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Summary and Reviews of The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

by Emily M. Danforth
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  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • First Published:
  • Feb 7, 2012, 480 pages
  • Paperback:
  • May 2013, 480 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

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.

When Cameron Post's parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief she'll never have to tell them that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.

But that relief soon turns to heartbreak, as Cam is forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and not making waves, and Cam becomes an expert at this - especially at avoiding any questions about her sexuality.

Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. To Cam's surprise, she and Coley become best friends - while Cam secretly dreams of something more. Just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, her secret is exposed. Ultra-religious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to "fix" her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self - even if she's not quite 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.

Ages 14+

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Reviews

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Cameron spends the entirety of the novel making connections; walking slowly forward and then looping back to weave bits of her history with her present and, ultimately, with her future. This spiraling movement is an engaging and compelling process; one most definitely worth participating in. I highly recommend this book to both YA and adult readers alike...continued

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(Reviewed by Tamara Ellis Smith).

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Beyond the Book



Conversion Therapy

Two thirds of the way through The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Cam's aunt sends her away to God's Promise: a Christian School and Center for Healing. Its mission is to help "adolescents yearning to break free from the bonds of sexual sin and confusion by welcoming Jesus Christ into their lives." How does God's Promise achieve what it purports to do? Through a kind of therapy called "conversion therapy."

Conversion therapy (also known as reparative therapy) is a formal attempt to change a gay person's sexual orientation, from homosexuality to heterosexuality. The conversion methods can include one-on-one counseling, group counseling, prayer, exorcisms, and gender modeling activities to name a few. (It is crucial to note that there is no...

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Read-Alikes

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