Parents' Guide to

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

By Mary Eisenhart, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Story of young Montana lesbian is best for mature teens.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 13+

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
age 13+

Not as bad as the review says

Honestly, it's sort of ridiculous that Common Sense Media has rated this book as 5/5 for sex, because even though the main character has a sex a few times, it is never explicitly described, usually just skipped over. The Miseducation of Cameron Post is an important lesbian coming of age novel, and I have seen movies with real explicit sex scenes and/or nudity amongst straight people, that were only given 3/5 for sex. Titanic, which has a naked woman and a sex scene is rated 3/5 and 13+, and if the love interest was a girl then maybe it would be 18+ and rated for too much sexual content. Bridesmaids has a noisy, explicit, awkward sex scene with innapropriate statements bouncing mostly naked people. If those people were both men or women, I bet it would be rated much differently then a. 3/5. There is some swearing, self harm, and disturbing themes ( eg conversion therapy), but overall a great read. Maybe more 14+, but I wanted to lower the ridiculously high age limit.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (20):

Cameron's friendship with Jane and Adam is one of the book's best features. Gender issues aside -- and they are, of course, prominent here -- this book will resonate a good deal with readers who appreciate the rewards of finding friends with whom you truly have something in common, especially if you've felt out of place for a long time.

Danforth also allows characters who could be simply villains to be far more nuanced -- as Cameron experiences the ill effects of their behavior, she also understands the motivations, some sincerely good, that are driving it. Telling her tale along the way, she gets a good deal more explicit with regard to sex, drugs, and drinking (from age 12) than parents may be comfortable with younger kids reading, and there's also a lot of foul language. But for mature readers, the book is brilliant.

Book Details

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