The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Really enjoyed this book. It was banned by some school districts in my state, which is why my book club decided to read it. It was well written and I cared about the main character a great deal as I read her story.

Excellent coming of age book especially for this Montana boy. I agree with another reviewer that the middle of the book seems to get a bit muddled and the main character almost seems to become a completely different person but the book is so well written that the reader is pulled back in to the story. Well done and a must read for any struggling teen...especially those in places like Montana.

My professional opinion is this: if this book were a heterosexual book, there would be no hoop-lah about it. If you grew up in this era the beginning of the book is very distracting with its inaccuracy. The book is complete fantasy, and unauthentic. I think the most authentic part was how the character related to God at the beginning of the book. She needed to a lot more work on the characters transition from point to point. Once she got to Christian school, the book went very flat with tons of meaningless moments. The book is okay but when something is critically acclaimed I expect a certain caliber of writing. That caliber needs to be there regardless of the genre. Too often LGBT books are praised and only possess mediocre writing and story lines. People who can't make it as writers are writing gay fiction to find a foothold. This book is an okay book but it's really really not a great book, and it deserves to be relegated to the category of forgotten books over the passage of time. Great job Ms Danforth!! Most writers can't even finish a book. Bravo!

What an excellent and powerful message. This is a great book for teens and adults. I felt especially connected to it having grown up in Montana. I also had the pleasure of meeting the author at an event and thought she was so smart and kind. Read this book!

This book is beautiful. I love the details put into every line to create an image in mind. Although I was expecting more from this book, it's very enjoyable, and is a great insight of the struggles of the LGBT community.

This book has offered me a unique opportunity to be inside the head of a teen struggling with her sexuality. It was believable, charmingly coarse, and incredibly moving. I'd recommend it to anyone that has the time to read it.

This book has offered me a unique opportunity to be inside the head of a teen struggling with her sexuality. It was believable, charmingly coarse, and incredibly moving. I'd recommend it to anyone that has the time to read it.

This is a great story of growing up and discovering yourself. Cameron is a very witty and funny character that leaves you sad and missing her when the book is over. I hope for more from Emily Danforth sometime soon!

This book, simple in plot also says, simply, some very complicated truths. What is typically a difficult topic to talk about or make relatable, this book makes accessible to all. DEFINITELY worth the read.

emily m. danforth has written a beautiful, moving coming-of-age story, and I recognize some of my teenage self in Cameron Post, though I was never as wry or as smart about the world of grown-ups. What I really love about this book is how real all the characters feel, not just Cam but the girls she has crushes on, her best friend Jamie, and even her Aunt Ruth, who truly believes that sending Cameron to be de-gayed at Promise is in Cameron's best interests. This book invites you into a world that feels like a real place populated by real people. Cameron is actually one of my favorite people--funny and smart (with a healthy dose of smartass-ness) and sometimes a little lost, like most of us, though she does a good job figuring things out as she goes. Something else I really love about this book is how well danforth writes about awkward adolescent relationship and making out, regardless of gender--she gets it so right that some of the scenes are excruciating to read--sometimes I caught myself holding my breath, I was hoping so hard that things would go the way Cam wanted them to. This is an awesome, entertaining book, and only the first of what I hope are many to come from danforth

This was an interesting and well written book about a girl who recognizes her sexual orientation and how she navigates the world and the people around her. I empathized with the main character and really wished her well.

Cameron Post is very interesting. I like how she doesn't struggle to define herself. She doesn't go militant lesbian, she doesn't go closeted lesbian, she just is. I understand that there are tons of teens who struggle with identity and there is a very real fear of coming out...but it's refreshing to read about a character like Cameron who knows who she is and that allows the author to delve into her life without getting stuck on her lamenting on possibly being gay and trying to hide it. Following along her life from 12 to around 17 (Not really sure how old she is since I don't remember it specifically stating her age. But I could have missed it) was fun. Cameron is a likeable person.

!!!!Possible Spoilers!!!!!

But...I have a few problems with the book. One is the title. At some point, and considering the town Cameron lives, I knew that she was going to get sent somewhere for re-education. I don't want to give away to much, but to be honest, where was the miseducation? Every couple of days Cameron had 1 on 1 sessions with Rick and Lydia, which seemed to help her. Cameron's problem wasn't that she was gay, it was her parents death...and by the end of the book, while forming her plan to leave, she got the help she needed by Lydia. She was able to come to terms with her parents death, she was able to visit the lake where he mom nearly died...if anything, Cameron went to the school lost and left found.

The other issue is not really an issue, but like with all good books, I didn't want it to end. What happened to Cameron, Jane, and Adam? Did Rick throw off the smothering shackles of his aunt? Did Cameron and Coley get to speak to each other? What about Cameron and Irene? More, please!

Overall, a very well written coming of age story.

I liked Emily Danforth's very descriptive writing from a teenager's perspective. The story was very believable and real. All of the heartache and frustrations of Cameron were engaging. I'm sure I will look for Ms. Danforth's next novel.

Cameron Post was twelve years old when she first kissed a girl. Her best friend Irene Klauson, in the Klausons’ hayloft, one hot, sweltering June afternoon before the start of seventh grade.

The very next day, Cam’s parents died. En route to the annual camping trip, their car jumped a guardrail at Quake Lake – where Joanie Wynton (now Joanie Post) and her family had escaped death by earthquake and flood decades earlier.

So begins THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST: “The afternoon my parents died, I was out shoplifting with Irene Klauson.”

The year is 1989, long before most Americans had heard of gay marriage, at a time when voters were repealing gay rights legislation not just in middle America, but on the West Coast as well. Growing up in the conservative, church-going small town of Miles City, Montana, Cameron doesn’t know what to make of her budding feelings for her best friend – and for the girls who will follow: Lindsey, Cam’s main competition during the summer swim meets; Coley, her impossibly gorgeous high school classmate and fellow church member; and Mona, an experienced college-aged lifeguard/Coley rebound.

Cam’s upbringing falls to two extended family members: Grandma Post, a regular visitor at the Post house; and Joanie’s sister Ruth, a born-again Christian who’s practically a stranger to the newly orphaned girl. While the Posts were semi-practicing Christians (church on holidays, mostly), Ruth makes attendance at an evangelical mega-church mandatory, with participation in the youth group Firepower close behind. Here Cam is treated to weekly lectures on the sin of sexual perversion, homosexuality chief among them.

When Cam is finally outed, Ruth sends her to Pastor Rick’s new school for troubled teens, God’s Promise Christian Discipleship Program. Spoiler alert: it’s not too far from Quake Lake, providing ample opportunity for the story to come full circle. (Cam initially blames her own “deviant” behavior for her parents’ deaths: the accident was God’s way of punishing her. In time – and, ironically, with a little help from God’s Promise cold-as-ice psychologist Lydia – Cam chooses to believe otherwise.)

THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST is a stunning debut from emily m. danforth. Cameron, Irene, Coley, Jamie, Lindsey, Mona – these are some of the most authentic fictional teenagers I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. One part repudiation of ex-gay “therapy,” three parts coming of age story, Cameron’s tale is painfully relatable. While THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST is most likely to strike a chord with gay and lesbian teens grappling with their sexuality and society’s reaction to it, it’s not just for LGBTQ teens. Or teens, period. From Cam’s mechanical attempts to make it work with best bud Jamie, to her kleptomaniacal shoplifting habit and penchant for breaking into creepy abandoned buildings, there’s a little bit of Cam in all of us: awkward, unsure, hostile, sarcastic, rebellious, easily embarrassed, occasionally betrayed by our own adolescent bodies.

While Cam’s journey is mostly removed from politics – she’s less concerned with labels than being true to who she is – we do get a more radical element in the form of Lindsey, a Seattle native who serves as Cam’s lesbian mentor and lifeline to lesbian culture outside of Montana. There’s also Mona the lifeguard, who reminds Cam that the world is bigger than Miles City, and fellow God’s Promise disciples/potheads Jane Fonda and Adam Red Eagle. Adam further blurs the boundaries between “gay” and “straight”; a Winkte, he describes himself as a pre or third gender that’s both male and female. Not gay, not transgender, just different. While at God’s Promise, Adam and Cam engage in makeout sessions which Cam compares to those shared with Lindsey – fun but not emotionally serious – thus further illustrating the complex nature of human sexuality.

The era (late ’80s/early ’90s) and setting (small town Montana) loom large in THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST; so much so that both are major characters unto themselves. As a native New Yorker, I didn’t connect so much with the latter; but having been born just a year after Cam, the constant stream of ’90s references (Rented VHS tapes! Snail mail! Mix tapes!) stirred up a whole well of buried memories – not all of them bad. Cam’s mundane, day-to-day experiences serve as a reminder of what life was like pre-Internet: before Netflix, before instant messaging, before email. Back when care packages took weeks to arrive at their destination, renting movies meant checking them out in person, and research entailed asking a living, breathing librarian for assistance. (Now imagine doing that as a closeted kid in a small town, where everyone knows your name and gossip spreads like wildfire.)

There’s so, so much more to love about this story, but I’ll leave you to discover it on your own.

THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST is rather hefty at 480 pages – not that that’s a bad thing! I savored every word, and felt that the story ended exactly when it needed to (although I can’t deny that I almost want to know what comes next for Cameron Post). It’s a lengthy read, but one that’s never boring or slow-going. This one’s going in my reread pile, for sure.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post was on quite a few banned books list so it immediately attracted my attention (I love me some banned books!).

-- THE STORY --

This story takes place in the early 1990’s follows a young lesbian teen named Cameron Post whose parents are suddenly killed in a car crash. As it turns out, Cameron, who was 12 years old at the time, had been kissing a girl — her friend Irene— hours before her parent’s death. So she ending up linking these two events in her mind creating some major guilt and in her preadolescent mind, wonders whether the death of her parents just might be God’s way of punishing her for her forbidden kiss.

And all this takes place right off the bat in the story.

So Cam is then sent off to live with her grandmother and her ultra-conservative and ultra-religious Aunt Ruth in Miles City, Montana. As Cameron steps into her teenage years, she comes to accept that she is a lesbian and makes another gay friend (ahem…a friend with benefits), Lindsey who teaches her the “gay” ropes and who lovingly refers to Cam as a baby dyke, which always gave me a chuckle

So I thought this was going to be sort of a coming-of-age tale of a young lesbian girl figuring out who she is.

But then the story took quite a surprising and disturbing turn — Cameron is outed to her Auth Ruth, and as a result, things don’t end up too well for our heroine, as Aunt Ruth takes drastic action, intent on “fixing” her niece. She sends to her God’s Promise church camp, one of those “pray away the gay” compounds.

And our story gets quite interesting from there.

-- WHAT I LIKED --

I loved the character of Cameron as she was quite the firecracker. One author’s blurb on the back of the book said “If Holden Caulfield had been a gay girl from Montana, this is the story he might have told” — and I definitely have to agree, given that I just read Catcher in the Rye and Holden is still fresh in my mind.

Like Holden, Cameron was so realistically portrayed and she felt so real to me that she almost jumped off the page as I read about her adventures…and misadventures.

So though she did have somewhat of a strong ego and independent streak, it was these qualities which allowed her to reject the judgment of those authority figures in her life and maintain her self-esteem through it all.

This was especially true when she realizes that often, the people who are supposedly in charge really don’t have a clue about what they’re doing and are just winging it as they go along. That’s pretty much adulthood in a nutshell.

Now while Cameron certainly can be snarky at times, she’s also intelligent, strong, surprisingly adaptable and brave, and she’s able to maneuver through any shit storm that comes her way.

There really is so much to like about this story. I loved the vivid, detailed descriptions and the author brought the location to life. The storyline was also gripping with wonderfully snappy dialog and unique characters that were not clichés or cardboard cutouts, with all of this leading to a marvelously done story.

And speaking of the characters, I also enjoyed the varied cast of secondary characters, most of which were nicely developed and each relevant in their own way to the plot.

Now to the author’s credit, she doesn’t portray the Christians in this story has mean-spirited hateful bigots. In fact, there weren’t any real villains in the story per se. The counselors like Rick and Lydia, and even Cameron’s Aunt Ruth, all felt that they were doing the right thing and believed that what they were doing was in Cameron’s ultimate best interest (though I have to say that I despised Aunt Ruth).

Still, in general, I have a difficult time reading stories about these ”gay conversion therapy” camps whose goal it was to cure teen girls and boys of homosexuality. Thankfully, this type of therapy seen these days as a form of child abuse and these types of institutions are on the decline, at least to my understanding.

-- WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE --

I felt that the book was a little on the long side. I remember thinking a couple of times, “this is really dragging” so in this way, it could have used a little snipping here and there.

I also was not a fan of the ending. You know, if you’re one of those folks who likes things nicely tied up at the end, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. In fact, I found the ending rather abrupt. It’s not that it ended on a cliffhanger or anything – there just didn’t seem to be a whole lot of resolution at the story’s finale.

For instance, I would have loved to find out how Cam got on about six months down the road. I also would have loved to see how Cam’s future relationship with Ruth, her Grandma, or even Coley developed. I think a nice little Epilogue of 20 pages or so would have been lovely, maybe with a little glimpse into Cam’s future. I admit that I’m somewhat of a closure junkie so a little more resolution would have been nice.

I should also mention that though this is classified as a Young Adult novel, there is drinking, drug use, shoplifting, and blatant sexual situations, elements which some people might not like to see in their YA books.

-- FINAL VERDICT--

This book was quite an emotional roller coaster ride and there are some dark moments in the story that are challenging to get through.

Your heart can’t help but break for Cam as she struggled to make the best out of a bad situation — and then there’s Mark’s story, which is also quite disturbing and heart-wrenching.

That being said, this isn’t a fluffy YA book at all; rather, it deals with some serious topics such as betrayal, love, loss, self-acceptance, religion and sexual confusion. I don’t mean to imply that this is a grim story because it’s not — it definitely has its fun, light and humorous elements as well.

In summary, I absolutely loved this story, and while it was heartbreaking in places, it was also a beautiful coming-of-age story with a riveting plot, a strong narrative and compelling, well-fleshed out characters, especially Cameron, whom I bonded with right from the get-go. I found the courage and adaptability Cam shows throughout the novel to be praiseworthy and impressive.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post was an amazing book, and I’m so glad that it crossed my path, though it did leave me wanting more at the end of it all. I ended up giving this novel 4 stars.

This review originally appeared on my blog at rogerhyttinen.com.

Didn't like this book at all. And any questioning YA that comes across this should steer clear in my opinion. Not only does it take forever for Cam to understand herself, as is completely understandable, once she's shipped off it all literally goes to hell. I couldn't finish it. Throughout this book there just isn't any hope, no understanding, no outside support. Nothing. Did not like it at all.

A powerful, emotional and compelling read, The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a coming of age story with a difference. Cameron has just discovered that she likes kissing girls when her world comes crashing down around her following the death of her parents in a car crash. Being raised by her Grandma and her religious aunt Ruth in a small conservative town in Montana, her opportunities to explore her sexuality are limited , and when she developsa crush on her best friend she is on dangerous ground. Before long the secret she has been desperate to hide is revealed and she is shipped off to a " Christian " school/ camp so that she can " pray the gay away"
This is essentially a book of two halves, at first we get to see Cameron grow up, and start to feel comfortable in her own skin despite the difficulty she has in embracing her sexuality, and her fears about how those closest to her would react. Unfortunately, as the second half of the book reveals, those fears are far from unfounded and this section of the book makes for some very difficult reading indeed.
The book is incredibly well written with beautiful characterisation, Cameron shines as a character that the reader roots for and cares about. There are also some real emotional highlights in her friendships with her fellow gay teens at the school that give a much needed glimmer of light in a very dark setting. While the ending may be divisive among readers, I found the book ended on an ultimately triumphant and hopeful note.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are entirely my own.

This book has content warnings for homomisia, conversion camps, abuse of minors, ableism, self harm (brief but graphic imagery), familial death, a car crash, drugs, and sexual content.

I understand why this is an important book and it has a lot going for it, but there were a lot of things about the book that really put me off. Starting with the positives, I really appreciated the authenticity that I felt from the depiction of the conversion camp and the different perspectives that come from places like that. Conversion camps are incredibly manipulative and scary, and I felt that both the abuse taking place there and the either conceding or rebelling from the program felt real to me. This is a perspective that we really need in the world, and for that I really appreciate it.

With that being said, there were several things I didn’t like about the book. I didn’t like Cameron as a character very much because I didn’t feel like I got a good sense of her as a person; I felt that throughout the entire book I was watching her react to things, kind of, but she wasn’t doing much of anything herself. The only time she didn’t feel completely passive was when she started yelling at her aunt, and she did that to get a reaction out of her. Her emotions were so muted that I really couldn’t get myself to identify with her at all, and that made it difficult for me to care about her personally. I was invested enough to want her to get out of the conversion camp because that place is awful, and that was about it.

The pacing of this book was also extremely slow, and it frustrated me. This might have been because the voice of the book felt so bland to me and so it felt like it was dragging on for a while, but it seemed like a lot of this book could have been cut out without doing much to the story.

One other thing that really bothered me was the presence of a disabled character who had a prosthetic leg; the only purpose she served was to hide drugs within her prosthesis at the camp, and this felt really uncomfortable to me because this was the only physical disability rep we got in this book and it wasn’t great. I don’t really know anything else about that character except she used her disability to hide and sell drugs at the camp. Not great.

I had a hard time rating this book because I do think it’s important, but it also really wasn’t the book for me. I recommend reading it because of its importance, but it’s not something I’d want to read again because it’s a bit boring and monotone.

Final rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I had high very hopes for The Miseducation of Cameron Post. All that matters is the story at hand but when it comes to lengthy reads I’m wary because if not handled with care and paced well, the reading experience can turn boring and interest levels start to plummet. However, I am pleased to report that apart from a few pace glitches that I experienced early on, this wasn’t the case at all with The Miseducation of Cameron Post.

Cam is 12 when we first meet her, but several years pass over the course of the book and she is 17 when the book closes. I love that we get to see her grow and thought this was a clever idea to follow Cam’s journey over the course of 5 years, especially since in that time she grows a whole lot as a charterer. She’s put through the grinder time and time again and her strength in these situations (losing her parents, being sent off to a school who “fix” children who are gay, etc.) and how she handles herself is impressive to say the least.

Emily M. Danforth is one talented writer. She transported me into a whole new world and not only allowed me to visit Miles City, Montana but let me live in the 90’s for a while, where 99 cent video’s and cassette’s still ruled the world. Danforth’s attention to vivid descriptions and dazzling detail made my time with The Miseducation of Cameron Post all the more enjoyable. She set the scene beautifully and put such a clear, detailed picture in my head which made it picture perfect to imagine, almost like I was there; from the hot, sweltering sun belting down on my skin to the cold, icy refreshing lake water.

This book has the makings of a classic and though I personally found it worth my time, this book isn’t for everyone – it handles some tough issues and isn’t afraid to tell it like it is, never once sugar-coating the situation or what’s happening. The Miseducation of Cameron Post is quietly beautiful yet it speaks volumes. You know those thoughtful, impacting, profound, powerful stories that leave a mark? This is one of them.

As young adult readers, it's somewhat rare for us to run into a book that's more than 400 pages long, and when we do, I feel like those books fall into one of three categories. There are those lengthy YA books that are so engrossing and quick paced that you just gobble them up without ever noticing the length (see Grave Mercy), there are those that you feel could have had 100+ pages cut and have been better for it (see Partials), and then, there are those that are worth consuming slowly, taking in each word and phrase as it comes because every one of them has been carefully considered and placed to enrich the story. The Miseducation of Cameron Post is this third kind of book. I'll admit I was intimidated by its girth, but I found every moment that I spent reading filling me up in a way that hearty wheat bread can fill your belly--with nourishment and substance.

Now, I'll admit, a lot of my attachment to The Miseducation of Cameron Post arose from the fact that this book, more than any other I have ever read, exemplifies my childhood. If you want to know what it was like growing up in small town Wyoming in the 90s, not too far from Billings, Montana--it's not all that different from growing up in small town Miles City, not too far from Billings, Montana. Cameron and I went to the same mall to do school shopping, we stop at the same airport, and more importantly, our towns share the same businesses, people, and atmosphere. I cannot tell you how badly I was craving Taco Johns every time it was mentioned, and I am so sad for all of you that don't live in the mountain states and know its glory (you know, as glorious as a Mexican fast food chain can be). When Emily M. Danforth wrote of thunderheads gathering on the horizon, I could smell it, and feel the hot, dry summer air. We played with firecrackers, bought gas at Conoco, bought crafts at Ben Franklin's, we had kids wearing those blue FFA jackets at school; to this day I miss Schwan's single-serve pizzas and push pops. I further bonded with Cameron because we were both swimmers who hung out largely with boys, and had lost parents at twelve (thankfully, in my case, not both). Despite what I felt was a very personal attachment to this book, I don't think you need to have one to enjoy it. Danforth creates such a strong image of Miles City, and God's Promise, that any reader will feel immersed.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a coming of age story in the truest sense of the term. We follow Cameron from the time that she is twelve, until she is seventeen (or near enough). I loved seeing Cameron come into her own as a person, realize who she was, and fumble with her sense of self in the same way that every teen experiences. For Cameron, much of this is focused on the fact that she is a lesbian, but it didn't have to be--this story would have been just as compelling if she'd been strait. Certainly, this book will speak to any teens who feel trapped in a situation, their family, their town, and need to find themselves to decide how best to manage their future. I am not meaning to diminish the importance of The Miseducation of Cameron Post as a work of LGBT literature, merely stating that I think this is a work that could influence anyone, the LGBT aspect is not the only way readers will relate to this book.

Cameron Post herself is one of my new literary best friends. I love this girl. She's a bit of a klepto, which I never understood, but other than that we bonded hard core. I love that to her, her sexuality isn't a choice, a political statement, or a counter-culture movement--it's just who she is. So many adults in her life reacted to her as if she were acting out, when in reality she was just being a kid, and being who she was. The sad fact that those she loved most had no idea how to love those parts of Cameron they didn't agree with or understand broke my heart.

I think it is easy for those many people who live in very liberal areas to look unkindly and with harsh judgement at evangelical Christians such as much of Cameron's town. When you only experience these people through the bubble that is media, and not through personal experience, it becomes so easy to write them off as horrible people because of their judgements on homosexuals. This has always been a tough position for me. Much of my hometown, and many people that I love dearly share these views. Their adamant belief that homosexuality equates to damnation doesn't change the fact that they are often wonderful, caring, heartfelt people. What Cameron's family does to her, they do because they are trying to help, and because they love her. I can respect that, and so can Cameron. That doesn't make it right, but I appreciate so much that Emily M. Danforth did strive to show these people as caring, and helpless to understand because of their beliefs. There was no outspoken rebellion against Christianity in general, only an acknowledgement that the methods used in this particular case were flawed, and doomed from the start--you can't cure something that isn't a sickness. Because of this treatment, I hope that those who avoid books with religious themes are not put off by The Misedcuation of Cameron Post. It is not preachy either for or against the nature/nurture arguments of homosexuality, it is the story of a girl finding and accepting herself in a time and place where so many obstacles stand in her way.