I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip

Overview

I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip is John Donovan's 1969 young adult novel from Harper & Row. The novel is widely treated as a landmark in gay young adult literary history, and this collection record adds an object-level feature: a laid-in postcard described by the local catalog as an autograph letter signed from Donovan discussing the book. The novel is not a same-sex-parent picture book, so its place in the collection is contextual and historical. It connects children's and young adult LGBTQ literature to author correspondence, post-Stonewall publication history, later anniversary editions, and the long afterlife of books that helped make queer adolescence a subject for young readers.^{[2][3][4][1][5]}

A Landmark Beside The Picture Books

The novel sits at the edge of a children's-book collection because it is young adult fiction rather than a picture book about parents. That edge is useful. The 1969 date places it in the same year as the Stonewall uprising and before the better-known expansion of LGBTQ young adult titles in later decades. Later commentary and republication describe the book as seminal, but the collection record should keep the claim measured. It is a landmark context object, not a direct family-representation analogue.^[2][3][4][5]

The Laid-In Postcard

The local catalog's note about a laid-in autograph letter signed postcard is the object's most distinctive feature. If confirmed, it turns a standard copy into a provenance object: a book connected to correspondence, personal networks, and author reflection. The public record should not transcribe or reproduce the postcard until Mechanics staff inspect it. Even with that restraint, the note changes the item's research value. It invites questions about recipient, date, tone, and how Donovan discussed the book after publication.^[1][6][5]

Edition Afterlife

The book's afterlife is unusually visible. Publishers Weekly reported Flux's fortieth-anniversary edition, Open Library and Internet Archive preserve multiple edition trails, and TIME later included the novel in a broad young adult canon. That afterlife helps explain why an older YA novel belongs in this project. The collection can show the first moment of publication and the later return to a difficult early text as LGBTQ young adult literature became easier to name.^[4][3][8][7]

John Donovan And Children's Books

Donovan's public biography connects him to children's literature beyond this single novel. The author site and ALAN Review context describe a writer and children's-book figure whose work moved through publishing, librarianship, and advocacy environments. That matters for the postcard. If the laid-in item is confirmed, it belongs to a creator who was also part of the institutional world around children's books. The record bridges literary history and professional children's-book networks.^[6][5]

Timeline

1. 1969Original publicationHarper & Row published I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip in 1969.^[2][3]
2. 1969Postcard date in local recordThe local catalog describes a laid-in postcard from Donovan discussing the book.^[1]
3. 1970sReprint trailOpen Library records preserve later edition and reprint trails for the novel.^[3]
4. 1992Donovan's deathThe John Donovan author site and ALAN Review context preserve biographical afterlife for Donovan.^[6][5]
5. 2001ALAN Review retrospectiveDon Latham's ALAN Review article revisited Donovan and the novel's place in young adult literature.^[5]
6. 2010Fortieth-anniversary editionPublishers Weekly reported Flux's fortieth-anniversary edition.^[4]
7. 2010Flux edition recordInternet Archive preserves the later Flux edition trail.^[8]
8. 2021YA canon afterlifeTIME included the novel in a broad young adult book list.^[7]

Publication And Provenance Trail

The object combines the novel's edition history with a local postcard note that requires inspection.

Citation

I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip. John Donovan. Harper & Row, 1969. Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children's Book Special Collection, Mechanics' Institute. Collection ID: KB-207.

Sources

Cover image from Open Library.

1. Local collection catalog record for I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip [laid-in is an ALS postcard from author discussing the book] · catalog
2. Internet Archive copy of the 1969 Harper & Row edition · library
3. Open Library work record for I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip · library
4. Publishers Weekly report on Flux 40th anniversary edition · news
5. Don Latham ALAN Review article on John Donovan · scholarship
6. John Donovan author site · creator
7. TIME list of 100 best YA books including Donovan · news
8. Internet Archive record for the Flux edition · library
9. Open Library work record for Annie on My Mind · library
10. Open Library work record for Athletic Shorts · library
11. Open Library work record for Libby on Wednesday · library
12. ALA 1990-1999 frequently challenged books list · ala
13. Lambda Literary Awards 1990 results · award