I bounce between a 3.5 and 4 with All Boys Aren’t Blue as the flow of things sometimes was off for me. However, the subject is very good, and I think could be valuable to even those who have not/or will not follow a similar path as George M. Johnson. Even though his intended audience was not exactly aimed at someone like me, I was able to appreciate his voice and his story. For sure this is not for the very young due to language and some serious content. There are triggers (sexual assault, consensual sexual encounters, language, death, and even some of the GLBT+ imagery), but strong readers (at least 14 and up) should be fine. And of course, adults should read as well.
The above paragraph is about 115 words, which cannot tell it all. It is a positive book (Johnson was lucky to have solid biological family support, and later a found family) and it is a negative book (despite his family love, things of course, could have been better). It is a sad book (a death of a friend, cousin, and loss of innocence) and a happy book (he does not let himself be defined by the traumas, and his cousin is able to live her true self in a time when it was even more unsafe than today). You will learn things, realize some of your own microaggressions, and come to some understandings. You will also ask, Who the h-e-double hockey sticks does Johnson think he is, generalizing that way. It is hopefully a book that makes you question, and while there may not be answers, you are at least asking.
Love or hate this book (though there can be a little of both) this may not be the book we want, but it is the book we probably need.
