s relationship is later discovered by Liza’s private school administrator, and although Liza is allowed to stay at her school, she ultimately ends her relationship due to guilt and confusion. At the end of the novel, Liza and Annie go their own separate ways, but late reunite after Liza finally comes to terms with her sexual orientation. Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters, Ash by Malinda Lo, Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters, and The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth are good recommendations for follow up reading. A lesson that might come from reading this book is it’s okay to be perfectly comfortable with your sexual orientation, as the characters in this novel are, while being both likable and relatable to young audiences around the same age range. Annie on My Mind meets the emotional developmental criteria because the entire novel is about two adolescent girls who discover their emotional love for each other. Then, towards the end of the novel, Liza struggles to learn how to control her feelings for Annie and breaks off the relationship until she later finds that her true emotions lie with Annie and rekindles their relationship.
