Summary
Life-saving letters from a glittering wishlist of top authors.If you received a letter from your older self, what do you think it would say? What do you wish it would say?That the boy you were crushing on in History turns out to be gay too, and that you become boyfriends in college? That the bully who is making your life miserable will one day become so insignificant that you won't remember his name until he shows up at your book signing?In this anthology, sixty-three award-winning authors such as Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom, Jacqueline Woodson, Gregory Maguire, David Levithan, and Armistead Maupin make imaginative journeys into their pasts, telling their younger selves what they would have liked to know then about their lives as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgendered people. Through stories, in pictures, with bracing honesty, these are words of love and understanding, reasons to hold on for the better future ahead. They will tell you things about your favorite authors that you never knew before. And they will tell you about yourself.
Author Notes
James Lecesne is an actor, writer, and activist. His Academy Award-winning short film, "Trevor," inspired the founding of The Trevor Project (www.thetrevorproject.org).
Sarah Moon is a teacher and writer. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, with her wife, Jasmine, and their dog, Otis. She is the coeditor of The Letter Q , a young adult anthology. Sparrow is her first young adult novel.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In a thoughtful, humorous, and moving collection of letters and comics (not all seen by PW), 64 queer authors and artists tell "their younger selves what they could do to make their lives a little better, a little lighter." Though largely hopeful, these correspondences often include painful references to bullying, self-harm, feelings of isolation, and thoughts of suicide. Readers may be surprised by entries from contributors like Marion Dane Bauer and editor Arthur Levine, who remember growing up in a world that depicted gay people as perverts ("I may as well be one of those inverts you once saw pictured in an old psychology book," writes Richard McCann). But the stories are also frequently funny, as the authors tell of successful careers ("you get to be friends with some of your heroes," writes Gregory Maguire. "Like oh not to name names but like Maurice Sendak! I know!"), friendships, marriages, sex lives, and repaired relationships with parents. Read together, the letters become a powerful refrain. Jacqueline Woodson concludes hers by writing, "The world is big-and there is so much love in it. I promise you-you will find it." Ages 14-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Inspired by mentors in her own childhood, editor Sarah Moon asked sixty-four gay, lesbian, and bisexual writers, illustrators, and publishing professionals to write letters to themselves at a younger age -- names such as Marion Dane Bauer, Jacqueline Woodson, Gregory Maguire, Brian Selznick, and a host of others. The resulting letters combine advice, reminiscence, funny stories, and encouragement for readers struggling with their sexuality. As with any collection with such a narrow focus, repetition is a problem, but panels from graphic novel creators help to break up the text and vary the pace, and a few of the writers arouse interest with truly surprising revelations (David Levithan, for instance, writes about bullying, but from the perspective of being the bully; Martin Moran writes about the sexual abuse that led to his award-winning book The Tricky Part). A mostly secular exploration of growing up gay, the book has regrettably little advice for gay and questioning teens grappling with religious dilemmas. Still, with its repeated exhortations to relax more and worry less, this book might be a life-saver for some -- and could function as an author list, as well, for teens wanting to read more about People Like Us. anita l. burkam (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* The letter Q stands for queer, of course, and in this lovely, often funny, and always heartfelt book, more than five-dozen celebrated writers send letters to their teenage selves. Each note, in its own way, promises the author's younger self hope that, in the future, life will get better. In a moving introduction, editor Moon offers her own personal testimony to that. The assembled authors, actors, playwrights, and illustrators are a veritable who's who of the LGBT creative world, and their audiences include both young adults and adults. The YA writers include such luminaries as Julie Anne Peters, Jacqueline Woodson, David Levithan, Brian Selznick, Brent Hartinger, Marion Dane Bauer, and Nick Burd. Not every adult author will be familiar to teens, but whether known or not, they are an amazing array of talent Michael Cunningham, Terrence McNally, Paul Rudnick, David Leavitt, and more. Appended brief biographies of the contributors provide necessary introductions and background information. Though similar in intent to Dan Savage and Terry Miller's It Gets Better (2011), this collection offers its own uniquely personal promise to young readers. In any case, both are books that may save lives and we can never have too many of those.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-This anthology features 64 LGBTQ authors and illustrators, both well-known and not, who send letters to their younger selves. Whether it's Paige Braddock's graphic-style note or Brent Hartinger's letter to his teenage self, the message is clear: it gets better; you will find love; don't give up. Read on an individual basis, these missives can range from boastful to witty to extremely touching. Unfortunately, when read as a whole, they become somewhat monotonous; thus, the letters seem most suitable for classroom use on LGBTQ issues or bullying when paired separately with a story from a good collection such as Michael Cart's How Beautiful the Ordinary (2009) or Marion Dane Bauer's Am I Blue? (both, HarperCollins).-Betty S. Evans, Missouri State Univ., Springfield, MO (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
To hear the more than 50 contributors tell it, one might think that queer adults mostly end up living in ritzy corners of New York City and becoming published authors. That, perhaps, is the necessary consequence of this project, which compiles lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer writers' letters to their younger selves. Big names in adult, teen or children's literature have contributed, including Michael Cunningham, Armistead Maupin, Marion Dane Bauer, Arthur Levine, Gregory Maguire and Amy Bloom. A number of comics artists--including Michael DiMotta, Jennifer Camper and Jasika Nicole--have penned letters in comic form. Many authors use their short (usually two- to three-page) letters to talk about the future. Some letters read like a memoir in second person; some describe past addictions, suicide attempts and other grim circumstances; many give advice. Comparisons to the It Gets Better video campaign, in which LGBT adults promise queer and questioning teenagers that life improves after high school, are inevitable. Contributors Jacqueline Woodson and Erik Orrantia even use the language of "getting better" outright. Yet the disproportionate achievement of fame, wealth and successful careers in the arts among the authors here seems an unfair promise to make to most readers. Inspiring but not universal. (Anthology. 14 up) ]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
David Levithan "I have no idea if there's such a thing as retroactive gaydar, but I'm pretty sure now that Mr. Jones is not in fact gay. And you, indeed, are. I'm still not entirely sure whether I use the word irony correctly, but I believe there's something exquisitely ironic about making fun of your non-gay teacher for being gay, and then going home and listening to Barbra Streisand's Broadway Album over and over again." Sarah Moon "Just between you and me, we both know that the weirdest thing about coming out on your first day of high school in this tiny cow-town is that you haven't even kissed a girl, yet. All you're going on is that feeling in your stomach when you see those pictures of the Spice Girls. It feels a little strange to go around proclaiming that you're a lesbian when you're not even sure that, you know, you'll like it. That quiet fear that this isn't the right thing, that you're going through all of this trouble for nothing, that if you had Angelina Jolie right there in front of you, you wouldn't know what to do with her, it's very scary. I have good news for you: The trouble is worth it, and you'll learn what to do; and that will be fun." Michael Cunningham "As you're nearing thirty, you'll say, screw it, maybe I'll never be recognized, but I still want to write. It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do. So I'm going to start writing about the people who matter most to me, the people I know best. I'm going to stop trying to court the New Yorker with tales of adultery and divorce in Connecticut. I'm going to write about gay people. I can live with the idea that no one will ever publish me. When I'm the oldest living bartender, I'll try to keep those errant hairs plucked. And that's when your writing career will take off. Try to believe me." Excerpted from The Letter Q: Queer Writers' Notes to Their Younger Selves All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
