Cover Image: The Stonewall Riots

The Stonewall Riots

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Member Reviews

In the classroom, books act as both mirrors and windows for students and I’m so glad to see this story be told. So much of history is overlooked and so many groups are ignored and providing access to those people and their stories is an essential part of what literature can do. This story is important and I look forward to sharing it with my students.

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The Stonewall Riots have been in the news a lot lately, particularly with accusations of a recent film whitewashing the history of the LGBTQ+ Rights movement. The more research I've done on this time, the more questions it's raised-- what really happened, and when, and who was there? Those questions remain, even after reading this book, but I'm now clearer on what we can and can't know for sure.

Author Gayle Pitman arranges the history of the Stonewall Riots around 50 artifacts dating from the early LGBTQ+ rights movement and the surrounding culture. While I admire the author's interest in accurately portraying the differing firsthand accounts and disagreements within the movement, the nonlinear narrative really hinders the book. Structuring the story around the artifacts (called "objects" in her book) means that some ideas are repeated while others are mentioned pages before the in-depth explanation they deserve (for example, Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson's STAR house). As it jumps from object to object, the narrative also jumps across time, from the 1950s through the 1970s and beyond. This structure would not be a problem for readers with a grounding in the history of the movement; as an introductory history, however, particularly one geared at a middle grade audience, it doesn't live up to its goal.

What Pitman does very well is present the many confusing and uncomfortable things about the early LGBTQ+ rights movement. Many people used aliases to avoid being identified as gay or lesbian, and this makes it difficult to correctly identify participants or track down eyewitness accounts. Additionally, although today's progressive movements strive towards ideas such as inclusivity and intersectionality, this has not always been true. The early days of the Mattachine Society and other gay and lesbian rights groups actively shut out many members of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans people and anyone gender nonconforming, in the hopes that society at large would find them less threatening if they "looked normal." Pitman includes such histories while noting the people who were excluded, making certain to give them a voice as well.

I'll be interested to see the final design of the book, since it centers so much on real artifacts and historical photographs. The cover art I saw on my digital ARC was eye-catching and colorful, but also extremely stylized. I hope the publishers and designers find a way to integrate the cover design with the historical artifacts.

Overall, I think this is a useful middle-grade history of the Stonewall Riots and the early days of the American LGBTQ+ movement, but I wouldn't include it in a library collection on its own. I'm going to continue looking for a more straightforward resource for this age group.

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Disclaimer: I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets is a middle grade non-fiction book about the events before, during, and after the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969.

This non-fiction book is designed around artifacts of major events pertaining to the Stonewall Riots. Each document may be something like a newspaper article, a button, an arrest sheet, or pictures. When I first started reading, I was a little hesitant about this style, but I quickly became fascinated by it.

It was extremely well put together, and together, it told a very cohesive recounting of the key events in recent LGBT+ history. At no point did the text seem disjointed. The author also solidly explained some of the terminology that was used as slurs then (and are still used now as slurs), and while I wish that the author had chosen not to include them, I can understand why they would.

Overall, this is a very good introduction to those in the middle-grade category about this historic event and will keep them engaged with the short chapters and pictures.

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The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets by Gayle Pitman is a necessary book, in that it compiles information that may be lesser known, or otherwise not as often discussed past the actual Stonewall Riots that occurred from June 28th, 1969 to July 1st, 1969. However, LGBTQ+ history is so much more than that, and this book exemplifies that through the additional information it presents which set the stage for the when, what, how and why for one of the major riots that ignited the LGBTQ+ movement into action.
I found this book to be informative in all aspects, including the snippets of interviews from first-hand witnesses and pictures that were incorporated to enhance the reader’s experience. From what images that did load on my personal reading device, I felt that these strengthened the narrative overall. With each of these elements combined, they both made this a book worth reading. For those who enjoy history, particularly LGBTQ+ history, I would recommend this title.
With that being said, while I value this book for what it contains and the data that it doles out, I also found it to be lacking in other areas. For one, the book as a whole felt like a patchwork quilt sewn together; each piece did fit with the other, but it was never in the place it should have been. The whole time I read, I felt mental whiplash at the way the narrative went from speaking of events within the 1960s to ones within the earlier 1970s, and then back to the those in the 60s. The information was scattered in such a way that following along took more effort than it should have for a middle-grade novel. Secondly, certain portions are quite repetitive. I understand that when information is recounted, there will be a modicum of reiteration. However, at multiple points throughout the book, I felt that it was present more often than not.
Overall, though I have my own qualms about the novel, I still believe that this is an important one to read. History must be studied, lest we should forget, and therefore enable it to be replicated. To permit visions of the future to cloud our knowledge of the past is to disregard what those before us have endured so that we may enjoy our present and future. That is why I believe everyone should read through this title at least once, as it allows for a window into the past, which is necessary so that we may all proceed into the future, armed with the knowledge that if those before us can handle what life threw their way, then we can too.

I gave this book 3.5 – 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This is a much needed book for classrooms and libraries. I especially appreciated that details and occurrences were not toned down for the audience, and I loved that the book not only dealt with the Stonewall Riots, but the history that lead into them, as well as what happened after. It was a nice look at society as a whole and how it affected LGBTQ+ individuals through a lens that is both for younger readers, but doesn't talk down to them.

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Although I"ve heard about Stonewall, I didn't know everything, and not only does this book tell you what happened, but what lead to it. There are so many other stories within the LGBTQ+ history that without them, Stonewall would've have happened. It gives more information than I expected, like important people during that time period who aren't as recognized.

It's a great, informational read, and I highly recommend it to anyone, but especially those wanting to know more about the movement and how far we've come, because once you read what it was like for community in the early '50s-'70s, you'll realize what Stonewall did for us LGBTQ+ members today.

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Powerful ~ Informative ~ Compelling

tl; dr: A well-written, thoroughly researched book about the Stonewall Riots, a 50-year-old police action against an LGTBQ+ space in New York City.

This is an incredibly important book that I hope finds its ways into schools and libraries as well as homes. For many urban library children inclusion might be the norm, but fifty years ago, America was much less accepting. The story of Stonewall is told here in clear detail, with all the prejudice and sadness is stark display. For LGBTQ+ middle schoolers and teens who perceive that acceptance is the norm, this book helps explain the struggle.

Much of America, however, has not moved past the prejudice of 60s New York. And, this book is equally important for people in those communities. Their struggles are not alone. There are important, historical people, who struggled like them.

I was particularly surprised by the quality of the writing. Often non-fiction is written in an unpalatable manner, particularly when academics write text for all ages. This book is very well-written. The prose feels compelling, though be warned, the problems and tragedy of Stonewall are not obscured. Stonewall was an American tragedy, and this book is ideal for anyone seeking a better understanding of how the 20th century was an era where Civil Rights were very much a struggle.

I highly recommend this book for everyone, but particularly schools, libraries, and anyone who is or cares for an LGBTQ+ person. In other words, I recommend this book to everyone.

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