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nancyboy's review against another edition
3.0
im so glad i read the miseducation of cameron post. i now understand why it has spoken to so many lesbians and sapphics alike.
this feels like 5 different YA lesbian novels in one. cameron's parents dying tragically and her dealing with that and the subtext of her never being able to tell her parents that she is a lesbian. sweet lesbian teen love. trying as a lesbian to be attracted to a man and failing miserably. falling in love with your best friend. religious homophobic parental figures forcing you to go to jesus camp. honestly, there are a lot more experiences in there but those are just some.
ive heard the criticism that it's a bit too long and part of me wants to agree and part of me feels the length makes it more real. somehow the book just works even though each subplot may not have the complete story arc that may be needed if it was one book on its own, however, the messiness, looseness and unresolveness just feels like real life. did she ever really love me? or was i just an experiment?
so many experiences in the book are so beautiful and tragic. its hard to read yet i want to know more. emily danforth did something i feel so few YA books ever actually capture, real teenagehood. personally, most YA books i read now sound like 25 y/o in 15 y/o bodies, as in adults making decisions they WISH they make as teens but not the awkwardness and inexperience of real teenhood, just the romanticisation of it. one could argue that camera has a few too many relationships with other girls given her age to be completely realistic but i understand it from a story telling point of view, its so much easier to tell a queer story when you have loads of queer characters with different opinions and experiences. perhaps, i just wish i got as many women as camera post as a teen lol or perhaps im just too autistic and socially awkward to do that haha.
having said all that and understanding why it means a lot to many people, it just didnt mean much to me. i personally thought camera post was kinda boring and i felt that the side was way more interesting than her. i didnt really love reading it. i was kind of bored at times idk. i almost enjoy thinking about it more than the actual act of reading it.
also i really dont care for YA anymore. i happen to read a lot of it bc a lot of queer lit just happens to be YA and i keep wanting to be in the loop of popular queer fiction but i just dont care much about teenage hood. high school was hell on earth and no amount of money would make me go through that again. maybe bc i was autistic i feel i had such a completely different experience from most other non-autistic people about high school.
though i am a lesbian, im quite gender non-conforming, and have been partly on accident for a lot of my childhood and teenhood. i just couldn't hide it. i came out as a trans man as a teen with all the shit that entailed. it took me until being 21 to realise i was a transmasc butch lesbian so idk man i feel my experience was very different even if we do share an identity of being a lesbian. and as coupled with me being autistic, seen as such an outsider and feeling like an alien in human skin, this book just doesnt hit me in the way it has other lesbians and sapphics. and thats okay!
im glad this book exists <3
this feels like 5 different YA lesbian novels in one. cameron's parents dying tragically and her dealing with that and the subtext of her never being able to tell her parents that she is a lesbian. sweet lesbian teen love. trying as a lesbian to be attracted to a man and failing miserably. falling in love with your best friend. religious homophobic parental figures forcing you to go to jesus camp. honestly, there are a lot more experiences in there but those are just some.
ive heard the criticism that it's a bit too long and part of me wants to agree and part of me feels the length makes it more real. somehow the book just works even though each subplot may not have the complete story arc that may be needed if it was one book on its own, however, the messiness, looseness and unresolveness just feels like real life. did she ever really love me? or was i just an experiment?
so many experiences in the book are so beautiful and tragic. its hard to read yet i want to know more. emily danforth did something i feel so few YA books ever actually capture, real teenagehood. personally, most YA books i read now sound like 25 y/o in 15 y/o bodies, as in adults making decisions they WISH they make as teens but not the awkwardness and inexperience of real teenhood, just the romanticisation of it. one could argue that camera has a few too many relationships with other girls given her age to be completely realistic but i understand it from a story telling point of view, its so much easier to tell a queer story when you have loads of queer characters with different opinions and experiences. perhaps, i just wish i got as many women as camera post as a teen lol or perhaps im just too autistic and socially awkward to do that haha.
having said all that and understanding why it means a lot to many people, it just didnt mean much to me. i personally thought camera post was kinda boring and i felt that the side was way more interesting than her. i didnt really love reading it. i was kind of bored at times idk. i almost enjoy thinking about it more than the actual act of reading it.
also i really dont care for YA anymore. i happen to read a lot of it bc a lot of queer lit just happens to be YA and i keep wanting to be in the loop of popular queer fiction but i just dont care much about teenage hood. high school was hell on earth and no amount of money would make me go through that again. maybe bc i was autistic i feel i had such a completely different experience from most other non-autistic people about high school.
though i am a lesbian, im quite gender non-conforming, and have been partly on accident for a lot of my childhood and teenhood. i just couldn't hide it. i came out as a trans man as a teen with all the shit that entailed. it took me until being 21 to realise i was a transmasc butch lesbian so idk man i feel my experience was very different even if we do share an identity of being a lesbian. and as coupled with me being autistic, seen as such an outsider and feeling like an alien in human skin, this book just doesnt hit me in the way it has other lesbians and sapphics. and thats okay!
im glad this book exists <3
nancyboy56's review against another edition
3.0
im so glad i read the miseducation of cameron post. i now understand why it has spoken to so many lesbians and sapphics alike.
this feels like 5 different YA lesbian novels in one. cameron's parents dying tragically and her dealing with that and the subtext of her never being able to tell her parents that she is a lesbian. sweet lesbian teen love. trying as a lesbian to be attracted to a man and failing miserably. falling in love with your best friend. religious homophobic parental figures forcing you to go to jesus camp. honestly, there are a lot more experiences in there but those are just some.
ive heard the criticism that it's a bit too long and part of me wants to agree and part of me feels the length makes it more real. somehow the book just works even though each subplot may not have the complete story arc that may be needed if it was one book on its own, however, the messiness, looseness and unresolveness just feels like real life. did she ever really love me? or was i just an experiment?
so many experiences in the book are so beautiful and tragic. its hard to read yet i want to know more. emily danforth did something i feel so few YA books ever actually capture, real teenagehood. personally, most YA books i read now sound like 25 y/o in 15 y/o bodies, as in adults making decisions they WISH they make as teens but not the awkwardness and inexperience of real teenhood, just the romanticisation of it. one could argue that camera has a few too many relationships with other girls given her age to be completely realistic but i understand it from a story telling point of view, its so much easier to tell a queer story when you have loads of queer characters with different opinions and experiences. perhaps, i just wish i got as many women as camera post as a teen lol or perhaps im just too autistic and socially awkward to do that haha.
having said all that and understanding why it means a lot to many people, it just didnt mean much to me. i personally thought camera post was kinda boring and i felt that the side was way more interesting than her. i didnt really love reading it. i was kind of bored at times idk. i almost enjoy thinking about it more than the actual act of reading it.
also i really dont care for YA anymore. i happen to read a lot of it bc a lot of queer lit just happens to be YA and i keep wanting to be in the loop of popular queer fiction but i just dont care much about teenage hood. high school was hell on earth and no amount of money would make me go through that again. maybe bc i was autistic i feel i had such a completely different experience from most other non-autistic people about high school.
though i am a lesbian, im quite gender non-conforming, and have been partly on accident for a lot of my childhood and teenhood. i just couldn't hide it. i came out as a trans man as a teen with all the shit that entailed. it took me until being 21 to realise i was a transmasc butch lesbian so idk man i feel my experience was very different even if we do share an identity of being a lesbian. and as coupled with me being autistic, seen as such an outsider and feeling like an alien in human skin, this book just doesnt hit me in the way it has other lesbians and sapphics. and thats okay!
im glad this book exists <3
this feels like 5 different YA lesbian novels in one. cameron's parents dying tragically and her dealing with that and the subtext of her never being able to tell her parents that she is a lesbian. sweet lesbian teen love. trying as a lesbian to be attracted to a man and failing miserably. falling in love with your best friend. religious homophobic parental figures forcing you to go to jesus camp. honestly, there are a lot more experiences in there but those are just some.
ive heard the criticism that it's a bit too long and part of me wants to agree and part of me feels the length makes it more real. somehow the book just works even though each subplot may not have the complete story arc that may be needed if it was one book on its own, however, the messiness, looseness and unresolveness just feels like real life. did she ever really love me? or was i just an experiment?
so many experiences in the book are so beautiful and tragic. its hard to read yet i want to know more. emily danforth did something i feel so few YA books ever actually capture, real teenagehood. personally, most YA books i read now sound like 25 y/o in 15 y/o bodies, as in adults making decisions they WISH they make as teens but not the awkwardness and inexperience of real teenhood, just the romanticisation of it. one could argue that camera has a few too many relationships with other girls given her age to be completely realistic but i understand it from a story telling point of view, its so much easier to tell a queer story when you have loads of queer characters with different opinions and experiences. perhaps, i just wish i got as many women as camera post as a teen lol or perhaps im just too autistic and socially awkward to do that haha.
having said all that and understanding why it means a lot to many people, it just didnt mean much to me. i personally thought camera post was kinda boring and i felt that the side was way more interesting than her. i didnt really love reading it. i was kind of bored at times idk. i almost enjoy thinking about it more than the actual act of reading it.
also i really dont care for YA anymore. i happen to read a lot of it bc a lot of queer lit just happens to be YA and i keep wanting to be in the loop of popular queer fiction but i just dont care much about teenage hood. high school was hell on earth and no amount of money would make me go through that again. maybe bc i was autistic i feel i had such a completely different experience from most other non-autistic people about high school.
though i am a lesbian, im quite gender non-conforming, and have been partly on accident for a lot of my childhood and teenhood. i just couldn't hide it. i came out as a trans man as a teen with all the shit that entailed. it took me until being 21 to realise i was a transmasc butch lesbian so idk man i feel my experience was very different even if we do share an identity of being a lesbian. and as coupled with me being autistic, seen as such an outsider and feeling like an alien in human skin, this book just doesnt hit me in the way it has other lesbians and sapphics. and thats okay!
im glad this book exists <3
kim_j_dare's review
5.0
emily m. danforth beautifully captures Cameron's rocky road through puberty and adolescence. When her parents die in an auto accident the day after Cameron and her best friend kiss-- and really like it-- the 12-year-old is convinced that her shameful act somehow brought about her parents' death. While she knows logically that this isn't the case, she lives with guilt and a whole mess of emotions as best she can, and her Aunt Ruth leaves her largely to her own devices as she tries to find her way through the new world of "orphan." As long as she outwardly fits the definition of normal, Ruth and the other adults in her life tend to leave her alone. But when she is sixteen, the girl with whom she is involved decides to come clean to their pastor. Cameron is blamed for leading the girl astray and is whisked off to Promise, a Christian camp that claims to heal all manner of sexual brokenness. I didn't see this coming, and was a little leery (great, here come the gay-bashing Christians), but danforth paints her characters and situations with a deft touch: some of the camp leaders lay on the Biblical teaching a little thick, but Reverend Rick is a well-intentioned, likeable guy who isn't afraid to admit he doesn't have all the answers. Ultimately, Cameron does experience growth there-- just maybe not in the way that Aunt Ruth envisioned. This is a hopeful, affirming story about getting to know yourself and come to terms with your past, with the help of friends and family and maybe even a little faith along the way.
lgeorgie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
readingwmiles's review against another edition
5.0
So good! I finished this book so quickly, really enjoying the representation and how relatable it was. This book just felt so real.
critterwilson's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
3.5
dontstopreadin's review
4.0
This has been on my TBR for ages, but after it won Sundance, I knew I had to make it a priority.
This is a slow paced character study of Cameron discovering and exploring her sexuality before her guardian/aunt finds out and sends her to a conversion camp. This book is heartfelt and rich and beautiful. I absolutely adored it.
Rep: LGBT+ character, f/f romance
Trigger Warnings: homophobia, conversion therapy, loss of parents, car accident
This is a slow paced character study of Cameron discovering and exploring her sexuality before her guardian/aunt finds out and sends her to a conversion camp. This book is heartfelt and rich and beautiful. I absolutely adored it.
Rep: LGBT+ character, f/f romance
Trigger Warnings: homophobia, conversion therapy, loss of parents, car accident
smm122132's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia
gab_l23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Homophobia
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse