Parents of younger teens should read it first

I’m thrilled that there is a book that my LGBT kids can read that they can relate to, but I had to have a long talk with my 14 year old about how inappropriate sites like grinder are for him at this age. It seems like this book is aimed at gay teens, and there is some very good information for them, but honestly, I think it was overly sex centered for that age group. As a parent, I don’t want my heterosexual or my homosexual kids engaging in sex of any kind until they are older and I definitely don’t want them engaging in promiscuous sex, which this book seems to almost promote, at any time. Not because I’m being judgy, but because it’s dangerous for them, especially if they are meeting people online. That said, the book did give good information about safety and it discussed issues that kids won’t receive in sex Ed in school. I think this is a good book for late teens, early twenties, and as a reference for parents, but I would encourage parents of younger teens to read it alongside their kids and discuss it with them. Overall, I think it would be extremely helpful to young people, just coming out, who may not know anyone in the LGBT community who can act as a role model for them. Again, though, I caution parents of young teens to read it and discuss it with your kids.

4 people found this helpful

identifying as a vegetable is not lgbt-related

he literally tells you if if you want to be a carrot ,he will March in the carrot pride parade with you I find that to be very disrespectful for what LGBT people have gone through; especially trans people. Try The ABCs of LGBT for actual helpful information.

2 people found this helpful

content good, reader a little monotone

The content is great. Filled with statistics and surveyed anecdotes. I think probably the most amazing thing is that I'm 25 and this is the first sexual education I've probably ever had. My school had a policy of abstinence so we learned about STIs but we didn't learn anything about how sex works. So it was nice to finally have that and to have the gay version of that even if I've become a bit familiar at this point with personal experience. The reader has keeps the same rhythm the whole time so he's borderline monotone with little inflection. This becomes most pronounced during the anecdotes. Something they should have probably changed for the audiobook is to put the names before the anecdotes instead of after. With his steady cadence there's no pause or change of voice to let you know we've slipped from the author's voice into a story from one of the people surveyed for the book. Still though excellent content and worth a listen or read.

1 person found this helpful

Very Informative

Where does This Book Is Gay rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Probably the number 2.

What was one of the most memorable moments of This Book Is Gay?

The explanation and congruent understanding that it has with general ideas about being gay. Also, the reassurance of what homophobia is and helping one to understand that even little things that we think are homophobic are and should be taken seriously, rather than brushed off.

What about Christopher Solimene’s performance did you like?

I have been out for almost 14 years, however, I struggle with needing acceptance from family members who never will accept me. It's overall very helpful in educating gay people on just about everything in gay life. However, it gave me a better perspective on opening my mind more too.

If you could give This Book Is Gay a new subtitle, what would it be?

The various colors of the LGBTQ.

Any additional comments?

I like that it's in an audio format, I really love audiobooks, I have learned.