Staff Pick
On the day she first kisses a girl, Cameron Post's parents die in a car accident. She retreats into movies, shoplifts, smokes, and routinely breaks into her small town's abandoned hospital. She keeps kissing girls. Eventually, someone's bound to catch on. The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a captivating coming-of-age story of a queer girl growing up in rural Montana. Seriously well written and engaging, this is a book that will stay with you. (Please read it.) Recommended By David R., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
When Cameron Posts parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief theyll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.
But that relief doesnt last, and Cam is soon forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone (as her grandmother might say), and Cam becomes an expert at both.
Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship—one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to “fix” her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self—even if shes not exactly sure who that is.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a stunning and unforgettable literary debut about discovering who you are and finding the courage to live life according to your own rules.
Review
"This novel is a joy--one of the best and most honest portraits of a young lesbian I've read in years--lively, funny, brash, and oh, so true! An absorbing, suspenseful, and important book." Nancy Garden, author of ANNIE ON MY MIND
Review
“A beautifully told story that is at once engaging and thoughtful. THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST is an important bookone that can change lives. ” Jacqueline Woodson, award-winning author of AFTER TUPAC AND D FOSTER and HUSH
Review
“If Holden Caulfield had been a gay girl from Montana, this is the story he might have toldits funny, heartbreaking, and beautifully rendered. Emily Danforth remembers exactly what its like to be a teenager, and she has written a new classic.” Curtis Sittenfeld, bestselling author of PREP and AMERICAN WIFE
Review
“[An] ambitious literary novel, a multidimensional coming-of-age.” Booklist (starred review )
Review
“Rich with detail and emotion, a sophisticated read for teens and adults alike.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review
“Danforths narrative of a bruised young woman finding her feet in a complicated world is a tremendous achievement: strikingly unsentimental, and full of characters who feel entirely rounded and real. A story of love, desire, pain, lossand, above all, of survival. An inspiring read.” Sarah Waters, author of THE LITTLE STRANGER
Review
“The story is riveting, beautiful, and full of the kind of detail that brings to life a place (rural Montana), a time (the early 1990s), and a questioning teenage girl.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review
“Cameron is a memorable heroine with an unforgettable and important story to tell, and she does so with wit, emotion, and depth. Bulletin of the Center for Children & #8217;s Books
Review
“This finely crafted, sophisticated coming-of-age debut novel is multilayered, finessing such issues as loss, first love, and friendship. An excellent read for both teens and adults.” School Library Journal (starred review)
Review
“This novel is a joyone of the best and most honest portraits of a young lesbian Ive read in years. Cameron Post is a bright, brash, funny main character who leaps off the page and into your heart! This is a story that keeps you reading way into the nightan absorbing, suspenseful, and important book.” Nancy Garden, author of ANNIE ON MY MIND
Synopsis
A powerful and widely acclaimed coming-of-age novel in the tradition of the classic Annie on My Mind.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a stunning and provocative literary debut that was a finalist for the YALSA Morris Award and was named to numerous "best" lists.
Cameron Post feels a mix of guilt and relief when her parents die in a car accident. Their deaths mean they will never learn the truth she eventually comes to: that she's gay.
Orphaned, Cameron comes to live with her old-fashioned grandmother and ultraconservative aunt Ruth. There she falls in love with her best friend, a beautiful cowgirl.
When she's eventually outed, her aunt sends her to God's Promise, a religious conversion camp that is supposed to "cure" her homosexuality. At the camp, Cameron comes face to face with the cost of denying her true identity.
Don't miss this raw and powerful own voices debut, which is set in rural Montana in the early 1990s.
Synopsis
The acclaimed book behind the 2018 Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning movie
"LGBTQ cinema is out in force at Sundance Film Festival," proclaimed USA Today. "The acerbic coming-of-age movie is adapted from Emily M. Danforth's novel, and stars Chloe Grace Moretz as a lesbian teen who is sent to a gay conversion therapy center after she gets caught having sex with her friend on prom night."
The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a stunning and provocative literary debut that was named to numerous best of the year lists.
Cameron Post feels a mix of guilt and relief when her parents die in a car accident. Their deaths mean they will never learn the truth she eventually comes to: that she's gay.
Orphaned, Cameron comes to live with her old-fashioned grandmother and ultraconservative aunt Ruth. There she falls in love with her best friend, a beautiful cowgirl.
When she's eventually outed, her aunt sends her to God's Promise, a religious conversion camp that is supposed to "cure" her homosexuality. At the camp, Cameron comes face to face with the cost of denying her true identity.
Don't miss this raw and powerful own voices debut, the basis for the award-winning film starring Chloe Grace Moretz.
Synopsis
Set in rural Montana in the early 1990s, emily m. danforths The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a powerful and widely acclaimed YA coming-of-age novel in the tradition of the classic Annie on My Mind.
Cameron Post feels a mix of guilt and relief when her parents die in a car accident. Their deaths mean they will never learn the truth she eventually comes to—that she's gay. Orphaned, Cameron comes to live with her old-fashioned grandmother and ultraconservative aunt Ruth. There she falls in love with her best friend, a beautiful cowgirl. When shes eventually outed, her aunt sends her to Gods Promise, a religious conversion camp that is supposed to “cure” her homosexuality. At the camp, Cameron comes face to face with the cost of denying her true identity.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a stunning and provocative literary debut that was a finalist for the YALSA Morris Award and was named to numerous “best” lists.
About the Author
emily m. danforth was born and raised in Miles City, Montana. She has an MFA in fiction from the University of Montana and a PhD in creative writing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She lives with her wife in Providence, where she teaches creative writing and literature courses at Rhode Island College and is coeditor of The Cupboard (Literary Pamphlet).