REVIEW for The Summer I Wasn't Me

Thank you to Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book.

TITLE:               The Summer I wasn't Me

AUTHOR:          Jessica Verdi

GENRE:             YA

RATING:       

I was lucky enough to get this book through Net Galley.  

I love reading books that focus on social issues and this one definitely fit the bill.  Lexis voluntarily heads to a christian summer camp in order to have her "gayness" removed from her.

My very first thought as I read this synopsis was "do they actually still do that?" followed immediately by "they can't think this will work right?".  I believe that the strength in this story is just that - it makes you ask some hard questions.  Yes, this is a work of fiction, but it is so deftly written that you could actually feel as though you are reading someone's memoirs.

I thoroughly fell in love with Lexis.  She was in a tough spot and tried to do all she could to "save" her mother, while, in the process, killing her own soul.

This book was written with compassion and did a wonderful job of showing just how much of a struggle people with gender issues go through.

I also thought it interesting that the author chose to write very different characters, with very different points of view of their own sexuality - but they were all there for their own reasons - which singled out in a word "survival".

The book was compelling to me and I would have given it a 5 star review if not for an event that happens about 3/4 of the way through which kind of made me stop and think "wow, that was so not necessary".  I also thought that this particular event was also wayyyyyy over the top and did not really add to the book.

Overall though this was a wonderful read.