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The Miseducation of Cameron Post
by Emily M. Danforth (Goodreads Author)
by Emily M. Danforth (Goodreads Author)
Kelly's review
bookshelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2012
Mar 15, 12
bookshelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2012
Read from January 29 to February 05, 2012
2.5.
There's a lot here I liked and a lot here that didn't work for me. I'm not sure how I feel about Cameron, if I feel anything about her at all, and I have to be honest in saying this is going to be such a difficult novel to sell to teen readers.
It's an accomplished novel, and it's a powerful story about sexual awakening and sexual repression, set against the ideas of rural close-mindedness, grief, and religion. But...I just don't know I ever found the characters all that compelling. Cameron didn't let herself become until the very end. That's not to say she had to, but it's a long book of sex and drugs, and she takes so little away from it.
The ending, though, was fantastic. Might be one of my favorite endings in a long time and almost made up for many of the faults.
Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2012/03/t...
There's a lot here I liked and a lot here that didn't work for me. I'm not sure how I feel about Cameron, if I feel anything about her at all, and I have to be honest in saying this is going to be such a difficult novel to sell to teen readers.
It's an accomplished novel, and it's a powerful story about sexual awakening and sexual repression, set against the ideas of rural close-mindedness, grief, and religion. But...I just don't know I ever found the characters all that compelling. Cameron didn't let herself become until the very end. That's not to say she had to, but it's a long book of sex and drugs, and she takes so little away from it.
The ending, though, was fantastic. Might be one of my favorite endings in a long time and almost made up for many of the faults.
Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2012/03/t...
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Reading Progress
| 01/29/2012 | "Initially hesitant because it's set in the late 80s and early 90s. But...I'm going to be open minded here." | |||
| 01/30/2012 | page 50 |
|
10.0% | "Great voice." |
| 02/01/2012 | page 125 |
|
26.0% | "I'm 125 pages in and feel confident in saying this is too long already. The writing is lovely, and I like Cameron, but it's too much." |
| 02/02/2012 | page 200 |
|
42.0% | "I really want to like this and fall into it but ... I'm not." |
| 02/04/2012 | page 315 |
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66.0% | "I haven't been this conflicted about a book in a long, long time. There are more things I don't like than things I like but, I'm enjoying it at the same time." |
| 02/04/2012 | page 375 |
|
78.0% | "I WILL conquer this book." |
Comments (showing 1-10 of 10) (10 new)
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Beth
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Feb 05, 2012 09:58am
I always tell my students that a great ending that resonates can almost always make up for flaws in the rest of the story/essay. Not that I encourage the rest of the writing to be mediocre, but it is so hard to master a good ending that resonates with readers.
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Beth wrote: "I always tell my students that a great ending that resonates can almost always make up for flaws in the rest of the story/essay. Not that I encourage the rest of the writing to be mediocre, but it ..."This one did the ending spectacularly well. I'm a little torn on it though because it took 450 pages to get to that moment. And it's a big big moment, and one that makes sense in context of the rest of the story. It's what Cameron deserved and earned and worked toward. Except -- with how I felt about Cameron as a character and in her development -- I wanted more of these moments throughout.
I just finished this one this morning. I liked it a lot, but I think my big issue is that it doesn't feel like a teen book. It feels like Literary Fiction (capital letters required!) that happens to feature a teenager. That's a different thing altogether. So, yes, the writing is beautiful, but there's a certain feeling of distance to the narrative that I think is part of what will make it a tough sell to teens.
Beth wrote: "I just finished this one this morning. I liked it a lot, but I think my big issue is that it doesn't feel like a teen book. It feels like Literary Fiction (capital letters required!) that happens t..."That's definitely one of my beefs with it. I have no idea how autobiographical it could be (nor do I usually even consider that in reading a book) but this one FEELS like it could have some basis in reality, especially given the time period, etc. I think it'll be a very hard teen sell, not only on time period but on the social consciousness and stigmas surrounding homosexuality in 1991 vs. 2012.
I had a real mixed relationship with this book. I liked that it was literary, and I liked Cameron, but the underdeveloped secondary characters, the long stretches of time where little happens made me a little frustrated.
I just posted my review, and I mentioned in it the Author's Note at the beginning of the ARC. Based on that, it looks like very little of the book past Part I would be autobiographical. But it's been less than 10 years since Zach Stark told the Internet about his experience at Refuge, and there are certainly plenty of gay teens still getting the message that God Wants You To Be Straight. I think setting the novel closer to the present day would make it easier to relate to without making it any less realistic.
Beth wrote: "I just posted my review, and I mentioned in it the Author's Note at the beginning of the ARC. Based on that, it looks like very little of the book past Part I would be autobiographical. But it's be..."I have to say, the story really picked up for me whe Cameron was at the school. And I think you're spot on in the fact gay teens will relate to that, the struggle of what the church/religion says you must be and what you really feel like you are inside. I think this book has great crossover potential in the adult fiction category, too.
I'm reading this one right now and I agree with you guys - it doesn't feel like YA... There's a distance between the reader and the protagonist that's not usually found in YA and I think with it being set in the 80s and 90s, adult readers are more likely to resonate with it. It's reminding me of SHE'S COME UNDONE or something like that.
Abby wrote: "I'm reading this one right now and I agree with you guys - it doesn't feel like YA... There's a distance between the reader and the protagonist that's not usually found in YA and I think with it be..."You know...that is a GREAT comparison book.
Kelly wrote: "Abby wrote: "I'm reading this one right now and I agree with you guys - it doesn't feel like YA... There's a distance between the reader and the protagonist that's not usually found in YA and I thi..."It just feels to me more like an adult novel with crossover potential.
