You can also read this review on my blog 
 In short: The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth wasn't an easy read, but it was a worthwhile one and I feel enriched for having read it. 
 I will admit that the proportion of books I read that have LGBT protagonists is not super high. Not equivalent to the proportion of LGBT people in the population anyway. But it occurred to me as I was looking through the LGBT books I had read that the vast majority of them were G with the occasional B thrown in; none of them were L or T. Not exactly representative. (This is actually a pattern I've noticed among the book blogging community at large, not just myself. Why this is the case is perhaps a topic for another time though). Anyways, this is an easy fix. 
 Enter The Miseducation of Cameron Post. Set in the early 90's in Montana, it's not exactly the most open-minded time and place in which to be a young girl questioning her sexuality. To be a fly on the wall in Cameron's life from age 12 to 17 while she deals with discrimination from those around her and self-hatred from herself is not an easy thing to experience, but it is worthwhile. I like that Emily M. Danforth refrains from getting preachy in her novel. The focus is on Cameron and her personal growth, not on pushing a particular agenda. 
 The strength of The Miseducation of Cameron Post lies in the nuanced characterization. There's a lot to show in a book detailing a character's life from 12 to 17 years of age and I was pleasantly surprised with how Emily M. Danforth handled it as it would have been easy to gloss over character-building scenes. People who prefer plot-driven novels may find certain scenes pointless, but to me every scene truly felt like it was contributing to the character development. These characters were probably the most authentic of any LGBT-oriented novel I've read. 
 The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a truly realistic portrayal of growing up gay in the early 90's that I would recommend to upper-YA age readers, especially those who enjoy character-driven novels. Cam's story isn't an easy one to process, but it is an important one and I feel enriched for having read it. If anyone has any recommendations for other great L- or T-specific books (or any other letter in the sex or gender spectrum), then I'd love to hear them! (No hate is meant towards all the great gay male fiction out there! I would just like to diversify my reading a bit more).