Reviews

I loved the characters. I loved how they interacted with each other and how we knew just the right amount about each character. We knew enough to get an idea of who they were, but not so much that it was overkill or a chore to read. Just enough to sort of know who they were, understand them a bit and why they act the way they act, how they respond to things, and where their ideas come from, but not so much information that it took things away from the story. It gave us background without taking time away from the story. It didn’t go into tangents for no reason, the information wasn’t irrelevant or painful to read. Everything was presented well and was relevant.

The characters were also realistic and had diverse personalities

I can't say I had a specific favourite part of the book because I loved it as a whole, and in general, it was a beautiful book and a beautiful story. Though I did quite enjoy the

museum scenes, I thought they were incredibly sweet. The emotion was done well too. I laughed, I cried, I got mad.

But even good things comes with disappointments. Now, don't get me wrong, I did love the book, but there was one thing that bothered me.

Annie On My Mind starts off with Liza feeling bad for losing contact with Annie. We don't know anything about it, but it's still sad and you spend the whole book thinking 'Why did you stop talking? Why did you stop talking?' It kept me hanging on. Of course, I still would have been into it regardless of that whole 'I want to know the answer' thing going on in the background. The problem I had with this wasn’t that it made us question this for the entire book, but that it was never explained.

So you would read this start bit and you'd think 'Okay, so they stopped talking, I wanna know why' and you spend the entire book questioning it and wondering why. Why did they stop talking? Are they gonna start talking again? And it's just inconclusive.

They were in contact and things are fine, and then suddenly we’re back to the same point in time from the very start of the book, before the story started, but there was never any reason or explanation for why they'd stopped talking. I honestly feel like the start and end bits could have been left out and made no difference to the story at all, aside from giving us something to hold onto and question.

Everything is fine, and then suddenly it’s “They haven’t spoken in a while”. But why? Why did they stop talking? It never said anything about them cutting contact, so why was that bit even in there?

In conclusion, overall, I loved reading this book and would definitely recommend it if this is something you’re interested in. It’s sweet and queer and is an important part of our history.

futurama1979's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm so conflicted on this book..

Like, on one hand parts of it feel extremely realistic and well crafted, and there was a gorgeous attention to detail that made it so relatable and so good. It's easy to tell why it has sort of become a classic (at least among wlw), and I think it's fair to say it deserves that status. An aspect of it that got me in particular was how the girls and their relationship was first really characterized through those little silly improvised skits... like that was so good. What a way to show how well they clicked with each other! Another bit I loved was the whole portion when they were in the house just imagining living together and having their own home in the future :')

However, there was also a really homogenous nature to the dialogue, which really gets under my skin. Every character had the exact same speech mannerisms except Annie's grandmother(because Garden was trying to write an immigrant without full use of English and with an accent) and that really made it hard to get into the story. Also, the character's ages seemed a little unbelievable to me. They read more like high school freshmen or sophomores than seniors.

Overall though, it's really sweet, and it's an important staple of wlw literature.

lenybx's review against another edition

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4.0

One of the books few that represents love between women. It makes you thinks, laugh, cry and live through them how hard it can be to just love someone of the same sex when society only points at you.

madifish97's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

delirantia's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

coming of age moi cuqui seguro que me houbera gustado máis aínda se o lera de adolescente

minuto de silencio porque isto saiu nos anos 80 como un dos primeiros libros lésbicos con final feliz e pensar que estamos en 2024 e seguimos sin ter historias lésbicas mainstream.......

plnjane's review against another edition

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3.0

this same thing happened to my friend

vespera's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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