Queer History A to Z: 100 Years of LGBTQ+ Activism

Written by Robin Stevenson

Illustrated by Vivian Rosas

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0835-2

64 pp.

Ages 10-14

May 2024

 

What a perfect month to review this extremely comprehensive book of non-fiction that celebrates the key players and events in the history of LGBTQ+ activism! I was riveted by what I learned.

From Queer History A to Z, written by Robin Stevenson, illus. by Vivian Rosas

Author Robin Stevenson has long championed LGBTQ+ stories in both fiction (e.g., When You Get the Chance) and non-fiction (e.g., Pride: Celebrating Diversity and Community), but in Queer History A to Z she takes the opportunity to inform on the history of those for whom LGBTQ+ issues have always been paramount. Basing her information according to the letters of the alphabet, Robin Stevenson educates readers on everything from terminology like drag and Indigiqueer and significant historical events like the protests at the Stonewall Inn and the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights to bios of important activists like Bayard Rustin and Marsha P. Johnson who fought and inspired movements.

From Queer History A to Z, written by Robin Stevenson, illus. by Vivian Rosas

I did not exaggerate when I used the word "comprehensive." Queer History A to Z may be  based on 26 key ideas but it goes beyond just those 26 people, terms or events. It gives us so much more, including an additional 35 short bios of queer activists, a thorough timeline of a hundred years of key events, a glossary, and references of LGBTQ+ resources for young readers as well as references for books, websites and films which might be useful. If you want an introductory book about LGBQT+ history that is also inclusive and extensive, Queer History A to Z fits the bill.

From Queer History A to Z, written by Robin Stevenson, illus. by Vivian Rosas

Robin Stevenson's thorough and informative text is accompanied by Vivian Rosas's bright and bold digital art that includes everyone in the LGBTQ+ communities. Not only does she depict historical figures accurately–I know this because every story so intrigued that I was constantly checking for more info online–Vivian Rosas gives the events authenticity and the pride that is conveyed from within.

From Queer History A to Z, written by Robin Stevenson, illus. by Vivian Rosas

For all readers, young and old, Queer  History A to Z may be a primer on LGBTQ+ activism for the past 100 years but it is also an acknowledgement of communities that have endured the full gamut of discrimination for that same time. The book is in itself an act of activism to empower those who have been and may still be denied the rights to be themselves everywhere and anywhere. 

"We need in every community a group of angelic troublemakers." ~ Bayard Rustin (1912-1987)

When You Get the Chance

Written by Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson
Running Press Teens
978-0-7624-9500-9
272 pp.
Ages 12+
May 2021

 

(n.b. This review was originally posted in May 2020 but because the release was delayed until this month, I have reposted it here to ensure everyone knows about it.)

 

Teens Talia and Mark may think that their destiny is to attend Toronto Pride when they and their families visit Ontario for a funeral but, though they get there, their stories in When You Get the Chance are all about the journey.

When Talia and her dad Gary come from Victoria and meet up with his sister Janet and two kids, Mark and 10-year-old Paige, who live in Halifax, the atmosphere is cool. Though Gary and Janet are attending their father's funeral and trying to help their mother through the loss, their long-term estrangement causes great friction, especially about the family cottage in Muskoka which Gary thinks should be sold and Janet hopes to visit with her kids. Grandma insists they all go up there and spend a week together before a decision is made.

But, when Grandma has a fall and the adults rush back to Toronto, leaving the kids to fend for themselves–grant you, Talia and Mark are in their late teens–the summer becomes a whole lot more interesting. Paige is determined to discover what lead to her mom's estrangement from her brother so, while she and Talia clean and sort, she speculates and puts clues together. Mark, on the other hand, is smitten with local boy Darren who has come around to help fix a 1970 Ford Mustang discovered in a shed. Mark, unfortunately, is all about Mark and, after he learns what Darren is really like, he decides to head to Toronto for Pride. Talia, whose partner Erin had recently moved to Toronto, is desperate to see them (Erin is non-binary and uses they/them/their pronouns), insists Mark take his cousin and, of course, Paige must come along too.

However, when the old Mustang breaks down, their trip looks like it's ended early. But, after meeting diner owner Shirley Jr. and her mechanic partner Babs who offer to take the kids to Toronto themselves, it's a new journey for Mark and Talia in resolving past relationships, meeting new people, experiencing their first Toronto Pride, and discovering who they are and what they need.

For anyone who doesn't know where they fit in, When You Get the Chance provides the promise that somewhere there is such a place for all. While Mark is confident in being out as gay, Talia has come from a small community where she and partner Erin depended on each other for support. But when Erin leaves for the big city and finds a new community, Talia has to balance what she needed then with what she wants now. Fortunately, with much soul-searching and some heartbreak, Talia finds her way.

These are my people, this is my community. I may not know how I identify or whatever, but I'm pretty sure that whatever I am, there's a place for me under this great big queer rainbow. (pg. 177)

Writers Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson have given us a road trip story with a twist in When You Get the Chance. By writing in the alternate voices of Mark and Talia who are from different coasts and have different experiences with their sexuality, Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson present distinct and valid perspectives on being gay or queer or however a young person may identify. By including a myriad of communities from young and old, to gay, straight, non-binary and even polyamorous, they have demonstrated that everyone belongs and sometimes all it takes is one chance and a trip in a vintage yellow Mustang to find one's self, one's voice and community.

When You Get the Chance

Written by Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson

Running Press Teens

978-0-7624-9500-9

272 pp.

Ages 12+

May 2021
(n.b. The original release date was May 2020 but I have been informed by author Robin Stevenson that the date has been changed to May 2021)

Teens Talia and Mark may think that their destiny is to attend Toronto Pride when they and their families visit Ontario for a funeral but, though they get there, their stories in When You Get the Chance are all about the journey.

When Talia and her dad Gary come from Victoria and meet up with his sister Janet and two kids, Mark and 10-year-old Paige, who live in Halifax, the atmosphere is cool. Though Gary and Janet are attending their father's funeral and trying to help their mother through the loss, their long-term estrangement causes great friction, especially about the family cottage in Muskoka which Gary thinks should be sold and Janet hopes to visit with her kids. Grandma insists they all go up there together and spend a week before a decision will be made.

But, when Grandma has a fall and the adults rush back to Toronto, leaving the kids to fend for themselves–grant you, Talia and Mark are in their late teens–the summer becomes a whole lot more interesting. Paige is determined to discover what lead to her mom's estrangement from her brother so, while she and Talia clean and sort, she speculates and puts clues together. Mark, on the other hand, is smitten with local boy Darren who has come around to help fix a 1970 Ford Mustang discovered in a shed. Mark, unfortunately, is all about Mark and, after he learns what Darren is really like, he decides to head to Toronto for Pride. Talia, whose partner Erin had recently moved to Toronto, is desperate to see them (Erin is non-binary and uses they/them/their pronouns), insists Mark take his cousin and, of course, Paige must come along too.

However, when the old Mustang breaks down, their trip looks like it's ended early. But, after meeting diner owner Shirley Jr. and her mechanic partner Babs who offer to take the kids to Toronto themselves, it's a new journey for Mark and Talia in resolving past relationships, meeting new people, experiencing their first Toronto Pride, and discovering who they are and what they need.

For anyone who doesn't know where they fit in, When You Get the Chance provides the promise that somewhere there is such a place for all. While Mark is confident in being out as gay, Talia has come from a small community where she and partner Erin depended on each other for support. But when Erin leaves for the big city and finds a new community, Talia has to balance what she needed then with what she wants now. Fortunately, with much soul-searching and some heartbreak, Talia finds her way.

These are my people, this is my community. I may not know how I identify or whatever, but I'm pretty sure that whatever I am, there's a place for me under this great big queer rainbow. (pg. 177)

Writers Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson have given us a road trip story with a twist in When You Get the Chance. By writing in the alternate voices of Mark and Talia who are from different coasts and have different experiences with their sexuality, Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson present distinct and valid perspectives on being gay or queer or however a young person may identify. By including a myriad of communities from young and old, to gay, straight, non-binary and even polyamorous, they have demonstrated that everyone belongs and sometimes all it takes is one chance and a trip in a vintage yellow Mustang to find one's self, one's voice and community.

Orca Book Publishers: Multi-author book launches (Victoria BC)

Orca Book Publishers

will be launching their newest spring books

on

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

at

7:00 p.m.

(doors open at 6:30 p.m.)

at

Munro's Books

1108 Government Street

Victoria, BC

Books being launched include:

Pride Colors

Written by Robin Stevenson

Concept board book about LGBTQ+, colors, acceptance

On the Internet

Our First Talk About Online Safety

Written by Dr. Jillian Roberts

Illustrated by Jane Heinrichs

32 pp.

Ages 6-8

Non-fiction

On the Playground

Our First Talk About Prejudice

Written by Dr. Jillian Roberts

Illustrated by Jane Heinrichs

32 pp.

Ages 6-8

Non-fiction

Tick Tock Terror

Written by Melanie Jackson

144 pp.

Ages 9-12

Middle-grade mystery

The Bodyguard

Written by Sean Rodman

128 pp.

Ages 12+ 

Hi-lo YA

Great Bear Rainforest

A Giant-Screen Adventure in the Land of the Spirit Bear 

Written by Ian McAllister and Alex Van Tol

96 pp.

Ages 8-13

Non-fiction picture book

My Body, My Choice

The Fight for Abortion Rights

Written by Robin Stevenson

176 pp.

Ages 12+

Non-fiction YA

Blood on the Beach

Written by Sarah N. Harvey and Robin Stevenson

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-1293-2

259 pp.

Ages 13+

2017

When eight “at-risk” teens accompany three adult counsellors to a remote island off the BC coast to participate in the week-long INTRO (=In Nature to Renew Ourselves) program, they probably never imagined graver risks than those they had already endured.  But,  when one of the teens goes missing, and everyone starts pointing fingers and suspicions grow between island-mates, Blood on the Beach becomes a YA Survivor x Lord of the Flies story.

Today is a good day to bury bad habits, attitudes and relationships so you can give birth to a new you. (pg. 45)

It seems that those in authority–parents and the court system–believe that the four girls and four boys sent to INTRO need to “change” their ways.  There’s Alice, the daughter of a cop, who was tagged for underage drinking; a depressed Tara who seems fearful of life; the flirtatious Mandy whose risky behaviour has lead her to theft; the misleading Imogen whose vice is drugs; B & E proficient Jason; Caleb who assaulted his mother’s abusive partner; weed-dealer Chad; and Nick whose parents want him to not be gay.  Under the care of former cop Warren and his psychologist wife Claire, as well as newbie counsellor Rahim, the kids are brought together to discuss their feelings, do chores like cooking and cleaning, and clearing of brush for a trail. But when Tara disappears the second day on the island and the radio is damaged, most of the kids want answers and actively pursue them.  Everyone is on edge, but especially Alice who unearths clues to Caleb’s possible involvement and Caleb who realizes Alice and Imogen are treating him with distrust.  The situation is all the more tenuous because of Warren and Claire’s reluctance to contact authorities and get assistance.

Through the alternate voices of Alice and Caleb, the story of Tara’s disappearance and the program’s participants coming together to solve the mystery is revealed.  But Blood on the Beach moves from mystery to thriller when a death occurs and suspicions are ramped up.  Everyone is looking over their shoulders for the culprit, not knowing enough about anyone to feel safe.    

From reviews of Sarah N. Harvey and Robin Stevenson’s most recent books (Spirit Level and The World Without Us, respectively), we know that the two BC writers can pack a lot of plot punch and strong characterizations into their YA novels.  Together, they are powerful.  They have created a wild assortment of characters and exposed them to  a more tenuous situation than those from which they came.  I suspect the community that thought INTRO was a good idea might want to rethink the benefits of a program that doesn’t adhere to the bioethical maxim of “do no harm.”  Scarier still is the belief that the adults would know what they’re doing when it’s actually the kids who show the maturity and conscience to fully resolve the mystery and mitigate the threat.

Like the little paper boats the teens construct with messages of their pasts to release to the sea, these teens leave behind their pasts and demonstrate courage and resourcefulness to secure their present and even look forward to positive futures. 

Pride: Celebrating Diversity and Community: Book launches (Victoria, BC & Toronto, ON)

Join 

Robin Stevenson

award-winning author of over 20 books

for the launch of her first nonfiction book for young readers

Pride: Celebrating Diversity and Community

Orca Book Publishers

9781459809932

120 pp.

Ages 9-13

For release April, 2016

on Monday, April 18th, 2016

from 7-9 p.m.

at

Cornerstone Café

1301 Gladstone Avenue

Victoria, BC

A portion of book sales will be donated to the Victoria LGBTQ Refugee Sponsorship Group


AND


on  Sunday, May 1, 2016

at 1 p.m.

at

Glad Day Bookshop
598 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON

Books will be available for sale. 

Check out the book trailer for details about Robin Stevenson's newest title:

Uploaded by Orca Book Publishers to YouTube 

on January 14, 2016.

Orca Book Publishers: Spring Book Launch (Victoria, BC)

Orca Book Publishers

 will be launching their newest spring books

on

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

at 

7:30 pm

at 

Munro's Books

Victoria, BC

Authors and illustrators in attendance will include:

Sara Cassidy

Not for Sale
Orca Echoes
(early reader for ages 7-9)
64 pp.

Michelle Mulder

Trash Talk: Moving Toward a Zero-Waste World
Orca Footprints
(non-fiction for ages 8+)
48 pp.

Mike Deas

Tank and Fizz: The Case of the Slime Stampede

Ages 8-11
152 pp.

Reviewed here

Alex Van Tol

Chick: Lister

Orca Currents
(middle-school fiction for reluctant readers; RL 2.4)
144 pp.

Diane Dakers

Homecoming

Orca Soundings
(teen fiction for reluctant readers; RL 3.5)
120 pp.

Sean Rodman

Tap Out

Orca Soundings
(teen fiction for reluctant readers; RL 3.0)
128 pp.

Robin Stevenson

The World Without Us

Ages 12-16
226 pp.

Reviewed here

Brian Harvey

Beethoven's Tenth: A Frank Ryan Mystery

Rapid Reads
(short books for adult readers; RL 4.5)
160 pp.

Dayle Campbell Gaetz

Disappearing Act: A Leena O'Neill Mystery

Rapid Reads
(short books for adult readers; RL 4.2)
160 pp.

There's something for everyone, 

as the above books indicate, 

and all ages are welcome.

The World Without Us

by Robin Stevenson

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-0680-1

226 pp.

Ages 12-16

February, 2015

If we jump, the world will just go on without us. (pg. 2)

The we are teens Jeremy and Melody, their world is St. Petersburg, Florida, and the where is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.  But only Jeremy jumps and now Melody is left to tell the story or rather stories, the one she knows and the one everyone else believes.

Jeremy, a junior whose 13-year-old brother died two years earlier, introduces himself to the rather reclusive Melody, who has been given the unkind moniker of Death Wish after an accidental poisoning at a party.  Because of their common appreciation for Albert Camus' writing and family experiences with death–Melody's parents are activists against the death penalty–Melody and Jeremy begin to form a bond, ostensibly one based on the finality of life. As Jeremy suggests,

If things get too bad, we can always check out, right?  Like Camus said, the when and how don't matter. (pg. 59)

Somehow their discussions about last meal choices, living with differences, reincarnation, and lucid dreaming take them to the point of no return, and their lives and relationship are forever altered.

Robin Stevenson has a knack for bringing thought-provoking tales to young readers, as she has with her Record Breaker (Orca, 2013), Hummingbird Heart (Orca, 2012) and Liars and Fools (Orca, 2010).  The World Without Us too delves into issues with which young people might be dealing: grief and guilt, suicidal thoughts, friendship and love.  And all these issues have them teetering on the edge of decisions, some involving life and death.  If The World Without Us doesn't convince you how quickly and tragically these issues can escalate for young people, then you'll only see this book as a story, not the cautionary tale about the repercussions of legitimate turmoil.  Robin Stevenson reminds us in her eloquent text that the fictional can become reality in a split second and with just a slip of time or even a misstep.

Record Breaker

by Robin Stevenson
Orca Book Publishers
978-1-5546-9959-9
152 pp.
Ages 9-12
2013

Most of us would do anything to alleviate the sadness and despair of one we love.  Children are inclined to do the same, although the means by which they are convinced they can do this may be rather unconventional.  Take young Jack, for example, in Robin Stevenson's latest from Orca Book Publishers, Record Breaker.  He is sure that breaking a world record will propel his mother from her overwhelming sadness following the death of his baby sister Annie, and he's willing to try just about anything. 

Jack seems like a pretty good kid.  When his dad tells him to get to the dinner table or help his mom or go to his dad's cousin's place, the Miller's, he does.  Because he often gets sent to the Millers, Jack spends a lot of time with his second cousin, Allan, who likes to repeat his mom's and dad's comments, ("My mom said it'll be a miracle if she (Jack's mom) ever gets over that baby dying" pg. 23; "My dad always said Kennedy was soft" pg. 40).  Regardless, Allan is willing to help Jack out in his record attempts, even painful ones like face-slapping. 

While Jack's concern for his mother tends to overwhelm his daily activities, several key events have an impact on him and those around him.  First, President John F. Kennedy is assassinated.  Although they live in Ancaster, the possibility of bombings are a real concern, and Jack's dad returns to building a fallout shelter started before Annie's birth.  Second, a new girl, Kate Levine, moves to a nearby neighbourhood, using a local treehouse that Jack had been using as an escape.  Kate is an astute young girl, helping Jack see that there is something, other than a world record, that he can accomplish to help his mother.  In fact, her mom believes Jack's mom needs someone to whom she can talk and Mrs. Levine volunteers to help.  Together with Allan and Kate, Jack finds the means to add some light to his mother's life, and remind both his parents that they still have a son who has been burdened with dealing with his sister's death on his own.

In the context of 1963 southern Ontario, Robin Stevenson shares the grief and fears and innuendo of a time unknown to most young readers.  But, by making the focus in Record Breaker a local one, with the grief related to the loss of a family member, the fears about a family who may be unable to rebuild itself, and others' gossip about issues of which they know very little, young readers will be able to empathize.  Even so, whether global or local, these issues can be devastating, and recovery may seem impossible.  But, as Jack and Robin Stevenson demonstrate, with a little help and a different perspective perhaps from unlikely sources, there is hope.

Hummingbird Heart

by Robin Stevenson

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-554693900

ebook: 978-1-554693917

278 pp.

Ages 13-16

April, 2012

Reviewed from ebook

Fiction for younger readers seems to have found a favourite character in the selfish mother or at least mothers who, realizing that they can't have it all, choose in favour of themselves, not their children. Such is Dylan Jarvis' mom, although her mom still has the audacity to tell her that she's doing what's best for Dylan.

In Hummingbird Heart, sixteen-year-old Dylan may know how self-centered her mom, Amanda, is; after all, Mom doesn't seem to worry about constantly getting new tattoos or smoking pot or making out with her newest boyfriend at home.  In fact, Dylan wishes her mother was more predictable and acted more like a responsible grown-up.  But while Dylan may acknowledge how messed up her family is (there's Mom who got pregnant when she was 16 after a one-night stand, and Karma, her "sister", the eleven-year-old daughter of Amanda's deceased friend, Sheri) but she considers herself weird and boring, more like "Diluted Kool-Aid, maybe. Or skim milk" (pg. 35) compared to her champagne-like best friend, Toni.  Even though Toni's parents have divorced, Dylan looks upon Toni as having a more normal family, since she knows both her parents.  Dylan, who knows nothing of her father, struggles for a connection to him by having her mom send a birthday photograph of them to him each year.  Even though he has never replied, Dylan considers going to see him when Mark calls and wants to have dinner with them.

Meanwhile, Dylan is encouraged by Toni to be a bit more sociable and interested in guys; by crushing on new boy, Jax, Dylan feels a bit more normal like Toni, who has a boyfriend, Finn.  Perhaps because she knows so little about him and feels like a different (more normal?) person around him, Dylan takes Jax in as a confidante, sharing with him the news of her father and her feelings about her mother.  While she does question Jax's interest in her, Dylan enjoys the almost out-of-body experience of being with him, especially knowing that he isn't thinking only of himself, as Toni and her mother and even Karma are.

And there's her father, Mark Wheatcroft, a successful lawyer, with a wife and four-year-old daughter, Casey.  Learning Mark's daughter has leukemia and he'd like Dylan to agree to a blood test to check for a bone marrow match, Dylan feels even more humiliated and numbed by the self-centeredness of everyone around her.  This just adds to her already-heightened concern of impending environmental doom, a planet destined for destruction from selfish humans.

Revelations by her mother, Mark, Toni, and Jax have Dylan confused about what she needs to do, especially when some stories are true, others are untruths to make things better, and some are harmful lies.  Even the hummingbird tattoo on her mother's wrist becomes something different and more, when Dylan learns that Mark has an identical one on his wrist.

Much of Hummingbird Heart revolves around the theme of self-awareness, and knowing who you are and what you want and what you will do to get it.  Sadly, Dylan's insightful thoughts like,  "It was strange, the way an ordinary day could suddenly seem so beautiful and so fragile it made you ache" (pg. 14-15) are not considered valid by her until she begins to see the weaknesses of those around her.  Even the courage that Mark showed in breaking off with Amanda is wrapped in selfishness: "I can't be around you and still have room to be who I want to be." (pg. 251) Somehow, by making the characters less vulnerable to guilt and pleas from others, Robin Stevenson takes Hummingbird Heart from just a mirror of a young girl's attempt to understand others as well as herself to a piece of artwork, extensive and colourful, deep and enduring, of choices, wonderful or humiliating, like a tattoo, hummingbird or otherwise.