The Miseducation of Cameron Post

by Emily M Danforth

[clementine]

I did not think I was going to like this as much as I did, mainly because it's billed as YA and I haven't really connected with YA in years now. (I know this is controversial, but whatever. I'm not going to get into that today.) However, suffice to say I loved it and wouldn't have changed a thing about it.

It seems that people's main criticism of this book is the pacing, i.e. that it takes too long to get to "the good stuff". But I don't think that Cameron's stint in conversion therapy is "the good stuff". I think the entire history of her emergent lesbian identity is fascinating, and realistic, and gorgeously-written. I loved the languid pace of the first half, but I guess I generally don't mind slower novels. In fact, I honestly found it hard to put this book down - I wanted to know what would happen next, when she would hook up with Coley, how she would be discovered. Plus, you know, how often do teenage lesbians get the privilege of unhurried coming of age stories? BASICALLY NEVER.

Cameron was such a great character: funny and acerbic on the surface, but deeply insecure at her core. Yet she is so strong in her conviction that she is who she is and that there's nothing wrong with and nothing that can change it. She reminded me of the protagonist of Rubyfruit Jungle in some ways, though she's more clearly unsure of her place in the world. The various points at which Cameron's friends try to coax a confession of her sexuality out of her ring so true - it's not that she's ashamed, it's that she isn't ready to articulate herself to others yet. It's details like that - so recognizable to LGBTQ people - that I think the straight audience might be missing out on. Which is fine, but if you know what to look for, if you have been in Cameron's position even in a small way, this book will be that much more resonant.