I listened to this audiobook through my library on Libby. 

Brief Summary: A memoir that explores the experience of a Black, Queer person growing up. Johnson provides essays about their life that include experiences navigating racism, homophobia, sex, love, and joy.

Thoughts: This is a beautifully written book. Johnson has such a clear understanding of how growing up can be such a difficult process and how learning to love yourself is truly the first step to an enlightened understanding of the world. 

I really loved every essay that included stories of Johnson's grandmother. The love and admiration that they have for each other was so touching to read. I also think that it is so important that Johnson highlighted how their grandmother and others in their family may not have had a perfect response to the queer members of the family, but that their love for each other always came first and that love allowed for growth and acceptance on all sides.

I also appreciate the way that Johson discusses their sexual experiences. I think that even in a young adult book it is important to discuss topics like these because making them taboo makes it difficult for people to feel comfortable discussing the topic and asking questions. 

Even if you are not a young adult this is a great book to read. It is beautifully and thoughtfully written. I would highly recommend this book  

I will start by saying that I don’t think I am the target audience for this book which did impact my experience reading it. I think it’s very important that this book exists and that it will be so incredibly beneficial to queer teens, black teens, and especially black queer teens. It was interesting to see George’s experience growing up in the 90s as a queer person which is very different from how younger people experience it. I liked overall the concepts and the meaning/significance of the book, but I wasn’t wild about the writing style. As other reviews pointed out, the sentences were very choppy and because I was listening to the audiobook that was especially noticeable. I’d say that the first 3/4 of the book weren’t anything extraordinary to me, but I really enjoyed the last 1/4 and hearing about the college experience and everything about Kenny. Having also

built a very close friend group in college who became my family (and whom my parents had met many times) and the one of those friends died

the section about

Kenny’s death

really deeply resonated with me and I found George’s reflection on it very insightful. So if only for that section, I am very glad to have read this book. I would also recommend this book to those trying to learn more about the black queer experience - obviously George’s journey isn’t universal but it is a good introduction for those who want to learn more (having already been pretty familiar through other books and media, this wasn’t as impactful to me). 

I had a great experience reading this book. It’s one of the first memoirs I’ve ever read and I have to say I think it’s a great one to start with. 
It deals with so much: race, gender sexuality, death, trauma, family and friendship. 
I like that the prose is very accessible and the chapters are short. The subject matter can be fun and lighthearted but can also be heavy at times. 
It’s a great read and I do recommend it. 

I've always said it feels so wrong to rate memoirs/biographies because they are so personal and it takes a certain amount of bravery and vulnerability from the author to be willing to share this with the entire world. However, this feels like a solid five stars simply because I loved everything about this and how it was written. This is an important book and I think should be required reading, even if it was difficult/challenging to read at times but that doesn't mean we just don't read it. We just take the time to ask ourselves why it was challenging and have open discussions with others about it.

pre-review: This book spoke to me on so many different levels, my heart hurts.