I might have seen Amee Wilson’s work online, after all the colorful chameleon icon is a bit hard to miss. However, I am not as familiar as I probably should be. Therefore, when I found Queer Chameleon and Friends I was both interested in and a little leery as books that have this message can sometimes be a bit pushy. Yet, why not start it? After all, I was under no obligation to finish it. And I was put at ease with Wilson’s introduction. That might seem odd, but I have read introductions where I was thinking, “Really? Who the HOCKEY STICKS do you think you are?” But this one was welcoming, and I had this feeling that I was not going to be insulted as being a mostly straight, cisgender woman. I was going to be welcomed into a family who wanted to share with me and all of us.
If I have to describe this book in a few words, I will say it is “The Real Gay Agenda” or “How this author wants to tell you about how wonderful it is to be you no matter who that is.” I can go on about how each chapter focuses on one subject, or a few that connect. And I can say the simple, brightly colored, illustrations are wonderful as they don’t distract from the story. But that would be gilding the lily. It is good, so just trust me and just read it. It is awesome, it is funny, it is powerful, it is thoughtful, and most importantly, even though a few sections might have a bit of “preach” they are not preachy and it is accessible to all of us.
I like the fact that this book is “The Good, The Bad, and the Did you really just say that?” This book allows us to be connected to terms we might not know, things are simple, and not overly technical but as long as you know like gender itself, things are always flowing, this is not a One True Way book. Perhaps my favorite parts of this are the facts we see polyamory (and a few types of how that could work); along with abrosexual (yes!), aromantic (yes!) and demisexual (whoop!) added and not just lumped under asexual (which is fantastic, but it is, as we all know, nice to be represented).
Read via an online reader copy.