The thought gives me pause, but I quickly shake it off. We're at a de-gayifying camp, for crying out loud. I'm still here for a reason. And so is she. 
 Lexi's life has never been the same since the whole Zoe incident -- the time that she revealed to her best friend that she had feelings for her that extended beyond the realm of a regular female friendship. Zoe, horrified, broke all ties with Lexi -- and Lexi's mother sent her off to New Horizons, a religious camp that boasts its ability to cure homosexual teenagers from the illness of SSA (same sex attraction). 
 But, when Lexi arrives at New Horizons, she discovers that the camp uses unique and somewhat inhumane methods to release the teens from SSA -- including devastating and embarrassing role plays and very public exorcisms that take weeks to recover from the cuts and bruises. And Lexi immediately realizes that she has an extremely deep and emotional connection to Carolyn, a fellow camper whose secret burdens leave her completely unable to return Lexi's affection. 
 Abandoned by her best friend, disregarded by her family, and isolated from the new love interest, Lexi must search deep within herself and reevaluate her assumptions and expectations at New Horizon. Can she finish this summer without losing herself? 
 I really enjoyed the way that the author set out to tackle difficult social themes in THE SUMMER I WASN'T ME, giving a thoughtful twist to the typical teenage coming of age story. Each of the teenagers in the camp had a unique and personal reason for attending camp, and it was interesting to see the characters evolve as they worked through old struggles and new hurdles against the backdrop of a degayification camp. 
 The only thing that was a teeny bit disappointing was the way that every negative stereotype and horrific expectation seemed to conjoin at New Horizons. I was just waiting for that scene between Mr. Martin and Matthew, since the terrifying details of the camp pointed to one very obvious downfall. However, I did appreciate the way that Lexi reacted to the nightmare, especially at the end of the novel when she was finally learning to embrace her new identity. 
 Overall, THE SUMMER I WASN'T ME was an intriguing story of teenage growth and acceptance, and I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone looking for a hard-hitting social issue type of YA story.