October Mourning is a collection of poems written by Leslea Newman surrounding the murder of Matthew Shepard, a college aged gay student from the University of Wyoming, in 1998. Newman was on her way to speak at the University when this murder happened, and it is something that has stuck in her head ever since, causing her to write multiple poems from different points of view on the night that this hate crime was committed. From the fence to the murderers, Newman covers every aspect of the night that is stuck in many people's minds forever.

As far as LGBTQ literature goes, this one is quite different than other things available for young adults. Most things are fictional accounts, dealing with the students trying to accept themselves, or be accepted by their fellows peers. I think October Mourning is much more powerful than these other books, just because it is a true story, and some of the poetry that is included is absolutely breathtaking, as well as difficult to read. It is difficult to imagine that there are people that actually believe that gay people need to be punished as Matthew was in this particular book, and allowing students to have this perspective may help in leading to the acceptance of these individuals. October Mourning fits into the category of LGBTQ young adult literature in that it gives another side of the story, one that students and other readers might not necessarily think about. It is definitely deserving of the Stonewall Book award that it won a few years previously.

In teaching this book in classrooms, it might be helpful in a poetry unit, because at the end, Newman gives definitions of all the different types of poetry that she uses, all the different forms and such. In addition to learning about poetry, students can also learn about the LGBTQ lifestyle, allowing for "teachable moments" when it comes to these individuals. It will also be helpful if/when these sorts of students are in classes. Overall, October Mourning would be a very useful tool in the middle/high school classroom.