All Boy’s Aren’t Blue is a young adult memoir by George M Johnson. Johnson recounts what it was like growing up queer and black in middle-class New Jersey through his college years in Virginia. While there are hard subjects addressed in this book, there is also a lot of joy. 

 

Trigger Warnings include: sexual assault, homophobia, racism, death, deadnaming, and transphobia. 

 

This book is an anti-racism book as much as it is a coming of age queer book. It is a tribute to family, and especially to Johnson’s Nanna who was an influential part of his life. It is a comping of age story, and quiet possibly a therapeutic experience for the author. It is a story that a lot of young adults need. 

 

However, Johnson includes a section about his trans cousin. His cousin did not have the opportunity to read what he wrote about her. Not having known her, I cannot imagine her response. I do know that many trans young people will see this book about gender identity and read about a young black women who is misgendered and deadnamed. I think Johnson’s idea was to show his families acceptance of his trans cousin, but he did it in such a way that emphasized the identity she was born into, and not who she actually was. I had a hard time reading this section. 

 

I read this book via audiobook. It was narrated by the author, something I prefer for memoirs. The production of the audiobook was great. I am also glad that I own the hardback to go back and reference. There were some very powerful and impactful moments of the book that I want to annotate.