All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

George M. Johnson recounts his childhood and young adult life, focusing on his sexuality and race, as well as the intersection between those.

Spoiler Free Review:

Content Warnings: homophobia, racism, incest

Reviewing a memoir always feels weird because I’m not here to try and review someone’s life, so this review is going to be kind of a short one!

One thing that immediately struck me was that there was an author’s note at the beginning that included content warnings! He didn’t want to shy away from any part of his story, but he also wanted to give people the information they needed to make a decision about if they could handle what he was going to discuss. I appreciate this immensely.

I listened to the audiobook and George himself narrates it! I thought he brought so much life into his story, and there were definitely parts were he added things that were funny or poignant.

I think this book will be immensely helpful and comforting to young queer Black men, but also just great for anyone to read. I always think that reading about people similar to yourself can be helpful, but reading about people different from yourself can be equally meaningful.

I highly recommend the book in general, as well as the audiobook! The memoir definitely goes through some heavy topics, but it is also about accepting and being yourself.

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