Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garde

“Annie on My Mind” by Nancy Garden

“Liza never knew that falling in love could be so wonderful…and yet so confusing.”

This is my review on the book “Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden.” I have heard about this book by many people on the website I have been doing most of my short stories. I belong to these LGBT groups and I have learnt so much by just asking questions and also getting good literature from fellow writers.

A week ago I finally got this book and with just the opening line I was caught into this book, at the same time I was reading this novel I was also questioning my own dilemma on this topic that I myself or struggling with these same feelings this girls in the book. The writer takes you deep into the minds of these girls.

First I want to give a description on our main two characters of the book.

Liza Winthrop – the protagonist and narrator of the novel, Eliza is a 17 year old girl living in the upper scale neighbourhood of Brooklyn heights. She attends Foster Academy, a private school nearby, which is facing financial trouble.

Annie Kenyon – Annie also 17, lives far uptown in a shabby neighbourhood. She lives with her father and his mother, both Italian immigrants, and her mother. She hopes to attend the University of California in Berkeley to pursue her singing career.

Their story is our story, so many young girls and boys struggling with the confusion of there own feelings. To deal with just your inner emotions, trying to fit into a world where you know, you aren’t like another girl or boy.

As for instance I would look at myself, I am not girly, I am not one to make up my face with make up and lipsticks, I am plain, simple and down to earth. That is what Liza describes in one chapter about her hair; she isn’t one to do things with it. But what does our outside exterior got to do with what we feel inside. Nothing. We are all humans, and it’s hard enough to deal with your own emotions when you fall in love with the same sex, when the society wants to stone you just because you are different. How many young people struggling to come out. To be set free and live there lives as they want. We not hurting anyone, we don’t bother anyone yet people find ways to become ignorant into judging who we love. Love is love no matter who we are in love with. Why can’t LGBT be happy, they deserve it right? Why do you get human rights when they don’t have a right to be who they are? To love who they want to love.

This is what Liza & Annie had to deal with. They fell in love and yet the society wants to control there minds into thinking its wrong.

The teachers especially Ms Baxter and Mrs Poindexter almost gave me heart attack with there constant bashing of what they think being gay means. They make it sound so awful, when all along it is so beautiful. I have never seen a more beautiful way of falling in love then between two women. There love for each other. If I look at an example with in the book it would be Ms Stevenson & Ms Widmer. I wish there were more role models like them in this world. Two people who really understood what the two girls were going thought.

“The only thing that seemed truly real to me was the one thought that wouldn’t let go in my mind: It’s Annie and me they’re all sitting around here like cardboard people judging; it’s Annie and me. And what we did that they think is wrong, when you pare it all down, was fall in love.”

The girl’s friendship grew close as they spend more time together until; Annie admits that she has thought that she may be gay. Liza soon realizes that although she has always considered herself different, she has not considered her sexual orientation until falling in love with Annie.

When two teachers, who also live together go on vacation, Liza volunteers to take care of there cats. It was during this time that the friendship between the girls starts to develop into something more then friendship.

In unexpected events another teacher/administrator of Foster Academy came down on the girls catching them in a very peculiar way.

It was that night that not just the relationship between Liza and Annie came out, but also the relationship between the two teachers, Ms Stevenson and Ms Widmer has come out.

Ms Baxter being curious about the two teachers for quite sometime finally she had to take matters into her own hands, and report the incident to the headmistress of Foster Academy.

Liza was forced to come out to her parents, while Annie wasn’t yet ready to tell hers.

It also changed the lives of the two teachers who had nothing to do with the whole issue.

I understand the reason why Ms Stevenson was upset with Liza, she entrusted her home to her, and while they were gone she overused that trust. She took the teachers home to her own advantage, knowing it’s wrong. I would have felt the exact same way. What I like about the teachers they knew exactly what it must feel like, seeing as they have been there themselves. Sneaking around not getting caught because your family and friends don’t approve of what you are.

I like the explanation Ms Widmer gave the girls.

“We should tell them Isabelle,” she said “about when we were kids.”

“When we were kids.”  Said Ms Stevenson.

 “And our parents found out about us, well, suspected they told us we could never see each other again.”

“Yes well of course we did anyway,” said Ms Widmer.

“We did a lot of sneaking around, for more than a year- it was rather horrible. And we got caught a few times- once almost the way you two did, as Kah very rightly reminded me when I was to angry to remind myself.”

“So we know what it feels like,” said Ms Widmer.

“How dirty it makes you feel at a time when you want to feel wonderful and do feel wonderful, new and pure full of love, and full of life.”

“Look. I can’t lie to you and say that losing our jobs like this is easy. It isn’t. But the point is that it’ll be okay; well be okay. And we want to know that you will be okay.”

“The important thing is that we got through that time, too, and were still together.”

“I should tell you, that Ms Widmer almost left me after my discharge. She went through hell than I did, Liza because she blamed herself for writing those letters to me – even though I was the one who’d left them around. She kept thinking that if she hadn’t written them…”
“If I haven’t been gay,” said Ms Widmer.

“Then nothing would have happened. No court marital, no discharge..

It took me a couple of years to realize, that it wasn’t my fault, that it wasn’t my homosexuality that gotten Ms Stevenson discharged, it was what people wrongly made of it.”

“I think I had to accept I was gay before I could realize that it wasn’t my fault about the discharge. That’s why I like that quote so much, the one about the truth making one free. It does, you know, whatever that truth is.”

“If you two remember nothing else from all this, remember that. Please. Don’t- don’t punish yourselves for people’s ignorant reactions to what we all are. Don’t let ignorance win, let love.”

The book is framed on the thoughts one what Liza as she attempts to write a letter to Annie in response into the many letters Annie wrote her, but all through out, is also her telling herself what happened and remembering what she or they have been through. Right at the end she picks up the courage and called Annie.

“Annie Ms Widmer was right. Remember – about the truth making one free. Annie- im free now. I love you.

I love you so much.”

And in a whisper: “I love you too, Liza. I love you too!”

trust you find this version of my own review of the book well interested. Do please read it, its a lovely novel and i would give it 10 stars.