A book truly deserving of being published - this collection of essays by people from all facets of sexuality (gay, lesbian, bi, trans, straight) and from various cultures, places, religions is overwhelming in its positivity and that`s a good thing. My fear was that it would be packed full of pieces by popular celebrities and while there are some in there, the book is mainly composed of stories of real people, young and old, all with a resounding message of loving oneself and standing up against messages of hate. This book should be in a `welcome` package for anyone recently coming out as queer but also lovingly placed into the hands of as many members of the straight community as possible. ( )

So this book, I want to say, wasn't like... egregiously bad? They all come from videos so I guess this is the It Gets Better project's attempt to reach out to kids who don't have internet access? Maybe? It's not clear.

I read this for a project on queer youth suicide, so of course I'm coming at it with a critical perspective, but I'm also coming at it as a traumatized queer person who made it through high school okay but is still grappling with what living in a homophobic and transphobic world did to me as a young person. For the former, this book is a fascinating insight into the discourses from 2010 that appeared and are perpetuating about queer survival, coming out, and survival. For the latter, this book was very, very painful in parts, painful in ways that high school was not, as I start to recognize the discourses that traumatized me. I'm not saying this book does not have the possibility to help young queer people, but I also think there are things tossed around in there (including one that shames people for attempting suicide, which like.... okay....) that are dangerous.

A lot of the essays also just... make better videos? So maybe also go check those out. But also thank you for this book so I can take a selection and not watch all 1000+ videos. ( )

I think this should be required reading in school and maybe to be a human.
Everyone has felt like an outsider or different at some point in their lives. Maybe people would be a little more compassionate if they realized that. Excellent and necessary. ( )

I wish this book had been around when I was a teenager -- it would have explained so much and helped me feel not so alone. This is a must-read for any GLBT youth, especially one thinking of ending it all, and for anyone in a position to lend a hand or an ear. My one criticism is that the advice in the essays often hits the same notes (hang in there, there's light at the end of the tunnel, we need you, etc.); maybe a future volume could organize the essays by theme, such as religion, ways to cope, and so on, so one could go directly to whatever section seemed most relevant. But this is a minor quibble with a much-needed resource. ( )

This book is a series of essays written by LGBT and straight individuals who encourage LGBT youth to believe in themselves and give them the courage to cope with bullying and disrespect to create a life worth living.