Blackbird Book

Blackbird fills to the brim with compassion, understanding, authenticity and insightful perceptions. Its storyline tells of a young man's coming of age and coming to face the reality of his sexual orientation against the backdrop of an environment where judgments of others supersedes any understanding or acceptance of others.
This book's many sub-themes each feel accurate and believable: the story and fate of the teenage couple who've 'made a baby,' the teachers who fail at teaching, the racism the hurts target and victim both, the homophobia that condemns the hater and the hated, the church that fails at Christianity and the many parents who have failed at truly parenting their children.
The book has many sad stories within it. Teenage suicide, teenage pregnancy, racial divide and others.
While the main theme of the book deals with a young man coming to terms with his own sexuality, a frightful experience for all teenagers, straight or gay, the sub-theme that stuck me most dealt with how religion becomes a tool and excuse for hatred, judgment, condemnation and stupidity strong enough to allow parents to disavow their own children. In fact, the book's most insightful and stinging prose deals with this use of religious belief to justify personal judgment, "I just couldn't believe that the God who made me what I am could be any more displeased with me for not being heterosexual than for not being tall."
It is not God who is displeased, it is the people who pretend to speak for his authority.Meister Eckhardt summed it up thusly: "God does not love you because of who you are, but because of who He is."
I believe the author intended a tale not about racism or homophobia, but about the impacts of judgments, hatreds, prejudices and sanctimonious self-righteousness, the excuses used to justify these reprehensible behaviors (chiefly religion), and the extent to which they harm.
It is a powerful, insightful book. It is a must read by all readers, not because its theme is homosexuality, but because it is humanity; humanity at its best, and humanity at its worst.