This was an interesting concept, and I liked the details given about each selected icon. I learned something new about most of the people in here and it was overall a pretty fun read. However, very few of these people are actually queer. I understand that there are cis straight people who can be considered “queer icons” because they had such a huge impact on the lgbt community, but I just think that in a book about queer people the vast majority of icons listed should have been actually queer, and that just wasn’t the case. The art style is also horrendous, no clue what’s going on with the shading.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This book is an absolute gem. It's packed with insightful information, well-researched facts, and thought-provoking analysis. The author's writing style is engaging and keeps you hooked from start to finish. Highly recommend! 5 stars all the way!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A celebration of celebrities who celebrate and stand for equal rights for the LGBTQIA community. The great art of each of these celebrities and information about each.

wow
more of this please
What an interesting book about the icons of the LGBT community,
The graphics are very good, definitely a Libor that I would recommend

Watch Anthony Uzarowski's interview with Robert Bellisario on YouTube!
My idea of a good, entertaining browser's book for gifting this #Booksgiving.

It is important to note that thes mini-biographies are of queer icons, not necessarily queer people. No one, the author is careful to state, imputes a private sexual behavior to the not-out folk in here...though I guess you would have to be a diehard homophobe to ignore the unspoken realities of some of the faces herein. Still, there is no necessity of being out, still less out and proud, to be a bona fide gay icon.

The author, whose interview linked above you should totally devote an hour of your life to watching, is a major pop culture maven. His credentials are spread all over gay media. He knows, in other words, his stuff. He has selected a good balance of music, film, and activists of both sexes and other genders. The forty lovely illustrations are both good art and witty commentary...Freddy Mercury has one fun portrait in here!...so the ppackage is aimed directly at gifting, whether to yourself or others.

It isn't groundbreaking new information, or incisive commentary, it is pretty much just what it says...celebratory profiles with portraits, meant to be engaged with in bursts or otherwise over time. A browser's book, as I said before; thus pretty much perfect for the gift giving season.

I received this book for free for an honest unbiased review from Netgalley.

I wish more books were this well written. Characters were witty and the setting fantastic.

Thanks NetGalley, Charlesbridge, and Imagine for this arc!

4/5 stars

This was a beautiful, informative, and inspiring book. It has so much info I never knew about so many icons! The biographies are short and well written, great to just pick up and read a couple at a time when you have a free minute. The portraits are really lovely as well!

I was not expecting this book to be as fantastic as it was! There is a perfect blend of historical significance, fun facts I never knew, and each celeb's connection to the LGBTQ+ Community. I would highly recommend it as a gift as well, it's a fun, quick read that will certainly leave you with some new knowledge.

This was kind of fine. I have nothing really against it, and I did learn a couple of things. However, I just didn't like how it completely idolizes these icons, and just fails to talk about the faults of some of these people. I'm not saying it should have gone in depth about some of these people's faults, or those people shouldn't have been included, but for some it's just ignored completely and for others it was mentioned briefly and then completely swept under the rug. It just felt a bit icky. The art was stunning though.

Uzarowski gives short biographies of 40 LGBTQ+ Icons (some queer themselves and some allies). In each, he focuses on how and why these individuals became icons in the community. Because of this focus, I learned so many new things about so many of these individuals. Mogollo Diez's art is superb and lovely to experience. I loved how I was able to learn so much powerful the LGBTQ+ community has been in making an impression on popular culture and in adding beauty, diversity, and light to the lives of so many despite the lack of acceptance so many in the community have experienced for so many years.

A good primer on why certain celebrities (and cultural icons, like Marsha P Johnson) are important to the queer community at large. Short entries, easy to understand and read through, and a good little book for someone just starting to delve into the why of certain references with short biographies and a bit on what they mean to the queer community.

This book is comprised of mini-biographies of people that the LGBTQ+ community has considered icons since the beginning of the 20th century.

While the idea was great, I don't think the execution was the best.

It focuses mostly on actors and singers, as well as a few writers and activists, both queer and not. Each entry was short and easy to digest (they were also beautifully illustrated!), however, it seemed to me like the author would slide over the problematic aspects of these people. Sure, a few things were mentioned but so many were overlooked. Moreover, I wish the book was more diverse (in terms of ethnicity, background, and career), and I felt like some icons got a lot of pages and it wasn't even mentioned if they were allies or not, or if they were, how exactly were they supporting the LGBTQ+ community, while some of the queer personalities with intriguing stories got only a couple of pages.

This is one of the best LGBTQ roundup books I've read. There's a good mix or actual LGBTQ icons and not. The way Uzarowski writes these biographies have a storybook quality. Uzarowski's writing made the book not boring like others of its kind tend to be.

This book is so important. I love that the queer icons included in the pages are both queer and not. I appreciate the context for the impact some of the world's biggest stars have made on this community. I think the writing also does a great job of not outing anyone or speculating, especially posthumously.

Beautiful, impactful and well researched.

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge, Imagine for allowing me to view an e-arc of Friends of Dorothy!

While this book would make a great coffee table conversation piece for anyone in the LGBTQ community, it is also so much more than that. With intimate, reverent bios of each icon and beautifully drawn illustrations it tells the life stories and history of each person and what it was about them that led to them becoming queer idols, and patron saints of sorts. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning about each featured star and how they have contributed to the community and what they have meant to gay communities in past and present day.

<i><u>I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. </i></u>

the graphics were beautiful, the stories were well done and gave great insights into their roles into the LGBT+ community, but i do with there was a <i>liiiittle</i> bit more diversity. there was good diversity but would always love to see more

This was really a quick read for an adult. I liked the quick stories about each celebrity. I learned a lot. I have a hard time getting students to read nonfiction

This was such a cute little collection. Dorothy was such an integral part of my childhood as a baby queer and I adored reading about all these transformative celebrities was great. I especially liked that there was a mix of high-profile and lesser known people included. I was surprised to learn some new things about old faces, and discover entirely new heroes in the process.

This book is exactly what it says on the tin. Inside are brief biographies of 40 icons for the queer community, from Frida Kahlo to Lil Nas X, complete with quotes and beautifully done art. Illustrator Alejandro Mogollo Díez has made so many bright, colorful pieces for this book. The art is so lively and interesting, which pairs well with the (sometimes dark) biographies. Each bio goes into the personal history of each icon but also where they fit into queer history, delving into what this icon means to the community.
My only complaint is the honorable mentions-- I wish each would have been fleshed out into more chapters as well, especially since some honorable mentions were actual queer people instead of just allies. Unfortunately, I'll just have to wait for a second book.
This would make an excellent coffee table book to teach some queer history, add some color to the room, and start conversations.