Garden, N. (1982). Annie on my mind. NY: FSG. Annie and Liza are two high school girls that meet at the Metropolitan Museum. Liza attends Foster, a private school and Annie goes to a public school. Liza is expelled from school for a week because as the school president it is her responsibility to report things and she did not report Sally's ear piercing. Annie tells Liza that she is gay and is in love with her and Liza lets her know that she has the same feelings for her. When Liza visits Annie at two teachers house while they are gone, Ms. Baxter finds out and reports this to the school board. The two teachers end up losing their jobs.
This book is great for the classroom in that it teaches tolerance among students. It portrays two nearly-adult teens from different social and economic spheres coming together in the name of love and friendship. That speaks for itself, I believe. Though somewhat dated, it brings in a sense of reality for smaller communities in America. It is no secret nowadays that cities have pushed for tolerance among its citizens and students, but the same can’t be said for rural America. If a student enjoyed this book I would recommend Keeping You a Secret, since it is also about high school students and relationships. I think students would like to read a story about others going through some of the same things as them. I think this book has a couple of different conflicts going on. The first being Liza being expelled from school, then the girls sexuality and at the end when the teachers lose their jobs.
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