No Way They Were Gay? By Lee Wind

Are they, or aren’t they? This book suggests possibilities regarding the historical figures collected in this book but it leaves the final decision to the reader. There are historical anecdotes, letters, and other information that has been collected and carefully presented so that the reader can make an informed decision while also learning information that may not have been considered before.

What I liked:
* Learning something new to me – I had NO idea that Michelangelo’s David has heart shaped pupils. I learned more about the statue and Michelangelo, too.
* Learning new information about famous historical persons and also learning about people in history that I had not heard of before.
* Reading the first person and second person historical documents chosen about each individual.
* Being reminded that history is a record and only reflects what the author of that record has chosen to share. My truth is MINE but it might not be YOURS…same of history.
* The way the book presented information on the way to reference people who are not cis
* The tidbits of information that I had not heard before: the colors on the rainbow flag, LGBTQIA2+ and QUILTBAG, the idea that it is important to refer to people using their preferred pronoun.
* The way the book was divided into: men who loved men, women who loved women, and people who loved outside gender boundaries
* The illustrations and photographs
* That the reader was given information and then asked to decide for themselves what they would believe
* The sources credited
* Photo acknowledgements
* Believing that this book would be good to add to school libraries and that it would be of interest to many

What I didn’t like:
* Being reminded of the historical intolerance and cruel laws related to people who identified as and lived outside the binary.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I recommend it to others? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group – Zest Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars ( )