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christcore's review
2.0
Outdated and clunky. Many other guides and resources will take you in the right direction - not this one. I'd recommend Scarleteen or your local LGBT Center.
yalocalgaynoah's review
4.0
Queer by Kathy Belge is a great book for LGBTQ+ teens and allies alike. Not only is it informative, but it has an admirable sense of humor that appeals to teens and adults.
themaddiest's review
4.0
Queer is exactly what it says it is: a comprehensive guide for teens about LGBT life. It provides the facts about what it means to be LGBT as well as providing practical advice on how to come out, how to fight homophobia, and how to generally be an awesome person. Writers Belge and Beischke offer a funny, no-frills approach to providing as much information about LGBT life to teens as possible.
This is a pretty important book. In a time when teenagers are committing suicide because of bullying related to LGBT issues, a book like this is necessary. It offers a great deal of information and is written specifically for teens who are questioning or struggling with their sexuality. The authors use humor and a straightforward approach to broaching issues. Topics tackled include tips for coming out, tips for finding other teens who are LGBT(Q), facts about STIs, and inspiring stories about teens who have stood up and fought homophobia in their communities. The authors also provide personal anecdotes about their own lives, which helps give the book a more personal feel.]
The book is organized well, with little comic-strip drawings to help illustrate important points. The use of humor helps to alleviate any sense of nervousness teens might feel about their questions, and the authors’ ability to tackle topics without hesitation helps to reinforce the idea that this is not a taboo topic. In addition to offering facts about the LGBT world, the authors provide helpful, relevant suggestions on how teens can surround themselves with positivity and experience a healthy LGBT social life. Like I said, it’s not just practical information: this is necessary stuff.
Part dating guide, part activist’s handbook, this book is essential for any school or public library. It offers information not just for LGBTQ teens, but for adults who need information about how to talk to teens as well.
Queer: The Ultimate GLBT Guide for Teens by Kathy Belge and Marke Beischke. Zest: 2011. Electronic galley provided by the publisher via Netgalley.
This is a pretty important book. In a time when teenagers are committing suicide because of bullying related to LGBT issues, a book like this is necessary. It offers a great deal of information and is written specifically for teens who are questioning or struggling with their sexuality. The authors use humor and a straightforward approach to broaching issues. Topics tackled include tips for coming out, tips for finding other teens who are LGBT(Q), facts about STIs, and inspiring stories about teens who have stood up and fought homophobia in their communities. The authors also provide personal anecdotes about their own lives, which helps give the book a more personal feel.]
The book is organized well, with little comic-strip drawings to help illustrate important points. The use of humor helps to alleviate any sense of nervousness teens might feel about their questions, and the authors’ ability to tackle topics without hesitation helps to reinforce the idea that this is not a taboo topic. In addition to offering facts about the LGBT world, the authors provide helpful, relevant suggestions on how teens can surround themselves with positivity and experience a healthy LGBT social life. Like I said, it’s not just practical information: this is necessary stuff.
Part dating guide, part activist’s handbook, this book is essential for any school or public library. It offers information not just for LGBTQ teens, but for adults who need information about how to talk to teens as well.
Queer: The Ultimate GLBT Guide for Teens by Kathy Belge and Marke Beischke. Zest: 2011. Electronic galley provided by the publisher via Netgalley.
becca_akins's review
4.0
Overall I really liked this non-fix book. I especially appreciated that it talked about sex for queer people and safe sex. I do wish it talked more about the romantic scale, for example, being bisexual but heteroromantic or bi but homo-romantic. As it is important and can be confusing to people exploring their sexuality.
**I was sent an e-arc copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This in no way affects my rating or review.
**I was sent an e-arc copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This in no way affects my rating or review.
martestbr's review
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
2.0
Though it has good intentions, there's flat out wrong information like this excerpt about pansexuality:
A little different than bisexuals,pansexuals people are attracted to not only boys and girls,
but people who identify as transgender. (This definition ends up being accidentally transphobic and biphobic)
Or not mentioning that only lesbians of color can be studs.
It was clearly intended for younger LGBT+ teens than me, so I couldn't really connect with it (albeit the day before I had read a fantastic children's book by Lupita Nyong'o that made me emotional). The "youth slang" that was used in the book felt too fabricated and forced and some references might go over the target readers' heads such as "you're as queer as a three-dollar bill with a picture of Liberace on it". Though, I admit it, some drawings were cute and some of the coming out and relationship advice are helpful for younger teens.
A little different than bisexuals,pansexuals people are attracted to not only boys and girls,
but people who identify as transgender. (This definition ends up being accidentally transphobic and biphobic)
Or not mentioning that only lesbians of color can be studs.
It was clearly intended for younger LGBT+ teens than me, so I couldn't really connect with it (albeit the day before I had read a fantastic children's book by Lupita Nyong'o that made me emotional). The "youth slang" that was used in the book felt too fabricated and forced and some references might go over the target readers' heads such as "you're as queer as a three-dollar bill with a picture of Liberace on it". Though, I admit it, some drawings were cute and some of the coming out and relationship advice are helpful for younger teens.
soup's review
3.0
this is a good guide for someone just discovering their sexuality but it shouldn't be called "queer" because it's just about the LGB experience and barely mentions the trans experience. also some of the Relatable Teen Slang was really cringy and i was hoping this would go more into lgbt history but it was fine regardless i guess
wart's review
Marking as read though I didn't finish because most of it is shit I had to figure out on my own anyway, lol.
That being said, I liked it. It's a good resource. Glad it exists.
EXCEPT: some may be confused about what it means to date someone who doesn't identify with their biological gender
Change the word 'gender' to 'sex' because 'biological gender' doesn't even make sense, wtf?
That being said, I liked it. It's a good resource. Glad it exists.
EXCEPT: some may be confused about what it means to date someone who doesn't identify with their biological gender
Change the word 'gender' to 'sex' because 'biological gender' doesn't even make sense, wtf?
aasplund's review
3.0
This book is an excellent beginning resource for LGBTQ+ teens to sort out their identity and some of the nuances of being queer. That being said, it's important to keep in mind that this book was written in 2011 and from a gay/lesbian perspective. It's really useful on that front, but there are a couple things it misses out on: 1) there's very little about trans people and the unique challenges they face and there is nothing in this book about non-binary folks, 2) there is a very short paragraph about asexual folks, but very little regarding challenges they might face (especially in expectations of dating). This is a great start, but I would not use this book as the end-all-be-all for a client - a lot has changed since 2011 and there are a lot of populations that wouldn't benefit from this book as much (though any queer person could benefit from the validation and adorable-ness this book offers).
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