Annie on My Mind

Annie and Liza meet by chance at a museum, but there is an instant connection. The trade phone numbers and Annie is Liza’s connection to the real world, when she needs to escape the controlling private school that she attends.  Their friendship soon turns romantic, but both girls are afraid of their feelings and its impact on their families. They are two magnets, constantly drawn to each other. Liza takes a job to watch two of her teachers’ cats while they are away. Annie comes along, and soon they fall into a deep love whose only next natural step is physical. A classmate and teacher discover Annie and Liza together and are taken under intense scrutiny. Liza must attend school board hearings brought about by the ultra conservative teacher, but soon everyone realizes that Liza’s sexuality does not affect the school, however the two teachers whose cats they were watching, turn out to be lesbians and are subsequently fired. Annie and Liza, move on, still attracted, but unsure of their next step as they both attend separate colleges. Liza gathers her courage to continue her pursuit of Annie and their relationship.

Teenage love is a crazy rollercoaster, and once you let yourself begin that ride, it moves fast. Annie and Liza’s friendship quickly turns romantic. Any teenager in love can identify with the speed and intensity these two feel towards each other.

Chapter 6: Fiction Genres for Adolescents

Realistic Fiction

Despite the age of this novel, written in 1982, the LGBT theme between two entirely normal and ordinary girls, makes this novel completely relevant and realistic to teens in the throws of love, regardless of with whom they have feelings towards.

Garden, N. (1982). Annie on my mind. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, Giroux.