by Jessica Verdi, $9.99; Sourcebooks; 342 pages
This gripping YA ( young adult ) novel is a great read for OAs too! ( That's "older adults" in my lexicon. ) Its focus is on gay reparative therapy—or "de-gayifying" as Lexi ( the "I" in The Summer I Wasn't Me ) would call it. Seventeen-year-old Lexi is sent off by her mom to a summer camp to "straighten" herself out.
A side note before I continue: According to an ongoing study by Bowker Market Research ( as reported in Publishers Weekly ), publishers bracket kids 12 to 17 in the YA category. Yet over half the buyers of YA books are over 18. And they aren't just buying these books to give to kids. They're reading them themselves.
Verdi's novel gives credence to this trend. She is an engaging writer and tells a story that will not only win the hearts of almost any gay teen who's wrestled with this kind of pressure, but any teen at all who wants to understand the world of their gay peers. And adults will find the same appeal.
Verdi draws us into a world most of us don't know ( and would—if you're like me—find horrifyingly gripping if we were exposed to such a place ). She does so by introducing us to four gay teens whose lives we desperately want to survive unharmed by the "reparative" influences of the adults who run New Horizons summer camp.
Lexi is a 17-year-old from a small town in South Carolina who is still recovering from her first love ( unrequited and rejected ) for another girl. Matthew ( 16 ) is the rebel, determined to remain true to himself but also make it through the summer so he can reunite with his male lover of two years. Carolyn ( 16 ) often seems caught up in another world and not living in the moment. She catches Lexi's eye, who quickly is smitten. Daniel ( 15 ) truly believes he should be straight once again and is committed to following to the letter the instructions laid down by the camp leaders.
All four of these teens are grouped together to share their experiences and keep each other in line for the summer, on their way to being re-oriented to the hetero world. Or so the camp leaders would like to believe. Each of the kids has a strong need to survive the summer and graduate, although not necessarily back into straight lifestyles.
The camp is led by Mr. Martin, who freely admits he was once one of them. But, having undergone reparation therapy, he now embraces the kingdom of God.
Through a combination of daily exercises, reflection, and adoption of pink clothes for the girls, and blue and tan for the boys, the campers set forth on their journey to remove the sins of same-sex attraction ( SSA ) and rejoin the fold.
From my cursory Web research, it appears Verdi accurately describes what some of these camps can actually be like. Brainwashing, religious fervor, rigorous discipline, and pressure to conform are all woven into the story line here. Verdi apparently believes, according to her publicist's blurb, that "… exposure to honest books about contemporary issues helps teens become compassionate individuals who are able to see past their own world to a brighter future."
I would say she probably accomplishes that for her audience. Her characters are well-drawn and likeable. We grow to wish the four young teens at the center of this story find what they are seeking.
Verdi lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., with her husband and her dog. She received her MFA in Writing for Children from The New School. Her previous novel My Life After Now is about a teenage girl living with HIV.
