Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

6 reviews

ember_is_gay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

i have been wanting to read this for ages and it did not disappoint. it was so beautifully written and really raw, which i appreciated for such a serious topic. i so easily got lost in the book and could see the whole story playing out as I read (i have not seen the movie). the first part with cameron growing up was like i was reading a real life account of someones childhood from their perspective. the rawness of the second part where cameron is at God's Promise was again as if someone was talking about their personal experience of conversion camp. 
as queer people today, we should read books like this to understand our community's history (and present; conversion camps and therapies are still rife). there are moments where the camp appears fun and lighthearted but the seriousness of what those kids are going through hits out of nowhere and bought me to tears. cameron and her friends have to make the most of their situation to survive and that is made clear. they dont have any other options as they are being torn down and made to hate themselves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Outing, Self harm, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, and Car accident

a_win_in_clear_rain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Very slow-paced book, I had trouble getting through it, especially at first. But I’m really glad I did; I feel like I learned and so much and felt what the characters felt. Incredible writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Sexism

Minor: Medical content, Physical abuse, Blood, Bullying, Pedophilia, and Suicide attempt

stierwood's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Thank gd for this book. It’d been a long time since a book was a full 5 stars from me. This book reminded me what good YA feels like: sharp yet entertaining prose, the humor there, the arc strong, the metaphors intricate and visual. It’s got found family, too. This’ll probably actually be the new go-to when I recommend my friends a YA read. Just painful (but not only!) and perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Bullying, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Chronic illness, Grief, Lesbophobia, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Medical content, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

seawarrior's review against another edition

4.0

This book was definitely not what I expected, although that's a relief. A majority of the book takes place before the incident that results in Cameron being sent away to a conversion therapy retreat. The descriptions were almost too detailed for me at first, though I eventually accepted that each pleasurable moment and relationship in life that Cameron described was an important protective factor that kept her from losing herself entirely in an environment designed to force her to. While her experience in conversion therapy is sometimes horrific, Cameron mostly feels a creeping emptiness from being told that everything about her self-expression is somehow wrong and misguided. This was a more nuanced depiction of conversion therapy than what I expected to read. Danforth rarely sensationalizes Cameron's experience, and instead focuses on how homophobia and transphobia can be difficult to fight because the ideas that established them are so ingrained in society that they are not only the territory of religious fanatics, but highly respected psychologists and gender theorists. This is something that every person subjected to these hatreds has likely experienced, yet can be difficult and disillusioning to notice and describe. Despite its difficult subject matter, I felt that the book was rewarding to read. Cameron is a rich character with a unique voice and a wisdom that grows over the course of the novel. I would recommend it to everyone who feels they're able to read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexism, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, and Death of parent

quinn24's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

 This was a reread, I read this when I was 14 and it was the first book with a lesbian main character that I ever read. In hindsight it probably shouldn’t have been but what are you gonna do? This was very emotional, all the characters are complex and feel very human, even the characters I hated I couldn’t help but feel a connection to. I think it did a really good job of being nuanced when it came to the issue of conversion therapy. It shows how harmful it is, even in the small ways, even when you don’t believe what they’re teaching you. It allowed the characters to be angry and to hurt but it also acknowledges that the people doing this harm genuinely believe that they are doing the right thing and that they are saving their souls. It’s a very fine thing to balance, to be able to acknowledge all of these things but not seem like you’re excusing them and I thought it was done really well. There are some coming-of-age YA cliches of course, and I noticed that the tense was a little funny in some places because it’s supposed to be that Cameron is telling the story from later on in her life. But overall it was very good and I know a lot of people hate the ending but I personally loved it. It made me cry so.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing, Transphobia, Alcohol, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Car accident, Sexism, Sexual content, and Vomit

Minor: Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, and Bullying

ninamanon's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Outing, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, Car accident, Self harm, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Misogyny