Author: Emily M. Danforth
When Cameron's sleepover with her best friend is interrupted by an ominous phone call, she fears that she's been caught kissing a girl. The news is much worse: her parents have been killed in a car crash.
Now an orphan, still struggling with her sexuality, Cameron takes up residence with her fundamentalist Christian Aunt Ruth. Just when she begins to feel confident in her maybe-relationship with gorgeous cowgirl Coley Taylor, Aunt Ruth finds out about Cameron's *look both ways and whisper* homosexuality, and just like that, Cam is shipped off to God's Promise boarding school for "sexually troubled teens."
This was a tough book to read from an emotional standpoint. Watching Cameron struggle with her identity and find those around her telling her that it's Wrong to be this way even though she didn't choose it -- it's painful. It's even more painful because it's true. Cameron may be a fictional character, but camps that "pray the gay away" are real, and the belief that homosexuality is inherently sinful is real, and seeing the effect it has on Cam's life is incredibly powerful.
It's scary to know that such extreme hatred and intolerance exist in the world, and The Miseducation of Cameron Post provides a heartbreaking yet wryly funny look at exactly what that can do to a girl trying to grow up in a world that doesn't accept her. It would be a gritty and realistic look at growing up for anyone, let alone a gay girl in a Christian community.
This is a pretty intense read, but so, so powerful. I definitely recommend it.
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