Teens and Gay Issues

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10-These titles are based on the findings of the Gallup Youth Survey (a 20-year ongoing survey of teens) and disseminate what today's young people think about themselves, their peers, and the world around them. These books present compelling data. Each volume opens with an introduction by George Gallup, who addresses the fact that there will be more than 30 million teenagers in 2006, the largest number since 1975. The format is visually appealing with a large font size and color pictures and tables and graphs illustrating key points and reflecting the data gathered by the poll on what teens think about each issue. Hern ndez discusses attitudes toward parents, how divorce changes family relationships, dating the opposite sex (with a separate chapter on interracial and interfaith relationships), and friendship. However, it is jarring that this volume does not mention same-sex relationships. Marcovitz addresses the challenges affecting gay teens (like the decision to come out and homophobia in schools), as well as larger gay issues like the nature vs. nurture debate regarding whether sexual orientation is by choice or genetically assigned and recent controversies over gay marriage and adoption of children by gay and lesbian couples. Volunteerism covers the gamut of issues surrounding the topic, focusing on mandatory vs. optional community service in high school and college, military service, political community service, and activism. All of the books are well documented. This attention to detail makes them solid additions to libraries, particularly those with active debate or speech units in their curriculum.-Courtney Lewis, Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School, Kingston, PA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.