Large Fears was put at the Gender Youth Literature table. For the most part, the books at the Gender in Youth Literature table had drawings as their cover or somewhere within the book. I believe this commonality can be very important because in many ways artwork can help advance the stories being told and help readers visualize the characters going through the actions being described. Visuals can simplify complex ideas and can increase emotional attachment for characters going through hard times. Not only were the books on the table very aesthetically pleasing, they specifically gave insight to the major theme of this class. I say this because all of the books focus on the gender roles within society as well as the youth. Large Fears fit in perfectly at this table because of the appearance as well as being about a queer male in youth society.
Intrigued by the book, I started flipping through the pages and reading. Large Fears is about a young, queer, black boy named Jeremiah who imagines traveling to Mars. Depicted through drawings and the readings, this book gives life to those young black kids who are not well represented in novels. This novel also shines light on the LGBTQ+ community, as it is also often not represented in novels.
Large Fears by Myles E. Johnson and Kendrick Daye was made for the eyes of children through the use of various colors and how the author wrote the book. On that note, the fact that the novel was flimsy and easy to read made it a children’s book. This novel was written and hand drawn to show children in a way they would understand, that it is okay to be who you are not matter what. If you are young and queer, you do not need to change who you are if you are just to ‘fit’ into society. The main message being portrayed by Johnson and Daye is that no matter who you are or who you love, it is totally acceptable and that a person should not be afraid to put themselves out there.
Not only is the contents of the pages share a very important message, the cover of the novel is very symbolic. The black and white drawing of the young boy shows a regular, bland boy who is just like everyone else. The mix of colors surrounding him represent his queerness. The disorientation of the letters in the title represent the confusion Jeremiah is feeling at such a young age. Since he is so young, Jeremiah can be confused on what he is feeling and who is supposed to become. The confusion and fear of the future is more common than what may be expected but reading a novel like this could really help other children who are struggling with the same things as Jeremiah. Through this novel, Jeremiah can be seen as a role model through his strength of realizing who he is loving and how he embraces the idea of love. The title Large Fears can also symbolize the fact that Jeremiah is scared about what he is feeling and how or when is a good time to come out. So, this novel gives insight to males or females that are still trying to figure out who they love and how they are supposed to tell people.
This novel can relate to the novel turned movie Love, Simon. Love, Simon is about a gay teenager who keeps it a secret from his family, friends, and well, everyone. Throughout Simon’s story we see him online from time to time in order to share his secret with an unknown person from his school, and at first everything seemed fine. But when his secret from the world was threatened, he had to build up confidence and eventually reveal to everyone that he was gay. This perfectly relates to Large Fears because both of the main characters are young, gay males who are figuring out and coming to terms with who they are and who they love. While the two characters struggled throughout the duration of their stories, they came to the realization that everything would work out and they should not let fear ruin them, which is a very important message to convey to everyone but young individuals in particular. These novels help to show the assumptions and perceptions individuals of the LGBTQ community have are real fears, guarding them from coming out to the world. The way in which the characters live their lives is the way that many LGBTQ individuals live today. But what the stories also do is encourage these individuals to feel comfortable with who they are and take the leap of faith and share with the world the thing that they were most afraid to.
-Lexi Pollner
Call Number: 3 1735 071 297 273
“Love, Simon.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 16 Mar. 2018, www.imdb.com/title/tt5164432/.
“Support Large Fears, a New Children’s Book by Myles E. Johnson and Kendrick Daye.” The Offing, 17 June 2015, theoffingmag.com/offsite/support-large-fears-a-new-childrens-book-by-myles-e-johnson-and-kendrick-daye/.
Representing Adolescence @ Pitt 
Lexi,
I really like your analysis of the front cover, especially your comment of how the disorientation of the title letters represent the confusion the boy is feeling. It’s also possible that maybe they represent his feelings of discomfort in society and inability to fit in. It’s interesting that the boy is in black and white while the background is colorful – maybe to emphasize the oppression he feels, like he can’t truly express himself yet. I think this is a very important novel for adolescents to read, as not many queer stories are told to that population. I saw that this novel was written in 2015 and honestly was a little disappointed because I was hoping it was written many years ago. But regardless I’m glad that it was written, and hopefully moving forward there will be more representation for the queer youth.
– Molly Flynn
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