I would highly recommend this book, it informed me alot about lgbt issues.
obviously a major trigger warning for conversion therapy!!!
would recommend watching before the film which is out now!!

My interest for The Miseducation of Cameron Post was first peaked when I saw its gorgeous edition with rainbow edges in a bookshop; this immediately grabbed my attention and after a bit of research about the book, I saw that its film adaptation was coming out in September in the UK and I was sold. I’m very thankful to Penguin Random House for sending me an ebook version of it though NetGalley in exchange for an honest review! 

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a coming of age story about sexuality and what not being straight means in society for teens. This takes place in 90s rural America over a few years. We follow Cameron, a teen that is struggling to understand her feelings for her best friend when she is just 12 and what it means, and from then, we follow her journey though teenage-hood as she tries to hide her attraction and feelings for girls from her religious aunt and peers. 

This was an extremely interesting and heartbreaking story as, as I said previously, Cameron lives in the countryside and surrounded by religious people, therefore she keeps hearing that being homosexual is a sin, a deviance, something evil. She spends her teenage years hiding who she is from the world, with the exception of her friend Lindsay who is also gay. Moreover, as she is revealed to be gay, her religious aunt decides to send her to a religious camp - or you could honestly call it a conversion camp - to ‘fix her unnatural desires’. As someone who is not religious at all, it was extremely baffling to read such practices and sermons from the people trying to ‘help’ Cameron. 

Character-wise, I liked Cameron although some of her actions, reactions and words left me a bit confused. I particularly liked Adam and I’m kind of sad that he only appeared in the story towards the end. The rest of characters I either hated, resented or simply liked okay.

Now, although this is a really interesting and important topic to talk about both in fiction and real life, I have to admit that The Miseducation of Cameron Post was very slow for more than half the book. This made my reading experience somewhat long and difficult. This is why I only gave it 3/5 stars and not more. I still highly recommend this book for its representation, diversity and topic.

If you're yet to see the award-winning film that is based on this book, then I strongly urge you to read it first. Although that said, some of the reasons I didn't love the film (even though it is very good) was because I had read the book. But I still recommend reading it either way. Set in early 90s Montana, this richly detailed coming of age and coming out story detours in a sudden and ugly direction when an overtly Christian aunt discovers her niece is a lesbian. The first half of the book is set in the country town where she grows up and the second half is set at the Christian gay "conversion" camp where she is sent to be "cured". The book isn't perfect, but it's beautiful and surprisingly different in a number of ways to the film.

A great book in the style of many good 20th century american writers, However, like much of 'small town' USA, the pace of the book was slow...but that's not necessarily a criticism. It's build up to what enevitably is going to happen. I'm sure many of the themes in this book will strike a chord with people who have/are struggling with their sexuality...in more elightened times. 25 years ago, when Cameron Post working her way through her teenage years, now appears almost ancient.

It’s been a while since I wrote a proper review (mea culpa: I know!) but this book is well worth shouting about. Nuanced, profound: it was a pleasure to read.

Much more literary fiction than YA, this book seems to pass in a blur of Polaroid photos and sun-drenched days, following the life of Cameron Post, a girl growing up in smalltown America in the 1990s. Though it takes a while to get into, it’s all the more fascinating for it: unlike most quick burners, this is a book that rewards patience, and careful reading, lulling you into the rhythm of the story.

The Cameron Post of the title is a girl who we see grow from twelve to sixteen, as she navigates the pitfalls and prejudices that come with life in the countryside. The book isn’t at all heavy-handed when it comes to the subject matter at its heart: Cameron is presented as a fully rounded person, whose sexuality is just an add-on rather than a defining trait- and that’s exactly as it should be. It’s refreshing to read about an LGBTQ+ character that’s not apologetic about who they are- while it’s common in fantasy, it’s probably less so in adult literature or mainstream fiction, sadly- and I really enjoyed seeing it.

The story itself is a classic coming-of-age tale. When her parents are killed in a car crash, Cameron is sent to live with her strictly Christian aunt Ruth, where she does her best to fit in. After a series of misdemeanours, though, and when the beautiful Coley Taylor moves into town, Cameron is caught kissing her and is sent away to God’s Promise, a camp that teaches kids to ‘pray away the gay’.

At its heart, the whole story is an exploration of what it means to be young, and how it feels to be grow up. Young adulthood is a time of massive change, and that’s really reflected in the book: it has marijuana, stealing, a lot of sexual experimentation and also a fair chunk of teen/adult strife. Understandable, really, given the circumstances, but it never feels forced: it feels instead like a nostalgic trip down memory lane, an exploration of what it means to be young, especially in the countryside, and it helps us understand more about the characters, especially Cameron.

I also have to say, Cameron is a really compelling heroine. She’s not always likeable, but the ways in which she acts, especially after her aunt packs her away to God’s Promise, is very understandable. She doesn’t quite know who she is, but she’s trying to figure things out- aren’t we all?- and the result is a person that we’re always trying to puzzle out and catch up with, even as she’s doing so herself. I also really liked the ways in which characters come and go: Coley Taylor doesn’t even appear until the middle of the book, and we don’t meet Jane Fonda and Adam until two thirds of the way through. It feels natural: people drop in and out of her life like they do with most people’s, and, like in real life, the antagonists aren’t really antagonists. Instead, they’re just people, with their own quirks, flaws and sometimes-misguided beliefs.

There are no answers in The Miseducation of Cameron Post. What it offers instead is a firecracker of a novel: a moving exploration of what it means to grow up, a commentary on gay life in small-town America, all tied together in Emily Danforth’s musical prose. Perhaps it’s the most important book you’ll read this year; either way, it’s a damn good read.

I absolutely loved this book, and I can't wait to see the film adaptation. Set against a backdrop of religious America, Cameron is outed by her best friend/lover and sent to a gay conversion therapy camp. The book manages to expose the horror of what goes on this kind of camp, without ever asking the main character to apologise for her sexuality - in fact the camp only really serves to strengthen it.

This book was very long for a YA book. I enjoyed the second half a lot more than the first, and felt like that was dragged on too long. An interesting story but was not gripped by it.

Due to the film coming out I was so excited to be approved for this book - the hype is real! The buzz is justified! I'm recommending to all my friends.

Okay so this book I have really mixed feelings about.

The first half of the book is slow. Incredibly slow. I was tempted to stop reading it so many times, despite knowing what was coming later in the book which I was very excited to read about. I felt like nothing really happened that much and that them 200 pages could be condensed in 50 or so pages. It's such a shame because I think with real editing and cut backs, it could be so much better.

Saying that, the second half of the book (after something big happens in the middle of the story) becomes one of my favourite books of all time. Not only is the pace so much faster and better, it's intriguing with a unique plot and scenario and I whizzed through it. I really wish the first half of the book matched up with the second half because this book has the potential to be FANTASTIC. Following Cameron and her life is such an eye opening experience and one of the most memorable characters I've recommend.

Overall I would say this book is okay, just because it really is very very slow at the beginning but then gets so much better with time. I would recommend this if its something you know you'd like and you're prepared to read through 200 pages to get to the really good bits!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

I was so excited to read this book and really wanted to love it, but for me it didn’t deliver everything I had wanted and hoped for.

This was definitely a hard hitting and important book, which makes it difficult to review. I’ve seen some people saying this feels much more like a memoir than a fiction book and I’d definitely agree, I think this is due to the harsh reality this book displays. 

I usually steer away from books that heavily feature religion because I feel they usually try and enforce an underlying message about religion, whether positive or negative. This book, in my opinion, managed to avoid doing so which I really appreciated. Whilst Cameron clearly resents a lot of the religious influence being forced upon her, the reader is also able to see the community and good intentions behind the religious characters in the book. 

Cameron’s sexuality was really well explored, nothing was over the top or exaggerated, everything was shy and unsure which I really appreciated.

I think my key issue was this book was that it was 500 pages long, but not that much actually happened? For a YA contemporary, you would not expect a book this long but I was really excited about the length. It did not deliver though, I felt a lot of things were over explained and there were some fairly pointless parts of the book that felt unnecessary. 

Another issue, for me, was that from the blurb I had assumed that the main part of the book would be Cameron being ‘re-educated’ but that doesn’t happen until over half way through the book. This left me waiting for the inevitable for a majority of the book. 

Pros: Representation of Christianity and sexuality, Cameron was a strong main character, honest and real story

Cons: Length, the representation of drugs (shown as a cool, positive thing), some of my questions went 
unanswered and the pacing was off in places

This is such an important book, but I'm sad to say I found it a bit slow. I felt like I was always waiting for something to happen. I think it's because it's not the sort of book that I normally read. It's not written to be full of action. It's written to show a girl exploring her sexuality in the place where most people would look at that sexuality as a sin. 

Other than the pace, it was really good. The characters were well crafted. Cameron herself is such a perfect character for the subject matter. It was great to see her develop throughout the book.Though Ruth is a character full of judgement, I really liked the way she was described throughout the book. It was obvious that she did do what she felt was best. It really showed that the parents that send their kids away to be "fixed" often do think it is the best for them, even though they are so completely misguided. It's so easy to paint these homophobic parents as hateful, so it was really interesting to see the relationship between Cam and Ruth. 

The camp was interesting too. I was expecting more of a boot camp, when in fact the conversion was more subtle. It was really scary how the concepts they were introducing to Cameron sunk into her head, even though she wasn't engaging with it like some of the other kids there. 

I would have preferred more action, but this is not a book meant to sensationalise. It's a thorough exploration of identity and sexuality told from the point of view of a beautiful character.

This book has divided me – much like Marmite (it’s an English thing love it or hate it).

It’s a long book – over 7 and half hours of reading that is quite daunting on your first page.  

The pace of the novel is slow, and for chapters nothing seems to happen.  

But Cameron is sassy.  She smokes weed, she shoplifts and has a job.  She also knows that she is attracted to woman, and while she understands the consequences of this in her conservative small town, this does not stop her going for other girls.  

I really liked her.  What emerges at the end of the novel is a very capable, level headed young woman well able to make her own choices, and decide what is right or wrong.

This is a lovely flashback to be pre-internet era which really sets the scene.   I am a bit disappointed at the end as I would love to know what happened to her, Jane and Adam.  Not sure I agree with her friend Lindsay’s views of Tom Petty, but as it didn’t stop Cameron listening to Tom Petty then presumably neither did she.

I give this 4stars as it is long and it seems to just finish.  Stick with it though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kDp39J0syc&t=2s (video)


Notes:

Miseducation of Cameron Post

- Synopsis - when Cameron’s parents die in a car crash she doesn’t get the chance to tell them that not that long ago she was kissing another girl. She gets sent to her aunt Ruth who soon discovers the secret and desperately tries to “fix” her.
- 
- You follow Cameron through her teenage years in this coming of age story
- Trigger warnings - It deals with issues like drugs, abuse, self-harm.
- Very descriptive- I felt like I was in the 80’s, 90’s - not just scenery but objects. I felt like I was there.
- Love the use of handwritten notes and drawings 
- I love Cameron as a character, she isn’t afraid and so bold despite the fact she isn’t out
- It reals like I am reading a diary, Cameron’s voice is so realistic and believable. 
- The dialogue was really good too, I liked the interactions between Adam, Cam and Jane. 
- There is a lot of build up, which I both loved and hated - it’s unfortunately why it took me so long to read it. Cameron doesn’t get to the camp until half way through the book which really surprised me. I think it could have been a shorter book. I read part three much quicker than part one and two combined.
- I was reading other people’s reviews and they said how much they relate to it - I cannot believe homophobia still exists 
- Unsure about the ending - it gives a sort of resolution but not a complete closed ending. I need another book I think with Cameron as an adult living it up with Adam and Jane.

This is a powerful, funny, poignant and important novel that has left me wondering what Cameron is up to now! It tells the story of the eponymous Cameron Post, a young girl discovering her sexual identity in small town Montana. What I found particularly interesting was the pacing of the narrative. Any and all blurbs you read about this novel and the upcoming film, focus on the time Cameron spends in a Christian school which endeavours to alter her sexual preference through prayer and psychological study. As such, I thought that this would be the focus of the narrative. As it is, the first half of the novel focuses solely on Cameron's life before she enters the school, which allows the reader to fully immerse themselves in her personality, acclimate themselves with all of her faults and qualities and then have the rug pulled out from under them in the same way as Cameron. The characterisation is authentic and believable and Cameron's actions always seem appropriate. Similarly, the motivations of her family come from a place of love, which creates conflicting emotions in the reader. The relationships depicted are intense, as all teenage relationships are and the narrative moves at times languidly, and at other times breakneck speed, creating nuance and variety in the reading experience. As I said, I am still left thinking about Cameron and hoping that she is ok, which for me, is the greatest compliment I can give to an author. Cameron feels real to me...and she seems pretty cool too!
I received a free  copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it was way too long and slow paced. I DNF'd at 20%. I really had to force myself to read that much of it. I'd maybe watch the movie to see if it's any better.

I really couldn’t get into which is a real shame. I was also put off by the long length.

 I do really like the cover though and the concept of the story from the short chapters I read.

I loved this quirky coming of age novel. Cameron Post is 12 years old when her parents are killed and she goes to live with her aunt Ruth. She is a lovable and original voice - a teenager who is clearly gay but is forced to go away to a school to be ‘cured’.
Beautifully written and a touching and poignant page-turner. Highly recommended.

A really enjoyable read, I initially watched the trailer for the movie which is the main reason I picked up this book. I did find it slow but it worked for this book as I was so engaged, the writing is good and I would highly recommend this book and can't wait to watch the movie!

Told in three parts, Cameron Post's story begins when she is twelve years old, with a kiss shared between her and her best friend, Irene, and, later, with the news that her parents have both died. Cameron's aunt Ruth, a devout born-again Christian, and her grandma both move in to take care of Cameron, Irene moves away to boarding school, and Cameron silently wonders if maybe her kiss with Irene is the reason her parents are dead.

The next part sees Cameron a few years older, with new friends, and still exploring her identity, this time with the complication of a new best friend, Coley, who Cameron falls in love with almost immediately, and who already has a boyfriend. Things only get more complicated for Cameron and when her aunt eventually finds out the secret Cameron has been keeping from her, we arrive at the next part of the Cameron's story: God's Promise, a Christian school that promises to 'correct' Cameron's 'sinful desires'.

Danforth's descriptions of Miles City, where Cameron lives, and the rural surrounding areas, in the early 1990s when this book takes place, manage to paint a picture of an area that is at once breath-takingly beautiful and quietly suffocating. Cameron's summers are filled with heat, movies, lake swimming, and romances that are forbidden in the most literal sense of the word, promise always just around the corner. Thanks to the vivid descriptions of Cameron's world and the place her feelings have in that world, Cameron's story feels incredibly real, and there is a wistful beauty to it too, which makes the difficult parts all the more upsetting to read. Cameron's story is one worth telling, and definitely worth reading, but it is not an easy one to read by any stretch of the imagination.

The beauty of the wide open lakes, fields, and mountains that surround Cameron's life juxtapose painfully with the closed in feeling that follows Cameron around, especially when she finds herself at God's Promise, the Christian school that promises to bring Cameron and her fellow disciples closer to God and further from their 'unnatural desires'. This novel is full of juxtapositions like this, including the members of God's Promise itself, the teachers who truly believe that they're helping these teenagers, even in the painful face of the damage they're causing. One of the subtle protests of this novel is that it does not demonise these people, only shows the harm they do in what they believe is their duty, quietly condemning them through their own words and actions.

This isn't a short story, quick or easy to read. It's a story that takes its time, perhaps a little bit too much to build up Cameron's story. Over half of the novel seems to lead up to Cameron's time at God's Promise, and the friends she makes there, and then we spend so little time examining this place, so little time with these new friends, before an ending that feels altogether abrupt and a little unsatisfying. Characters who seemed so important in Cameron's life before are never heard from again, story lines are abandoned untied, but perhaps that is the point. Cameron has not finished growing or discovering herself at the end of this novel, and so her story doesn't end, it just stops. It's an ending that definitely leaves the reader wanting more, from a story that sorely needs to be told.

I am not going to write a synopsis of this story as you can get them from the book description and many other peoples reviews.

I picked this book because it sounded like a interesting read about a subject that has been overlooked when it comes to YA fiction. I hoped to read a powerful story of one girls struggle to find her sexual identity. What I ended up reading was a very long slow ramble that ends abruptly with no real resolution for any of the characters in the book at all. 

The first half of the book set in Miles City just goes on and on and mainly nothing really happens. Cameron kisses a few girls and a boy, and feels a bit guilty and conflicted about it all.... it takes 200+ pages to cover that. 

The second half is set in the residential school which is where Cameron is sent to 'fix' her so is essentially a Christian school with a program aimed at converting 'conflicted' teens to the way of god. The story does actually start to get a bit more interesting here and the other characters that appear are far more interesting and developed than any we have met up to this point. Finally there is conflict in this story and you do find yourself rooting for Cameron, Jane and Adam but I think you also know that really they are going to be OK, none of them come even close to embracing the 'teaching' they are experiencing and so it just feels like a waiting game until they can get out of there and really find out who they are. Sadly we never know anything about that as it truly just ends with no conclusion whatsoever. 

It is also heavily peppered with American small town culture that is even fairly regional as when I asked my husband (who is an American) what some of the things where he didn't know them, Also it reference quite a lot of late 80's early 90's film which I think most YA today are not going to have any idea of their significance. I feel it is set in the wrong era to appeal to that age group and certainly if you are not American you are going to struggle with many of the references and find it quite a challenging read that may well end up boring you.

This is a story that definitely needs to be told but this book is sadly not it.  

I note with interest this is already being made into a film and that makes me think that it was written with that in mind, maybe even written as a screen play first and then turned into a novel which would explain the slowness of the story as if too much happens in a novel it never makes a good movie.