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Neneh Cherry recommended Down These Mean Streets in Books (curated)

 
Down These Mean Streets
Down These Mean Streets
Piri Thomas | 1997 | Biography, Gender Studies
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"New York is where I go in my head a lot when I’m writing. I have deep imprints of the city in my backbone: sounds, smells, music, pizza parlors, Chelsea Hotel, TV, fire hydrants oozing, the Lower East Side, people everywhere living their lives inside-out, on top, and through each other… maybe there is something even more in the memories old New York in the ‘70s—unpolished, unclean, lived in. It’s all there in this coming of age story of a young Puerto Rican boy/man. I feel this story all around in my memory bank."

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This book was almost like two books in one. One being everything associated with the food in France and the other being all of Mah's tangents that could almost be described as a coming-of-age story. To defend this, one could say that without the sauce, the meat will seem too dry. On the other hand, without a good enough sized portion of meat, the extra sauce will just end up being a congealing puddle on your plate. You can read my full review here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2014/07/11/a-taste-for-french-gusto/
  
Love, Simon (2018)
Love, Simon (2018)
2018 | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Meet Simon, just your average teenage boy who loves to hang out with his best friends and spend time with his family. His life is seemingly perfect, except he has a secret. Simon (Nick Robinson) is gay. With news of a closeted gay kid at school, who only is known as Blue; Simon starts to venture out of his secret. However, as John Hughes taught us in the 1980’s it’s not easy being a teenager. As Simon tries to navigate this new friendship with Blue, he begins to affect the lives of his best friends Leah (Katherine Langford), Nick (Keiynan Lonsdale), and Abby (Alexandra Shipp) just to keep his secret safe. Even his mom (Jennifer Gardiner) and dad (Josh Duhamel) begin to realize something is up. So, the question is if his secret gets out how will he handle it?

Love, Simon is the coming of age story 2018 needed. Modern coming of age films lack critical aspects of the teenage condition; being selfish and having massive amounts of teen angst. That is what was special about the 1980’s classics Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, they showed how teenagers actually felt.

Love, Simon also bring an LGBT love story into a heavily saturated heteronormative genre. Now for those who say, well why is this important? It’s important because representation in film matters. Being able to see yourself in a character on the big screen can mean so much.

Originally, going into this film I was a bit skeptical; as the film has been heavily advertised on all social media platforms. So, I began to worry if the hype would live up to the actual film. I was glad to be proven quite the opposite; as I ended up completely falling in love with this film. The wit shown in the script, and the delivery made by the actors was incredible. Watching this film was a breath of fresh air; as most coming of age films follow very formulated clichés and while this had some it used them in completely different ways. I would say more on this matter but truly you have to see it to experience it. Even the soundtrack exuded the teenage experience; completely complementing it from beginning to end.

Love, Simon is a film that shows being yourself is a freeing experience and it is definitely a film I will be buying once it hits Blu Ray. This film is for anyone who loved those coming of age movies from the 1980’s and anyone who loves a good love story
  
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Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated Tomboy in Books

Mar 20, 2018  
Tomboy
Tomboy
Janelle Reston | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was a nice coming of age story set in post WWII America. It dealt with gender stereotypes but in a very positive manner. I would say I find it hard to believe that there was no homophobia at the time period( I know there was) but the author chose to focus on the girls. I also think pre 1960's being gay wasn't shamed or hated as much. It was really quick read with agood messege about being true to yourself.
  
The Thing About Harry (2020)
The Thing About Harry (2020)
2020 | Comedy, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
the queer rom-com we’ve needed!!
This film was so cute. Equal parts cheesy, romantic, funny, and queer. The hardest part about LGBTQ+ movies is where they fall on a stereotypical line or whether or not they’re coming out stories or coming of age stories - all of which have importance some places. But what we’ve desperately needed for so long is a queer story that is just about love and the characters just happen to be queer.

LGBTQ+ love isn’t any different than heterosexual love. Everyone wants that connection, that passion, that person to come running home to. This movie is that, and so much more. Jake Borelli is amazing and definitely someone to keep an eye out for. I can’t wait to see what he does next.