It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology-what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish.

13 & up)Ī miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.Įli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. A purely additional purchase for libraries looking to expand their teen self-help section. While this is an adequate gateway title for identity-seeking teens in search of comfort or guidance, its broad focus and scant list of additional resources (made up of hotlines, books and websites) mean it will be of limited use for homework or projects.

Each hand-lettered story is illustrated in spiky pen and broad pastel strokes by Mitchell and accompanied by a Q&A section in which each author further describes the positive or negative effect the event had on their lives.

The experiences run the gamut from kidnapping (“Drive”) and family violence (“Punch”) to body image (“Big Girl”) and sexual identity (“Playing House”). A collection of illustrated vignettes about “…the ways we accept and define ourselves throughout our lives, and how, for better or worse, they shape who we become.” Scowen, a long-time youth counselor and consultant, solicited and selected 12 true first-person accounts of defining moments from childhood or adolescence.

I.D. by Kate Scowen