Annie on my Mind

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden is a book about self discovery. In this book a girl named Annie and a girl named Liza meet at a museum and become fast, close friends. They eventually discover their love for one another but are found out by the headmaster of their school.The two decide to house sit for two teachers who also turn out to be lesbian. The two girls get in trouble for how they feel about each other, the teachers also get discovered but are very supportive of Liza and Annie. Later at college reunite and realize that how they felt was real I would teach this book as part of a literature circle unit, but not as a single class novel. It would be an asset to any class library, but I wouldn’t make it the focus of any unit. I’d like to center a unit on a book that starts off with more of a bang…this book starts off slowly. It’s a boring read and because the book is set in 1982, some of the language is outdated or unnatural. I do think many students would enjoy it, but considering the point of view, I’m not sure they would necessarily relate. I guess you can enjoy a book without perfectly relating to the main character, though, and it might give them a new or fresh (even 80s) perspective. In the end, Annie on My Mind is a good choice if you’re looking for a book you don’t want to spend a lot of time on. It would be good for literature circles because students could read it without a lot of guidance, and it would be good for a class library for the same reason.