Queer as All Get Out: 10 People Who’ve Inspired Me by Shelby Criswell has been on the TBR list for a bit now. I just happened to be looking for something else at my local library and noticed they had it. (I might have “YEEESS!” out loud….) I checked it out and started to read that night.
At first, I noticed that it was a tad slow as we are given an almost journal entry, or direct speech at the start from Criswell. They are introducing us to them and giving us a little background of how and why they are now at this point, writing their first graphic novel. They will then make a statement that will then be the introduction to one of the people who have influenced them in their life journey, and we flow into that chapter.
I give this a four, but really it is a 4.5 as the text was a smidgen small for me and the images were busy, even crowded to the point I had some issues with “sorting things out.” But is a 5 overall for the people we learn about. Unfortunately, I only knew one person, and this was a “refind” of them as I had known about them but had forgotten.
However, if I take nothing away from this but the fact that I remembered Sister Rosetta, then it was a win, but I also learned about the “everyday people” who shaped the Queer community as well. Therefore, this book is worth the wait time for me to obtain the copy. But also, so much happens in reference to the authors own experiences that I had some insight into a piece of the queer community I as a cisgender, white female, from the North have little knowledge of. Now, I identify as part of the GLBTQ+ community, but to find this chapter helped me understand people in general. It is a strong, and thoughtful book on top of educational. And I might just have to say, they just might be on my own 10 Influenced By list because of that.
