Annie on My Mind

Garden, N. (1982). Annie On My Mind. New York, NY: McMillan

Summary

Liza meets a girl Annie Kenyon at a musuem. They become friends instantly.  Liza is immediately atteracted to Annie's spirit and is drawn to her all though she is not quite sure why.  Both girls are goal oriented. Liza wants to go to MIT and become an architect. Annie wants to go to Berkeley and be a singer and because she once lived in California and prefers it to New York. The friendship grows in intensity and soon it becomes evident to both girls that their relationship is more than just friendship.  They are attracted to each other romantically. Annie says she has known for awhile that she is gay but this is new for Liza and she is unsure if she really is. When they end up catsitting for 2 teachers from Liza's school, their relationship becomes physical. When they are caught by the head mistress and a student from Liza's prestigious private school, they must cone to terms with the consequences of what their romantic relationship will bring.  Liza faces suspension and she soon realizes that she can no longer lie to her family, others, or herself. She is a lesbian and she does love Annie. Intermittent throughout the story, is a subplot set in the future.  Annie has been writing letters to Liza but Liza has not returned  the favor. She is having trouble putting her feelings down into words. In the end, Liza becomes comfortable enough to accept her feelings and write to Annie and express her true feeling of love to her.

Commentary

This novel like other YA has the characters writing a lot. It seems authors think teenagers write letters and journals. This was written in 1982 before electronic devices and blogs so written letters does make sense.  It was different seeing a story from the perspective of a young person who is realizing they are gay.  Some many times homosexual characters are side characters and it is already know they are gay. Their story is rarely developed.  The other interesting subplot was the one involving the teachers. Maybe it was just be but is was obvious that the two ladies were going to be a couple. They lived together. The taught at a small school. One taught poetry and literature. It seems very typical.This couple helped give insight to the Liza character. She and Annie realized that these two ladies have had to hide their love for years and it is something the two girls would rather not do.  If everyone can like these two teacher without knowing about their personal life why can't they like them once they find out. Annie learns the hard way that it is not how it is. Both of the ladies lose their jobs as a result of Liza's actions. I guess this was to serve as a reminder that society may say that it is accepting but not totally.

Connections

Connections to text

If you are reading YA fiction, be prepared to read about finding love, and losing love, and love being reunited. This isn't a boy meets girl story. It's a girl meets girl story.  Girl falls in love with girl. Girl must decide to stay with girl. Girl realizes she can't live without girl. The topics of love, growing into adulthood, and finding one's true self are all included in this novel.