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In this tender-hearted debut, set against the tumultuous backdrop of life in 1973, when homosexuality is still considered a mental illness, two boys defy all the odds and fall in love. The year is 1973. The Watergate hearings are in full swing. The Vietnam War is still raging. And homosexuality is still officially considered a mental illness. In the midst of these trying times is sixteen-year-old Jonathan Collins, a bullied, anxious, asthmatic kid, who aside from an alcoholic father and his sympathetic neighbor and friend Starla, is completely alone. To cope, Jonathan escapes to the safe haven of his imagination, where his hero David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and dead relatives, including his mother, guide him through the rough terrain of his life. In his alternate reality, Jonathan can be anything: a superhero, an astronaut, Ziggy Stardust, himself, or completely "normal" and not a boy who likes other boys. When he completes his treatments, he will be normal--at least he hopes. But before that can happen, Web stumbles into his life. Web is everything Jonathan wishes he could be: fearless, fearsome and, most importantly, not ashamed of being gay. Jonathan doesn't want to like brooding Web, who has secrets all his own. Jonathan wants nothing more than to be "fixed" once and for all. But he's drawn to Web anyway. Web is the first person in the real world to see Jonathan completely and think he's perfect. Web is a kind of escape Jonathan has never known. For the first time in his life, he may finally feel free enough to love and accept himself as he is. A poignant coming-of-age tale, Ziggy, Stardust and Me heralds the arrival of a stunning and important new voice in YA.… (more)
User reviews
first impressions: Jonathan is adorable and your heart aches for what he goes through--from his
final impressions: there is significant trauma included here (emotional turmoil as well as physical assault) and I am glad that Jonathan is able to figure out that there's nothing wrong with the way he feels, and that everyone gets away safely. Starla and Web are both sweet, terrific characters. I think there's a lot to relate to here, even if you aren't a history buff (but if you are, there's all that bonus Nixon/Watergate excitement). Don't miss the afterword by the author.
In 1973, Jonathan is a sixteen-year-old obsessed with David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and uses him as a safe haven in his imagination - a place where he can be "normal". In reality,
This book addresses two incredibly important issues, homophobia and racism, and how it was handled in the 70's. I'm going to be honest and say that I wasn't all too familiar with the events of Wounded Knee - it sounded familiar when first mentioned but after being told what happened by the characters, I realized I didn't know much about it at all. It's one of the reasons I like historical fiction because, though it can be fictionalized, it still tells about the past.
I knew of the treatments Jonathan went through, and to see him go through it was heartbreaking. His need to go through with it was what shattered me the most. Him coming to terms with who he is and even standing up for himself against his doctor made me smile. (view spoiler).
My only real problem was that I had a bit of a hard time with Jonathan's train of thoughts - sometimes it would say stuff happened in regular text, but then Jonathan would say something along the lines of, "actually, I think they did this instead..." It made it hard for me to trust the narrator in a way. And also how many "whambamthankyouma'am" did there need to be??
Overall, I would still recommend this book for the historical factor. It gives you an insight on what it was like in the 70's being gay as well as Native American.
Wow, just wow. I hope to come back to this with a more thorough review. All I can say for now is I loved the writing style, the characters, the story arc, and the central powerful and important message. If you haven't read this...pick it up. This is definitely a new favorite!