🏳️‍🌈 Love is Love 🏳️‍🌈

From Archie to Zack
Written & Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
Age Level: 6-8 Years
Published December 29, 2020

We’re just friends right now.

“ ‘Archie loves Zack!’
‘Zack loves Archie!’
Everyone said it was so.”

Archie and Zack love each other. Archie knows it, Zack knows it, everyone else knows it. But they’re not ready to say it yet.

Throughout this cheerful and brightly colored book, Archie repeatedly pens declaratory love notes to Zack, then holds back on delivering them; in the second half of the book, Zack takes up a pen and does the same. Their class is supportive and encouraging of the relationship, but the boys simply aren’t ready to tell each other how they feel.

I’ve read critiques of this book that say the story is anticlimactic, but I suspect they’ve missed the point. This is a story about having your first crush. It captures the thrill of falling for someone and also highlights the terrifying vulnerability of letting them know how you feel. Sometimes you’re just not ready to take that plunge. The book is also an opportunity for kids who haven’t yet identified as LGBTQ to recognize characters who are quietly exploring their feelings and are waiting to express themselves in their own time, whenever that may be. So in my view, this book didn’t fizzle. On the contrary, it sparked.