Pryor has a bachelor of arts from University of Michigan and twenty years experience in professional and creative writing with special interest in fiction. In this essay, Pryor examine how Lorrie's homosexuality actually benefits him in his inner-city neighborhood.

Millions of gay and lesbian teens have found that their sexual orientation makes them the subject of ridicule, cruelty, and persecution. This is certainly the case for Lorrie Adams in Carolyn Ferrell's “Proper Library.” From the minute he steps onto the bus in the morning until he returns home in the afternoon, Lorrie is constantly on his guard, reminding himself to “keep moving.” He can feel the hostility of his schoolmates, and he knows they are watching his every move; he can even “feel the ears” on him when he engages in innocent conversation with his friend Joe. Even before his woodworking classmates begin to harass him, he...