The Heart Has Its Reasons: Young Adult Literature with Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-2004

Thomas Crisp. The Lion and the Unicorn. Baltimore: Apr 2007. Vol. 31, Iss. 2; pg. 200, 6 pgs
Author(s): Thomas Crisp
Document types: Book Review-Mixed
Document features: References
Publication title: The Lion and the Unicorn. Baltimore: Apr 2007. Vol. 31, Iss. 2; pg. 200, 6 pgs
Source type: Periodical
ISSN: 01472593
Text Word Count 1915
Abstract (Document Summary)
To begin this review by stating that The Heart Has Its Reasons is both groundbreaking and long
overdue in the study of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (GLBTQ)
young adult literature feels cliché, but in actuality, it understates the potential impact of this
analysis. The book opens with a brief "timeline of events relevant to GLBTQ youth" beginning in
1969 (the year which coincidentally saw both the Greenwich Village Stonewall Riots and the
publication of the first young adult novel with GLBTQ content) and leading up to 2004 (the year
Massachusetts became the U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage).

Full Text (1915 words)

Copyright Johns Hopkins University Press Apr 2007
Michael Cart and Christine Jenkins. The Heart Has Its Reasons: Young Adult Literature with
Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-2004. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow P, 2006.

To begin this review by stating that The Heart Has Its Reasons is both groundbreaking and long
overdue in the study of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (GLBTQ)
young adult literature feels cliché, but in actuality, it understates the potential impact of this
analysis. For too long the conference presentations and publications by scholars of GLBTQ
literature have been preoccupied with providing historical analyses of the development of the
genre, identifying titles, and debating "whether . . . negative depictions are preferable to
invisibility" (84). This is not a criticism: there has been a dearth of scholarship surrounding this
literature to serve as reference points for things as fundamental as terminology, let alone a
system for classification or critical evaluation. The Heart Has Its Reasons provides GLBTQ
literature scholars with a refreshing treatment of the subject and those unfamiliar with this genre
with a detailed, reader-friendly chronology and beginning analysis. For many readers, there will
be a number of surprises-I, for one, hadn't realized that there have traditionally been three times
as many young adult books published about gay men as there have been about lesbian women.
Regardless of one's experience with GLBTQ literature, there will be plenty to ponder: for
example, the authors vacillate between the terms "sexual orientation" (such as on pages xvi and
171) and "sexual identity" (31), which reflects the current shift (Levithan 2004) in the positioning
of GLBTQ literature alongside populations traditionally included in "multicultural" literature as an
aspect of identity as opposed to an issue. The Heart Has Its Reasons is not the final word in the
study of GLBTQ literature, but it is certainly a giant leap forward and a solid starting point from
which to launch more critical analyses of the GLBTQ titles available for young adults.

The title, The Heart Has Its Reasons, is an allusion to Blaise Pascal's existential musing in Les
Pensées, "Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaÎt point," or, "The heart has its reasons
that Reason knows not of," but it more directly fits with Michael Cart's argument in his article for
Booklist in 1999:

It is not enough to comprehend the homosexual experience on a cognitive level; we must develop
an empathetic understanding as well. Don't forget: the heart has its reasons that the mind cannot
know. And if we are to insure that love-not ignorance and its evil twin hatred-wins, then it's
imperative that good books on the homosexual experience be read not only by gay and lesbian
teens but also by their heterosexual peers (1811).
Cart and Jenkins succinctly demonstrate in this study that indeed there is much that the mind and
heart can know about GLBTQ people (and the literature written for and about them). Although
Cart and Jenkins come at this work from different perspectives (Cart as a literary journalist and
editor, and Jenkins as a university professor in library and information sciences), their dedication
and passion for the subject is apparent. Although they agree on much, one of the strengths of this
book is that they allow themselves the freedom to express opposing opinions on pieces of
literature. In their discussion of A. M. Holmes's novel Jack, Cart finds the protagonist "likeable,
even charming," while Jenkins sees him as "an irritating loudmouth" (44). Whereas a
chronologically organized historical study could easily become mundane, the authors'
commentary, asides, and wit make the book a comfortable, often humorous, read. A case in point
is the authors' analysis of Alice Childress's Those Other People, a novel about a deeply closeted
gay man who is appalled by the prevalence of homosexuals at his college, "so he moves to New
York, instead, (there's no homosexuality there!) and gets a gay roommate . . ." (61).

Adapting the frame developed by Rudine Sims [Bishop] in Shadow and Substance, Sims's
seminal 1982 study of representation in what she termed "Afro-American" young adult literature,
Cart and Jenkins provide not only an historical overview of the history of GLBTQ literature (with
an invaluable fully annotated bibliography), but also propose a system for classifying this
literature. Although any historical categorization of diverse children's or young adult literature
inevitably must nod to Sims's landmark study, Cart and Jenkins's adaptation of the three-part
chronological frame proposed by Sims (nicely summarized in appendix A) is an awkward and
uncomfortable fit. They follow Sims's lead by naming three "phases" (summarized on p. xx) of
GLBTQ literature, which include homosexual visibility (stories in which "a character who has not
previously been considered gay/lesbian comes out either voluntarily or involuntarily"), gay
assimilation (stories that "[assume] the existence-at least in the world of the story-of a 'melting
pot' of sexual gender identity"), and queer consciousness/community (stories that "show GLBTQ
characters in the context of their communities of GLBTQ people and their families of choice").
Whereas Sims's frame fits chronologically (first "social conscience" books, then "melting pot"
books, and finally "culturally conscious" literature), the three categories Cart and Jenkins use are
not limited by a particular time frame. In other words, in the 1970s, we had books that fit in all
three categories and the same is true today. We haven't moved from homosexual visibility to
queer consciousness/community; they continue to co-exist. As one gets used to the way the
frame operates, it serves as a useful enough beginning to categorizing the literature.

The book opens with a brief "timeline of events relevant to GLBTQ youth" beginning in 1969 (the
year which coincidentally saw both the Greenwich Village Stonewall Riots and the publication of
the first young adult novel with GLBTQ content) and leading up to 2004 (the year Massachusetts
became the U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage). In their introduction to the study, Cart and
Jenkins set up their theoretical framework by defining their terms (such as the use of "GLBTQ" as
a modifier and clarifying their use of the word "homosexual" to refer to more than gay men),
discussing some of the statistics surrounding the number of young adults who were and are
homosexual and the number of young adult GLBTQ novels available today (they estimate the
number at two hundred, but some may be troubled that their definition includes all novels with any
character who identifies as GLBTQ), and they make explicit their goals: "both to chart the
evolution of the field and to identify titles that are remarkable either for their excellence or their
failures" and to "establish some useful criteria for evaluating books with GLBTQ content" (xviii).

In a brief introductory chapter, the authors trace the appearance of GLBTQ characters in fiction
for adults (for example, Truman Capote's 1948 debut novel, Other Voices Other Rooms) and
adult books that were widely read by young adults (such as the startling depictions in Maureen
Daly's 1942 novel Seventeenth Summer and Madeline L'Engle's The Small Rain (1945) before
exploring the first young adult novel to deal with homosexuality: John Donovan's I'll Get There. It
Better Be Worth the Trip. Published in 1969, this was the book that brought the "buddy love
problem" (9) into young adult literature and set the tone for nearly all of the early GLBTQ novels:
books that suggested (or overtly declared) that homosexuality was unnatural, transient, or a
conscious choice, and the decision to be homosexual would lead to nothing but exile, misery,
severe injury, or death (most often of one's pets or oneself).

The remainder of the book is organized chronologically, with individual chapters dedicated to the
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and the early 2000s. While Cart and Jenkins are careful to historically
contextualize the novels, they aren't shy in their criticism of books published in the 1970s and
1980s. And many of their readings of the novels are both refreshing and dead-on, such as their
exploration of Isabel Holland's The Man without a Face and Bette Greene's The Drowning of
Stephen Jones. They justifiably reference The Man without a Face throughout the study as an
example of one of the foremost "unfortunate . . . presentation[s]" (49) of homosexuality in the
history of GLBTQ literature with its depiction of the turbulent mentorship between reclusive and
physically scarred Justin McLeod and the young protagonist Chuck that carries the implicit
message that "the only good homosexual is a dead homosexual" (21). Particularly refreshing is
their reading of the controversial scene in which Chuck is driven into McCloud's arms not as
sexual contact between the pair, but simply that "Chuck has a spontaneous ejaculation" (21).
Their criticism of The Drowning of Stephen Jones centers on the too-often overlooked
"punishment" of the young male leader of the pack of teenagers who cause Stephen's drowning
"to be perceived by his family, friends, and neighbors as being gay himself. Clearly, this is
intended by the author to be a fate worse than death . . ." (106). However, in some cases Cart
and Jenkins are not critical enough in their readings, particularly in their exploration of the novels
published since the early 1990s. Although they note that "a number of the early novels-and even
some of the more recent ones-perpetuate stereotypes in their portrayal of homosexual
characters" (xvi), they are hesitant to criticize some of the more critically acclaimed and
commercially successful novels. I argue as a case in point Alex Sanchez's unrealistic and highly
stereotypical portrayal of gay adolescent males in Rainbow Boys and its sequels. The authors
note the book is "sometimes didactic," but in the same breath praise the "realistic, sympathetic
characters" (144) without further exploring some of the problems inherent in the series.

Surely it is invaluable to have the history of GLBTQ literature substantially explored in a single
volume, but where Cart and Jenkins are most compelling is in their analysis of individual titles. As
a reader, I wish they would have allowed themselves to explore more fully each of the novels. It is
undoubtedly beyond the scope of the book to thoroughly analyze the contents of the available
literature or engage the reader in readings that are highly theoretical, but I hope scholars will
follow Cart and Jenkins's lead and begin analyzing GLBTQ literature in terms of its literary merit.
Regardless of any shortcomings, The Heart Has Its Reasons will leave all readers-even those of
us scholars who have felt discouraged by the lack of critical, theoretical, and scholarly work
around GBLTQ literature-feeling hopeful that, however slowly, we are getting there . . . and it is
going to be worth the trip.

[Sidebar]
Subject Headings:
* Cart, Michael. Heart has its reasons: young adult literature with gay/lesbian/queer content,
1969-2004.
* Jenkins, Christine, 1949-
* Young adult fiction, American - History and criticism.

[Reference]
Works Cited
Cart, Michael. "Saying No to Stereotypes." Booklist 95.19/20 (June 1, 1999/June 15, 1999): 1810-
1811.
Levithan, David. "Supporting Gay Teen Literature: An Advocate Speaks Out for Representation
on Library Shelves." School Library Journal 50.10 (Oct. 2004): 44.
Pascal, Blaise. Les Pensées. Trans. A. J. Krailscheimer. New York: Penguin Classics, 1995.
Sims, Rudine. Shadow and Substance: Afro-American Experience in Contemporary Children's
Fiction. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1982.

[Author Affiliation]
Thomas Crisp is a doctoral student and member of the Children's Literature Team at Michigan
State University where he teaches traditional and online undergraduate and graduate level
courses in children's literature. His recent work has centered on issues of diversity in children's
and adolescent literature and interpretations and representations of children's literature in theater
and film.

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