The Summer I Wasn't Me

Gr 9 Up—Lexi Hamilton feels her homosexuality is too much of a burden on her recently widowed mother, so she agrees to go away for the summer. At Camp Horizon, a Christian "un-gaying" institution on the East Coast, each teen reveals his or her past trauma in group therapy sessions led by the evil Jeremiah Martin. What keeps campers cooperating is that, like Lexi, the reality they've gotten away from seems much worse. Only Matthew, in love with Justin at home, remains aloof, until Mr. Martin selects him for his personal brand of mistreatment, and a rebellion ensues. Kids' doubts and misgivings about both identity and religious beliefs get a good airing here, and two books familiar to high school readers—The Great Gatsby and the "Harry Potter" series—provide an interesting backdrop for these discussions. The trouble with The Summer I Wasn't Me is that since Lexi is likable from the start, we know she isn't going to change; good for her, but tough on readers, who must endure a contrived and drawn-out ending that attempts to convert this too-long novel into a page-turner.—Georgia Christgau, Middle College High School, Long Island City, NY