All Boys Aren’t Blue

Farrar, Straus & Giroux BYR
Hardcover
320 pages • $18.99
ISBN: 9780374312718

A Memoir-Manifesto

George M. Johnson

“An exuberant, unapologetic memoir infused with a deep but cleareyed love for its subjects.”

—Jennifer Harlan, The New York Times Book Review

In their groundbreaking young adult memoir, prominent writer and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson shares both glorious and gut-wrenching memories of growing up Black and queer in America. From getting bullied at age five, to visiting flea markets with their loving grandmother, to the thrilling frontiers of first relationships, Johnson’s early life is a profound tapestry of everyday experiences. As a rising star in cultural criticism, Johnson turns their passion for exploring intersectional identities to their own life by weaving questions of gender, masculinity, brotherhood, family, and Black joy throughout their stories. Posing the same questions to the reader, they invites us to consider what social influences have governed our own lives. Most central to Johnson’s journey is how to reconcile their Blackness and their queerness—identities that are sometimes at odds in their story. The answer is a reassuring testimony for queer men of color: They are equal parts to a whole and perfectly designed person. The bravery with which Johnson shares their story is breathtaking. All Boys Aren’t Blue establishes their legacy as an essential voice among young adults for generations to come.

© Vincent Marc

George M. Johnson is a writer and activist based in New York. Johnson has written on race, gender, sex, and culture for Essence, The Advocate, BuzzFeed News, Teen Vogue, and more than forty other national publications. They have appeared on BuzzFeed’s AM2DM as well as on MSNBC.

All Boys Aren’t Blue has been adopted for First-Year Experience programs at:

Kean University (NJ)