Love is Love. (Annie on My Mind)

Garden, N. (1982) Annie on My Mind. New York, NY: Square Fish

Spoilers!

Liza, in her MIT dorm room, can’t concentrate.  She can’t get her mind on Annie, and the letters she hasn’t responded to.  As she thinks on it, she goes back to another dreary rainy day last November.

Liza was at the museum with the intent of studying for her senior architecture project.  As she was making her way through a less crowded area, she heard singing.  She followed the beautiful music and met a very intriguing girl.  Something about this girl, Annie, made her open up and have fun.  They exchanged information before they headed to their respective homes. 

Liza goes to a private school called Foster Academy.  She is the student body president, which gives her a bit more responsibility than the average student.  When her friend Sally starts an ear piercing fundraiser, she checks it out, but it doesn’t seem bad.  It winds up being a bigger deal than she thought.  After a freshman girl gets an ear infection, a girl whose father is in charge of fundraising for the school, Liza gets suspended for her association.

This just frees up time for her to spend with Annie.  Liza hasn’t ever felt this way about a friend before, Annie makes her so utterly happy.  They continue to get to know one another and become more affectionate, when Liza realizes that she is love with Annie.  Once they both realize it, their relationship deepens and has the usual ups and downs.  They both just wish there was somewhere they could be with one another.

When Liza goes back to school, she finds out she is not only still Student Body President, but is now also part of a funding committee.  She spends her days doing what she is supposed to, but is really just going through the motions.  She can’t stop thinking of Annie.  When two of her teachers, who live together, mention going away for spring break, Liza volunteers to feed their cats.  She wasn’t thinking of the fact when she volunteered, but she soon realizes that she and Annie now have a place to be on their own.  

Being together and playing house for the week is wonderful.  It doesn’t end well though.  The last day, feelings surge, and she and Annie get caught in an intimate situation by Sally and one of the school personnel.  Her two teachers come home at that point as well.  They are “exposed” for being gay and accused of encouraging Liza.  The headmistress wants to expel Liza and a school hearing results.  Liza is not expelled, but the two teachers are let go.

Liza hasn’t talked to Annie in months, and the guilt is eating her up.  She finally decides it’s what she feels that matters, not how the world will think of them.  So she gets some quarters, and makes that long distance call to talk to Annie.

I really couldn’t put this book down.  It was a very sweet, very intriguing love story.  I don’t read a lot of love stories, those of the YA variety particularly tend to annoy me.  This book doesn’t have that whining and pining feel, or a love triangle that so many other books want to put in.  This story feels genuine to me.  Yes there is drama; there is pining; there is feelings. But its done in a way that feels natural.  I noticed on the information page, under the ISBN number, there is a label that says “Lesbians-Fiction”.  The quote on the back says it’s a great book for LGBT fiction.  I would never recommend this book as a great story for LGBT rights, or a book about Gay people.  To me, it isn’t about that.  I would recommend this as a wonderful, sweet love story.

I read this because it is one of my required readings.