April 15, 2020
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political. Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, "We don't always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology--what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience." He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli's prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive--for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes "ally"--he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving. Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)
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Starred review from April 1, 2020
Grades 7-12 *Starred Review* A volume in the Pocket Change Collective series (4 titles), this small book is large in ideas about being LGBTQIAA+ in today's sometimes-fraught world. Eli addresses his subject in the context of his being queer and growing up an Orthodox Jew. Both of these communities, he writes, have in common rich cultures, and queer people, like Jewish people, are no strangers to violence, oppression and prejudice. Having their own history and culture, why, he wonders, do queer people abide by someone else's rules? This question leads him to posit 10 new rules based on the idea that queer people anywhere are responsible for queer people everywhere. Among the rules he offers are: Allow people to come out on their own terms; LGBTQIAA+ people should work in solidarity with all oppressed people; Support queer people whenever possible, wherever possible; and Ask What can I do to help? and listen to the answers. To Eli's credit, all of the rules are rooted in considerations of conscience and kindness and, if observed, will make a better world?as will this book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)
June 26, 2020
Gr 7 Up-Eli's compact manifesto is both a memoir and a stirring call to action. Readers gain a step-by-step approach to building a cohesive queer community. While Eli does not claim to be the definitive voice for the entire LGBTQIA+ community, he writes, "Queer people anywhere are responsible for queer people everywhere." Eli uses his own experiences growing up in the Orthodox Jewish community as a framework for building a community for queer people everywhere, regardless of distance. Ten principles are provided to establish and foster a strong queer community, and Eli details the importance of each tenet. These include treating newly out people with kindness and understanding. The more privileged members of society must rally behind the less privileged, creating a strong intersectional approach. The back matter lists organizations to join and support as well as other books in the series. VERDICT A must-read that highlights the importance of radical empathy, community building, and solidarity.-Kristyn Dorfman, The Nightingale-Bamford Sch., New York City
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