Billy Merrell

This beautiful collection really lives up to its title. The editors' dedication to showcasing more than one narrative of the queer experience is undeniable throughout this collection as is their dedication to sharing emotive, authentically written works. While there were so many aspects of this anthology which I loved, I was most impressed with the the willingness to include pieces that dealt with religion and queerness in more than just negative ways. As an affirming Christian, it was show more beautiful to see a queer work actively speak against the forced dichotomy between queerness and Christianity. show less

Forty essays by 13- to 23-year-olds range from sweet to salty to bitter—the flavors of growing up gay, lesbian or transgender in the contemporary world. Subjects include first love and first breakups, and relating to parents, siblings, friends and God. A queer Christian woman fights and preaches and waits until she can be ordained in the United Methodist Church. A femme gay boy supplies tampons to girls at school. Voices range from vernacular (“My dad found out I’m gay. Isn’t it show more funny how, like, last week I was thinking about coming out to him and then BAM! he finds out)” to startlingly poetic (“My poems used to be shy; they used to stand in front of the mirror / and complain about their bloated syntax and pimpled thematic structure. / But now they leave the house in couplets. . . . ”). Bisexual-themed content is under-represented, but transgender voices emerge strong. No story here will raise a blush—there’s no explicit sex—but this emotionally spicy collection will inspire identification, compassion and hope in readers queer or not. (Nonfiction. YA)

-Kirkus Review show less

The pieces in this anthology tackle a myriad of topics: coming out, religion, first love, unaccepting parents/peers, religion, supportive parents/peers, the Boy Scouts, the military, religion(!); in a variety of settings: high school, New Your City, college, junior high, Egypt. They are written by young people who fall under the umbrella term "queer," but identify as gay, bi, trans, lesbian, gender-variant, and more. Some of the pieces are positive and affirming, some speak of overcoming show more unbearable hardship and hate, some end as hopeless as they began. All of them are important and valid, just like the young people who wrote them.

As a collection, The Full Spectrum is ambitious. It strives to present a multitude of experiences and identities, and it does. The mix of guys and girls, trans or not, is great. The mix of topics is also expansive, and given how much religion is mentioned, the mix of opinions on it is also widely variant. Also the mix of poetry, prose, letters, and diary entries was great. I never felt bogged down in too much angsty poetry or journal writing; all was in balance. This mix of writing styles will, hopefully, make this book accessible and attractive to readers of all stripes.

My main problem was with the editing. Some of these pieces are beautiful bits of polished writing. Some of them are not. I imagine this has a lot to do with the state they were in when they were submitted. Many of these pieces were written by young people about the most traumatic periods of their lives! Everything is in their writing and everything is raw. Everything. It is completely understandable that some of them lack polish. These pieces could have used the guidance of a good editor, and it is a shame that they didn't get it. That said, these stories are compelling, each and every one. If I, an almost-30-year-old, engaged, queer woman had such a strong reaction to this book, I cannot even begin to imagine how much solace and revelation this book could provide for someone still going through the experiences described there in. I saw myself in these stories. I saw my friends. Everyone deserves to be able to see themselves in stories like these too.

Book source: I bought it show less

The Full Spectrum provides a haunting, personal look into the struggles and triumphs of LGBTQ youth as they and their loved ones come to terms with their sexuality. The variety of mediums of expressing their stories, whether they were journal entries, narratives, poems, or photographs helped to further exemplify the personalities of the authors. As a teacher, I read these stories and it made me wonder if any of my students are facing these same challenges and how I can help to provide a safe show more environment for them both in my classroom and in our school as a whole. In terms of the readability of the book, while I loved that so many people were able to share their story, I did feel that the book became a bit long and overwhelming from an emotional standpoint. show less