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.

I would like to thank Penguin Random House Uk and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Miseducation of Cameroon Post’ in exchange for my honest unbiased review.

This book is written in such a way that you as the reader cannot help but get emotionally sucked into the story. The book made me cry,smile,laugh,scream go through every emotion.

It is written with a brave subject matters and things, thoughts that some teenagers go through in regard to know their own sexuality.

I know this was in the YA section. But it can be read as an adult book too.

Highly recommended

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is very much a book of two halves.

The first half deals with Cameron growing up, and discovering her sexuality, in early 90s Montana, in a small town where homosexuality is seen very much as a sin. The second half of the book deals with what happens when Cameron's homosexuality is discovered, and she's sent to a Christian school to be 'reformed'.

The first half is excellent. Cameron's coming of age and self-discovery happens in a slow, well paced way and it's really interesting to watch her go from relationship to relationship, struggling with her feelings, finding people who understand her and who help her understand herself, and fall in love.

The turning point in the middle of the book was very powerful, so much so that I had to put it down and walk away from it for a while until I felt emotionally ready to read on.

Unfortunately the second half of the book let it down a bit for me. I think I was expecting the Christian school to be worse than it was, and instead of packing a powerful emotional punch, Cameron just kind of meandered through it to an inconclusive ending. There didn't feel like there was any great struggle or conflict for her towards the end of the book, which was precisely when I was expecting it to really go up a notch.

Overall it's a great coming of age novel, dealing with important issues, but for me, it just didn't deliver on its early promise..

A compelling coming of age story. Beautifully written and extremely emotional. Though I hate to use the cliche, I could not put this book down and I had to stay up very late to finish it, giving myself a monster headache and a book hangover. I don't think I will be watching the movie when it comes out as there is simply no way a movie can do this wonderful story justice. Fantastic!

GOOD LGBT read, very easy and cute. The characters were written perfectly and i really enjoyed it.The plot was in a perfect setting.

Just finished : The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M Danforth ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Synopsis : When Cameron Post is 12 years old her life changes forever in a single day. Her parents die tragically in a car crash and she kisses a girl. Convinced the two are related Cameron tries her best never to act on her urges. Living in rural Montana with her grandmother and born again, ultra religious aunt Ruth, Cameron lives vicariously through the movies she rents. However her life is turned upside down when popular and beautiful Coley Taylor joins her high school. Trigger warnings for homophobia, conversion therapy and self harm.
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Review : This book was simply stunning. I adored Emily Danforth’s evocative writing. I’ve read a lot of reviews that think this book is about 150 pages too long but to me it was perfect. I felt so fully immersed in Cameron’s world and I felt like I completely understood her. I had a lot of complicated feelings about the characters in this book, which I think Danforth meant for readers. Cameron’s family, whilst subjecting her to the trauma of conversion therapy, did really love her and wanted the best for her. Her friend Lindsay, who contributed to a lot of her “miseducation” was just full of teenage bravado. Reverend Rick, whilst completely delusional in his renunciation of his own homosexual and his believe in conversion therapy seemed to genuinely care about the teenagers at the camp. It really highlighted how ignorance can tear apart a family. Just a heads up that there is some quite graphic self harm described in this that really shocked me and if that’s a trigger for you I’d recommend maybe giving this a miss as it really stuck with me afterwards. I think this is a really important book for teens and adults alike. It’s a story of being true to yourself, no matter how hard that might be and the importance of forgiveness to others as well as to yourself. I have to say too I took a star off because of the depiction of Adam Red Eagle. Whilst it’s clear Danforth done her research for the character I’ve read some criticism that some factual errors could have been avoided with a little more attention.

This is an interesting novel. For a young adult book, it touches on some dark and incredibly intense subjects, and I hope that more and more YA novels discuss the harder topics because they make for hugely interesting reads. The writing in this book is easily accessible without talking down and though it deals with the strange minds of teenage girls, there's an excellent element of LGBTQIA+ discussion throughout. However, I didn't quite click with this novel. I think, personally, the first quarter was super interesting and packed full of action, but I struggled to keep focused and interested as the story progressed. For those really interested in YA, this will be a great read for them, but I don't think it was quite my cup of tea.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post... this book is a ride! A ride full of twist and turns I didn't see coming and some that I couldn't have even imagined.

In the beginning the narrative can appear and feel to the reader to be rather slow but once the main narrative begins then this book is hard to put down. I have devoted hours at a time to reading this book due to its addictiveness. Cameron is an example of a fictional character who is easily imagined as a real person and this makes the book even more of a success as you are interested in the ups and downs of Cameron's life throughout her teenage years and dealing with her homosexuality.

Even though this novel is centred around the subject of homosexuality in the 1980's/90's and in a highly religious setting, in my opinion, Emily Danforth does an amazing job at representing homosexuality from both the viewpoints of Cameron and of Cameron's religious family without demonising them.

The diversity in this book is also one of the things that stood out to me as one of the things that makes this book very successful. The way that characters with disabilities, gender identity, sexual preference and people of other cultures are represented is always very respectful even at times when they are being criticised for their diversity. The one character who especially stood out for me was the character of Jane and the way that her disability was so seemingless within the narrative.

For me, the ending left me wanting more. I wanted to know where Cameron, Adam and Jane ended up. If their plan succeeded or not; but i understand that the novel would have been a lot longer if this had been included. Also, the novel ends on a moment of catharsis for Cameron and I believe that this at least gives the reader confirmation that Cameron is in a good place now mentally and is dealing with the death of her parents in a much healthier way and is no longer blaming herself or her sexuality.

I cannot wait to see how this novel is transformed for a film and will definitely be going to see it when it comes out in cinemas!

The Miseducation of Cameron Post was a bit of a slow burn. At points I felt like there were too many unnecessary details of a daily routine that didn’t help to build the world of Cameron Post, it is a cliché, but sometimes less IS more and some decisive editing could have greatly helped the story. That being said, it doesn’t mean that this was not a good or important read.

The novel feels like an honest telling of what it is like to grow up and realise that you are attracted to people of the same sex or gender identity as you. I like that it started with Cameron’s first same-sex kiss when she was 12, and her certainty that it was wrong, not because anyone told her that but because she had never seen anything other than the heteronormative relationships that are visible in everyday life even from childhood (just look at Disney or Pixar for example – there is only ever heteronormative relationships and if there is a hint of anything else people lose their minds!). It felt like such an honest element of the realisation and one that it is important to remember, visibility matters!

Early on in the book there is a time when Cameron is exploring the concept of there being a language and a community that she would have access to as someone who liked girls. I thought this was a really interesting exploration and so very true, a lot of young LGBTQ+ people don’t have the language to express who they are because it is, in general, not mainstream and as much as labels are not always useful, it can be good to have the words you need to understand yourself before deciding if you need to label yourself at all – but you need to know the language before you do that.

One of the things that I found really interesting was the way that the novel approached the subject of faith, and the way that faith can be pushed upon people, particularly at times of hardship and grief, by others even with the best intentions. Also that even religions that appear to teach love and acceptance can be twisted and used as a weapon against people, even by those who are ultimately not bad people in the general sense. The author has brilliantly shown this without making the religious characters ridiculous, villainous caricatures instead people that believe, honestly, that they are doing the right thing (which in my opinion makes it all the more scary and real). The town where I grew up was a hub for born again Christians and the character of Aunt Ruth rang so true.

I think the importance of this story comes from bringing the work of conversion therapy and groups, which are a real fear for LGBTQ+ people and incredibly damaging, to light and tackling this is a really important step. It is powerful and difficult to read but it is truly important. The fact that in 2018 these therapies are still allowed because of the fear of impeding on someone’s religious freedom is more important than the basic rights, humanity and dignity of LGBTQ+ people is disgraceful and should be talked about. I would like to note at this point that I know that there are Christian people who believe the same thing and are big supporters of the LGBTQ+ community, and not all Christians should be judged on the actions of a few but it is impossible to deny that the mistreatment of the LGBTQ+ community has been carried out in the name of religions worldwide for a long time and denial of a history does not benefit anyone.

To sum up, I have given this book 3.5 stars because it is a good story and it is a hugely important LGBTQ+ narrative that should be out there. However, the story loses stars for me because of the problems with the pacing. It is a very slow burn and has a lot of details that don’t add the story or the building of characters and as a result I could see a lot of people struggling to get through the novel and maybe not finish it which is a shame because it is a good and important story. I would recommend that you read this novel but do go into it with an understanding that it is a tough subject and at times emotionally difficult to read – it is not aimed at the younger side of YA readers – but it is a very worthwhile read.

Honestly? This book messed me up.

I mean, partly because I stayed up until about twenty past three to read it, which was a ridiculous thing to do, but I was invested and I didn't want to stop. (So, I guess that's a good thing.) And now I'm regretting it strongly because I really, REALLY need to sort out my sleep patterns.

But partly on a psychological level, in a manner that shows exactly why conversion therapy is so dangerous. I mean, I grew up going to church. And it wasn't a hellfire and damnation kind of church. Actually, Cameron's experiences chimed with mine in a way that very few books about Christian experiences do -- the "Extreme Teen Bible" sounds almost identical to the "Youth Bible" I was given at about the age of eleven, complete with little fact files and stories relating to "real life issues". Mine's purple rather than blue and black and the title's different, but otherwise everything depicted here rung some serious bells. There's even a character with cringey Christian t-shirts like, "God's Gym, open 24/7".

(At this point I should confess I used to have a t-shirt that said, in a font and layout to mimic the LotR movie posters, LORD OF THE KINGS, with a chapter/verse citation underneath.)

And this, I think, is why it got inside my head so much. Because her church wasn't a stereotypical one with the preacher standing up at the front yelling about how everyone was going to hell (mostly). It was, to be honest, exactly how I imagine my church's youth group would've been in the late 80s, early 90s. It's not exactly like that now (by the time I stopped going, it was definitely taking a much more chilled approach to LGBTQ issues, but even that was a recent change, and I still remember the petition against equal marriage that was passed round at after-service coffee a few years back), but it's definitely what it could have been like.

But the part of the book that really messed me up is when Cameron is sent to 'God's Promise' and they start using a mixture of theological and psychological approaches to try and uncover the 'cause' of her queerness. They analyse everything that happened to her, pick up on details of the guilt she feels about past events, look for root causes in certain familial relationships.

And it got me because I think it played on a lot of my own insecurities. Especially because as an asexual person, I don't have the affirmation of childhood attraction or whatever to say, "Well, look, I've always been this way." My sexuality is in many ways defined by its absence, and that makes it very easy to think, "Am I broken? Am I like this because [X] happened and it put me off relationships forever?" I *know* I've thought things that like. I know I thought it when I ID'd as gay and then even more when I first ID'd as ace, and it took time and a lot of deliberate thought to get myself out of that state of mind.

But reading those scenes put me right back into it again, wondering what would be on my "iceberg" diagram -- knowing at once a few events I'd put on there, but being less sure about the rest. Even though the book portrays this as a totally wrong and harmful approach! Even though it's in no way justifying this point of view!

And it reminded me of an article I read recently where a gay journalist went undercover into conversion therapy and found that, despite having a journalistic detachment from the treatment, it planted all sorts of doubts in his head where previously there'd been none, leading to profound stress and trauma afterwards. It's insidious. It plays on all your insecurities and, if you don't have any, creates more.

Maybe it's because I found the book so relatable (on some levels -- it also served to help confirm my aceness, because I mostly found it baffling that twelve-year-olds would be interested in kissing and whatnot) that I was susceptible to that kind of reaction, because I'd already managed to put myself in Cameron's shoes, I'm not sure. But damn it's going to take a few days to get rid of all those thought patterns.

As for the rest of the book... it's quite slow-based -- it takes a long time to get going, and it's never what you'd call action-packed. That's effective, and lets you get attached to the characters, but since I tend to read faster-paced books it took a little while to get into. I really liked that there was a disabled character, Jane, who has a prosthetic leg, but that this was never exactly A Thing. I mean, it was an important character trait, not least because she keeps weed in it, but it didn't define her, which I appreciated. Once I settled into the style, I really enjoyed that as well. The ending maybe wasn't *exactly* what I was hoping for, because it's quite open-ended and I'd have enjoyed some confirmation as to what exactly happened next. On the whole, though, I really enjoyed it.

It just... got to me. And not entirely in a good way.

Possible mild spoilers ahead if you really know nothing about the story...

In fact this was one of those times when I kind of wished I’d known nothing about the story before starting, because I spent the first half of the book waiting for what I knew was going to happen to happen, which it didn’t till approximately the half way point.

Anyway leaving that aside, The Miseducation of Cameron Post is an undoubtedly good read. It’s a coming of age story beginning in 1989 when Cameron is 12, growing up in rural Montana. We follow Cameron’s life over several years - commencing with her experiencing tentative first kisses with best friend Irene and, almost simultaneously, the death of her parents in an accident. Not surprisingly, the trauma of the latter becomes somewhat associated with the former in young Cameron’s mind.

Now in the care of her grandmother and conservative, very religious Aunt Ruth, Cameron immerses herself in a world of movies and sports, hanging out with a group of boys following the departure of Irene. She attends Ruth’s fundamentalist church where the “sin” of homosexuality is preached, develops a relationship with summer visitor Lindsey and later falls in love with an alluring - but apparently straight - classmate, Coley Taylor. And it’s the fallout from this relationship that brings Cameron’s world crashing down, sent away by Ruth to be “de-gayed” at an extreme Christian residential school called Promise.

Cameron’s experiences at Promise and the friends she makes there make up the second half of the book and it’s a powerful read. The young people are supposedly helped to “overcome their sin” through faith - there is no shock treatment or extreme aversion therapy used - but the regime is nevertheless appalling. (And evidently - unsurprisingly- doesn’t work.) Students are encouraged to examine their pasts and taught “appropriate gender roles”... which for the girls means trips to a beauty salon. (Yes, really.) I can’t remember what the boys did - learn to fix cars, or something. Anyway it all makes for painful reading and the consequences, for some in particular, are devastating.

However, there are no real villains here - well, maybe Lydia is the closest. However misguided they are, characters like aunt Ruth and (head of Promise) Rick are following a genuine belief that they are doing the right - the only - thing, and acting in Cameron’s long term best interest. There’s no room for doubt in their minds and that’s frightening in itself.

Like I said it’s a powerful read and Cameron’s voice is engaging and compelling. The book made me laugh at times and made me very angry at others. It’s quite a long book but there were things I’d have liked more of - Margot, for instance, who seemed like an interesting character. And I’d love to know what happens to Cameron after the end.... (I need a sequel!)

Highly recommended.

Trigger warning for self-harm, attempted suicide and homophobia.

Wow, this was an intense read. I didn't really know anything about the book but was drawn by the cover on the Netgalley catalogue and decided to request it from Penguin. The description intrigued me, and I was curious to see if the story would head in the direction I thought it would.

And it did, but I am pleased that it did because Danforth has approached this narrative in a really great way. Also, just because a book is hard to read, doesn't mean that it isn't good. The Miseducation... was very much one of those books. The book starts out very heavy, with the death of Cameron's parents, and it doesn't really let up from there. I liked hearing about her gradual exploration of her sexuality, and I enjoyed that the book didn't fall into that YA trope of first love forever, but I still found a lot of the reactions of other people in the story and the element of secrecy Cameron had to maintain to have these relationships incredibly heartbreaking. It's hard to think, that in this so-called enlightened day and age, people can still treat homosexuality in this way. The backdrop for this book is very

One thing I did really like about this book is how it discusses religion. There's a whole host of religious characters in this novel, and each character is nuanced outside of their religion too, which adds a lot of depth and realism. Aunt Ruth, for example, is super-conservative and very faithful to her 'born again' beliefs, but she's also a real person, with real hobbies, real flaws and real feelings. I almost felt bad for her when Cameron lashes out. That's not to say I agree with a lot of the actions Ruth takes in this novel, and in fact I feel that a lot of what she does it utterly unconscionable, but Danforth has created her in multilayered way. And I really liked that. Because I was very worried that this book would fall into the trap of making the Christian characters almost caricatures of themselves and turning them into the villains of the novel. But The Miseducation... didn't do that. Sure, it's really hard at times to like characters like Ruth or Coley's brother or anyone else who forces Cameron to seek 'help' to fight the so-called sin of homosexuality, but then they're also shown in a light which at least shows you they believe they're doing it from a good place. Which is sad and terrifying really. To contrast this, the novel also shows us some Christian characters who accept LGBTQ people with open arms. Again, I thought this was nice and realistic.

But yes, this book was utterly heartbreaking in the way Cameron is both treated, and comes to think of herself. I wanted to wrap her in a hug when she starts to wonder if her first kiss with another girl led to God killing her parents to punish her. It was just so sad. Other characters also go through this later in the book and some things happen [no spoilers] which are incredibly shocking, not only for their graphicness but also for the way it shows how some people in the LGBTQ community struggle to accept themselves, particularly when religion and family are thrown into the mix. Obviously again, this is a very hard thing to read and as I've mentioned there are some big trigger warnings to consider if you're not sure this will be something you want to read.

I think, what truly confused me was the way homosexuality was not only treated as a sin, but as a disease too. I felt a lot of second-hand frustration for Cameron when she is forced to abide by Ruth's beliefs and rules, despite having done nothing but be herself. And there were times when I wanted to cry, such as when Cameron is expected to believe that things like her shoplifting and male-majority friendship groups are 'causes' of her 'problem.' It's just really so ridiculous that it almost doesn't seem possible.

If there was one flaw in this book, it's the ending. Again, I don't want to spoil anything, but the ending was so sudden and stark that I tried to flip pages on my kindle to find the rest of the story. It felt really sudden and blunt and left me a bit disappointed. It could have done with another chapter or so, just to polish it off properly, but then I have read since finishing the book that the author planned on writing more of the story, so maybe we'll get to see what happens in another book. I still feel it was a bit of an underwhelming ending, even if we do get a follow-up, but it's a small flaw in an otherwise pretty great book.

I'm giving The Miseducation of Cameron Post an 8/10 stars. I loved how realistic and complex the characters were, even the ones we were meant to dislike and as hard as the book was to read, it was definitely worth it. The ending definitely could have done with more work on it, but otherwise I highly recommend it if you're willing to pick up a YA that deals with some intense and difficult subject matters.

On the day Cameron finds herself kissing a girl, her parents die. From that day on, her whole world changes. Living with her grandmother and her very religious aunt, she is brought up with certain ideas about homosexuality; Cam questions what she feels and what she's told, worrying that her parents died as punishment for her "sin". But the various people she meets along the way and the numerous movies she secretly watches tell her a different story. Cam tries to keep her relationships secret, but nothing stays secret for ever.

Oh my god, this book is so awesome, it really shows us the views from just over two decades ago - only two decades! - and most of it made me so angry! Seriously, there are some characters in this book I really don't get. Even when their views are explained with the Bible, it just makes me so sick! But more on that later.

What's great about Cameron Post is that we get to see Cam from the age of 11, almost 12, until she's 16. We get to see her first experiences with another girl from such a young age, and then see her grow, see her mature - in the way she thinks, in the way she speaks. This story is about Cam discovering and exploring her sexuality, and what the consequences of doing so are, but the death of her parents is intertwined. As much as this is a story about sexuality, it's mainly about Cam herself. Cam discovering she's a lesbian, Cam dealing with the death of her parents when she's reminded, when the event creeps back up on her. These two, huge, important things to Cam get linked for her in certain moments, like her belief that her parents died because she kissed a girl, the blame she feels. The reaction of her aunt and grandmother when the truth is finally discovered make her think about how her parents may have reacted if they were around. But they're not, so she'll never know, never know if she would have to go through with them what she is going through now. And questions from others crop up; would she "sin" like she does if her parents had raised her differently? If her parents hadn't died and she didn't "run away" from dealing with that by taking part in "sinful activities"? It's like there is a correlation between the two simply because they are forced together so often.

There are so many quotes I want to share with you, but there are just too many. I narrowed it down to the points I really want to discuss. The two different ideas that come across. The first is from Lindsey, a girl who Cam has a summer relationship with. She's a character who has thrown herself right into what homosexuality is, means, on a wider scale.

'With Irene, nothing we were doing or feeling was named as part of anything bigger than just the two of us. With Lindsey, everything was. She started me in on the language of gay; sometimes she talked about how liking girls is political and revolutionary and counter-cultural, all these names and terms that I didn't even know that I was supposed to know'. (p99)

Lindsey is a lesbian, but it seems more like who she is, rather than just an aspect of herself. Like it's an attitude, a whole lifestyle. And she knows her stuff. She has all these opinions and knows all these things going on in the world and is so pro-active in the LGBT community. Lindsey does come across a bit patronising with her know-it-all nature, but it's refreshing to have such a voice in the book, when almost all over views are that it is wrong, wrong, wrong. Like the opinions of Pastor Crawford at her Evangelical church, Gates of Praise:

'"Don't be fooled by what you might see on television, the kinds of sick movements happening in parts of this country. Time and again, in Leviticus, in Romans, the Bible is exact and unwavering about homo-sesh-oo-al acts as clear abominations on the Lord."' (p100)

He goes on to talk about how those who are "lured into this sort of unhealthy lifestyle" are the people who are "in most desperate need of Christ's love: junkies, prostitutes, the mentally ill and teenage runaways" (p100) - way to stereotype, huh? It makes me so angry! Cam does question whether she would be considered to be among those people, being an orphan, but as she says, 'How could I pretend to be a victim when I was so willing to sin?' (p100).

With both of these opposing sides, you can understand how Cam would be so confused over what is right and wrong, what to believe in, what to hope for.

'How could I possibly believe Lindsey when she told me that two women could live together like man and wife, and even be accepted, when Pastor Crawford spoke with such authority about the wicked perversion of homosexuality?' (p99)

And then there is the worse view, in my opinion, where one of the characters denies the existence of homosexuality, and then compares this "sin" with murder. Murder! Can you believe it?! Lydia makes my blood boil!

'"There's no such thing as homosexuality," she said. "Homosexuality is a myth perpetuated by the so-called gay rights movement." She spaced out each word of her next sentence. "There is no gay identity, it does not exist. Instead, there is only the same struggle with sinful desires and behaviours that we, as God's children, each must content with...
"Do we say that someone who commits the sin of murder is part of some group of people who have that identity feature in common? Do we let murderers throw themselves parades and meet up in murderers' clubs to get high and dance the night away and then go out and commit murder together? Call it just another aspect of their identity?...
Sin is sin."' (p298)

I know it's a book, it's just fiction, but reading that last line just makes me want to shout, "LOVE IS LOVE!" Seriously, this book brought out the rage in me, I swear. To think that people actually exist with these opinions disgusts me.

Beyond the various views of what people think about homosexuality, there are the experiences, the feelings, the love. And the questions. Not everyone is happy with what they're discovering about themselves.

'"It goes against everything," [Coley] said, some of her voice burried in the pillow. "This is like--it's just supposed to be silly or whatever. I don't want to be like that."
"Like what?" I asked. Somehow, even after what I'd just done, what we'd done, I felt ashamed, the guilty party.
"Like a couple of dykes," she said.
"What does that even mean?"
"You know what it means."
"To who?"
"How about God, for one," she said, turning and looking at me dead on...
"Doesn't this feel really big to you?" she asked. "I mean like too big? It's like the more time we spend together the harder it is to turn off."
"Maybe that means we're not supposed to turn it off," I said.
"Maybe it means we shouldn't have started in the first place," Coley answered.' (p226-227)

There is so much more I want to discuss about this book, but I would be spoiling such a huge section of the book that is best discovered as you read. Speaking of which, if you visit Danforth's website (link, as always, below), I would advise not reading the reviews on there until you have finished the book. I had something huge spoiled for me by reading one of the quotes on there, and it really wound me up. Fortunately, I was only a few pages off it all kicking in, but still.

If I was to give this book any criticism, it would be... I'm not really sure what to call it. It took me weeks, weeks, like three or four, to read this book, and that's not down to the length. I was seriously loving this book when I was reading it, but once I put it down, for dinner, etc., I didn't want to pick it back up. It was hard. I had to force myself to pick it up several times. I just wasn't motivated to read it. I don't know if it's this book or if I was in a reading slump or what, but I had a real tough time getting through it. But this is probably, hopefully, just my personal experience.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is an incredible coming-of-age novel that takes an awesome look at one girl's self-discovery, coming into her own. Now I've finished it, I can say for certain that I absolutely loved it! It's one hell of a powerful story, and I highly recommend it!

3.5 stars


I was keen to read this before the film comes out,so I can moan that the film isn't so good.
It was quite lengthy,but covers a great deal.
A lovely childhood,death of parents,aunt moving in. Growing up,swim and track team,boyfriend,girlfriends....
That's all before we get to the sent away to religious school thing,which to me was the most interesting.
The talk of sin is sin and likening homosexual behaviour to murder was outrageous,but very believable that someone would say it.
I liked the three core characters of Cameron Adam and Jane... and despitesaying this was lengthy,I felt it ended too abruptly and now I'm left pondering everyone's fate!!!

I absolutely raced through this lengthy YA novel, completely immersed in the lives of Cameron and her friends. What I found most impressive was the nuance with which each character is written: even the Pastor in charge of the conversion camp to which Cameron is sent is treated with sympathy, with the reader never allowed to forget that each person is human, not simply a villain or a hero. The Miseducation Of Cameron Post has recently been made into a film starring Chloe Grace Moretz as Cameron, and I cannot wait to see such a brilliant, important, heart-wrenching book on the big screen.

One of THE BEST coming of age novels in existence (LGBTQ+ or otherwise). Cameron is such an honest voice, and whilst reading I truly felt like a teenager again. The brutal reality of the conversion camp is so eloquently balanced with the beginning pre-camp chapters. The relationships felt authentic and appropriate for the age- which can often be rare for YA. Overall a beyond fantastic book!