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A review by liralen
Thinking Straight by Robin Reardon
3.0
The concept of straight camp is fascinating and bewildering and appalling. The protagonist's parents disagree, though—Taylor is shipped off to Straight to God when they learn he likes boys.
Now, Straight to God is not only for The Gays. It's also for people who have committed other crimes against...well, StG would probably say crimes against God, but let's say crimes against a particular denomination's idea of God. That includes, it seems, people with drug problems, or those who have had premarital sex (hint: this is more likely to be pregnant teenage girls, since it's easier to tell—their boyfriends are less likely to be there). If this book had come out more recently, I'd wonder if it wasn't in part inspired by recent events in the Duggar compound.
There are a number of really interesting things here. Taylor goes to StG not only against his will but also with a solid belief that being gay is not wrong, but he's also deeply religious. He just doesn't agree with everything his parents (or StG) are teaching. Many of the other characters are similar, and there's plenty of wrestling with ideas of God and religion. My mom is one of the sweetest women alive, says Taylor. And since her God is like her, it's almost like I miss God as much as I miss her. And my dad—well, he's gruff, no doubt there; look how hard he's been on me. And like his God, he's a little narrow-minded about some things, but I could do a lot worse than him (76).
A little later on, another character points out to Taylor that the people running StG aren't actually evil. Misguided, yes (particularly those who believe, say, that it's better to commit suicide than to live life gay), but genuinely doing what they think is best for the residents at StG. That's much, much more interesting to read about than a one-note place where the people running it are all flat-out horrible people.
That being said...the book takes a very weird turn towards the end, when one of the characters does turn out to be flat out evil, or at least batshit crazy. We're talking I guess it's supposed to make up the big climactic stuff, and be in there for the drama of it all, but it was a huge disappointment—not that parts of that big climax aren't relevant to stuff that has happened in churches, but it made the book feel a whole lot less realistic. And I hated that Taylor repeatedly wonders why .
Two other quibbles. One, Taylor reads an article—quite late in the game—about pheromones, gay men reacting to other gay men's pheromones rather than women's pheromones, etc. It's treated as a 'this changes everything!' moment, like, oh! There's proof! Now they have to listen! But...that's it? No. That's the sort of thing that will change the minds of a very few people, and those who are determined to believe otherwise will go on believing otherwise. I have similar problems with Taylor's theological conclusion that homosexuality was a sin thousands of years ago because homosexuality meant not having kids and that would 'jeopardize our whole community' (267) because of lack of things like retirement funds...but does he think that every single person back then had kids? What about the ones who were sterile? Or whose kids died? Or who died themselves, leaving their kids to be raised by others? Taylor's reasoning should be developed further, sure, but it's still in a very shallow stage.
The other quibble is the IM lingo. Granted, it is used as a plot point (a plot point that thinks it is more major than it actually is), but it is the single stupidest example of teenageness that I have seen in a very long time. Taylor and his boyfriend are obsessed with IM lingo to the extent that it's their 'test' when they first meet each other. Do they both know what WAI and PONA mean? ('what an idiot' and 'person of no account', for those of us who have lives.) They do! They're meant to be! You know what it says to me? That they're more interested in using stupid set acronyms than they are in developing independent thoughts.
Anyway. I would have loved to see a few other things developed a bit further. Sean's story, for example. Also...this idea that Taylor eventually buys into that StG is great as long as they cut out the gays-are-bad parts. Feels too easy, especially when we see very little of what it's like for people who are there for other reasons. Still, worth the read.
Happy that my parents are reasonable human beings (fantastic human beings, actually) who would never in a million years have shipped me off to straight camp. Happy that I'm no longer a teenager.
Now, Straight to God is not only for The Gays. It's also for people who have committed other crimes against...well, StG would probably say crimes against God, but let's say crimes against a particular denomination's idea of God. That includes, it seems, people with drug problems, or those who have had premarital sex (hint: this is more likely to be pregnant teenage girls, since it's easier to tell—their boyfriends are less likely to be there). If this book had come out more recently, I'd wonder if it wasn't in part inspired by recent events in the Duggar compound.
There are a number of really interesting things here. Taylor goes to StG not only against his will but also with a solid belief that being gay is not wrong, but he's also deeply religious. He just doesn't agree with everything his parents (or StG) are teaching. Many of the other characters are similar, and there's plenty of wrestling with ideas of God and religion. My mom is one of the sweetest women alive, says Taylor. And since her God is like her, it's almost like I miss God as much as I miss her. And my dad—well, he's gruff, no doubt there; look how hard he's been on me. And like his God, he's a little narrow-minded about some things, but I could do a lot worse than him (76).
A little later on, another character points out to Taylor that the people running StG aren't actually evil. Misguided, yes (particularly those who believe, say, that it's better to commit suicide than to live life gay), but genuinely doing what they think is best for the residents at StG. That's much, much more interesting to read about than a one-note place where the people running it are all flat-out horrible people.
That being said...the book takes a very weird turn towards the end, when one of the characters does turn out to be flat out evil, or at least batshit crazy. We're talking
Spoiler
a priest systematically raping and murdering boys at StG.Spoiler
one of the boys would 'allow' himself or 'put up with' being rapedTwo other quibbles. One, Taylor reads an article—quite late in the game—about pheromones, gay men reacting to other gay men's pheromones rather than women's pheromones, etc. It's treated as a 'this changes everything!' moment, like, oh! There's proof! Now they have to listen! But...that's it? No. That's the sort of thing that will change the minds of a very few people, and those who are determined to believe otherwise will go on believing otherwise. I have similar problems with Taylor's theological conclusion that homosexuality was a sin thousands of years ago because homosexuality meant not having kids and that would 'jeopardize our whole community' (267) because of lack of things like retirement funds...but does he think that every single person back then had kids? What about the ones who were sterile? Or whose kids died? Or who died themselves, leaving their kids to be raised by others? Taylor's reasoning should be developed further, sure, but it's still in a very shallow stage.
The other quibble is the IM lingo. Granted, it is used as a plot point (a plot point that thinks it is more major than it actually is), but it is the single stupidest example of teenageness that I have seen in a very long time. Taylor and his boyfriend are obsessed with IM lingo to the extent that it's their 'test' when they first meet each other. Do they both know what WAI and PONA mean? ('what an idiot' and 'person of no account', for those of us who have lives.) They do! They're meant to be! You know what it says to me? That they're more interested in using stupid set acronyms than they are in developing independent thoughts.
Anyway. I would have loved to see a few other things developed a bit further. Sean's story, for example. Also...this idea that Taylor eventually buys into that StG is great as long as they cut out the gays-are-bad parts. Feels too easy, especially when we see very little of what it's like for people who are there for other reasons. Still, worth the read.
Happy that my parents are reasonable human beings (fantastic human beings, actually) who would never in a million years have shipped me off to straight camp. Happy that I'm no longer a teenager.