The Miseducation of Cameron Po

The acclaimed book behind the 2018 Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning movie

"LGBTQ cinema is out in force at Sundance Film Festival," proclaimed USA Today. "The acerbic coming-of-age movie is adapted from Emily M. Danforth's novel, and stars Chloë Grace Moretz as a lesbian teen who is sent to a gay conversion therapy center after she gets caught having sex with her friend on prom night."

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a stunning and provocative literary debut that was named to numerous best of the year lists.

When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they’ll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.

But that relief doesn’t last, and Cam is forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone, and Cam becomes an expert at both.

Then Coley Talor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship, one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, 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.

Don't miss this raw and powerful own voices debut, the basis for the award-winning film starring Chloë Grace Moretz.

• Forced Coming Out: After Cam’s parents die, her secret is the first thing on her mind. Soon, it’s a secret she can no longer keep from her conservative new guardians.
• An Unforgettable First Love: From a secret kiss in a hayloft with her best friend Irene to an intense, complicated friendship with the beautiful Coley Taylor, Cam’s journey explores the power and pain of first love.
• Gay Conversion Therapy: When Cam’s aunt discovers her secret, she is sent to God’s Promise, a religious center determined to “cure” her of her same-sex attraction.
• Small Town Setting: Miles City, Montana, is a world of blending in and leaving well enough alone—a conservative backdrop that makes Cam’s search for self all the more perilous.
• Grief and Identity: Cameron’s first thought after her parents’ death is relief that her secret is safe. This heartbreaking novel masterfully explores the complex intersection of grief, guilt, and self-discovery.

emily m. danforth is the author of the highly acclaimed young adult novel The Miseducation of Cameron Post. She has an MFA in fiction from the University of Montana and a PhD in English from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She lives with her wife and two terrible dogs in Rhode Island. Plain Bad Heroines is her first adult novel.