This is part two of four of the books I read during Pride month (or rather, for Pride—I am a rather slow reader, or even a mood reader sometimes). On my quest to find more queer literature to read, especially ones with happy endings, I came upon the lesbian classic Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden. Published in 1982, the novel follows Liza Winthrop and Annie Kenyon meeting, becoming close friends, and soon developing a romance.
We also see Liza’s attempts to salvage her standing as class president, as she let her best friend Sally pierce the ears of other students; later this resulted in a hearing taking place (much like the hearing deciding Liza’s fate after being caught with Annie later on in the novel).
While the book was a little slow at times, the love that blossoms between Liza and Annie is so lovely and charming to read, as well as their adventures throughout New York. Their story also had some very intense scenes, including Liza’s family confronting her about her sexuality, Liza and Annie getting caught together by one of their students, and how the two teachers who let Liza and Annie watch their apartment for a few weeks are treated after they were forcibly outed as well.
Despite these tense moments (which were a bit hard to read myself), Annie on my Mind has a hopeful, happy ending, which I think is incredibly important for queer readers, knowing that their stories (both literary and real life) can have a happy ending. Also, I’m just partial to stories having happy endings in general, romance or otherwise (though sometimes a not-so-happy ending makes more sense too).
Overall, I enjoyed reading this story and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read more complex lesbian love stories.
E. A. Young Writes 