This book had such fantastic characters, and I'm glad so many of you enjoyed it, too! Tomorrow, I'll make the post to vote for your favorite book of July. I have truly enjoyed leading these discussions for the 4th year, and thanks to all of you who make #CampLitsy25 so wonderful and enlightening!
I'll pass the mic to @barbarabb for August, which starts with Tilt by Emma Pattee next weekend. Hope to see you there! @squirrelbrain
AmyG I believe these two accepted Abigail for who she was. They also fought the good fight. Megan was her first girlfriend. They, hopefully, will be friends forever. And kudos for Helen for fighting for what she believed in when she had no chance to win at all. That is not easy. My husband ran in local politics in a county where he didn‘t stand a chance….and lost. What a thankless thing to do and yet we always need to fight for what we believe in. 3w
Hooked_on_books I think they‘re both great allies. They‘re both open-minded and willing to listen when Abigail or Erica mess up or are perceived as doing something problematic. I thought they rounded out the cast of characters nicely. It‘s always good to see friendships on the page. 3w
Chelsea.Poole Helen and Megan were great examples of allies. I agree @Hooked_on_books —it was nice to have them there! @AmyG thanks to you and your husband! Local politics can be incredibly tough! 3w
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BarbaraBB Once again I agree! Megan and Helen serve as great cisgender allies, offering stability, compassion, and consistency. Their allyship isn‘t performative or perfect, and I loved that. It‘s deeply rooted in care and I have high hopes for their future! 3w
willaful @BarbaraBB Again, I agree. I think Abigail really needed to get to know people whose offered true friendship and allyship, so she could accept frindship and help. 3w
Ruthiella I particularly loved Megan. How she showed Alison what friendship is and can be. 3w
Bookwormjillk The characters in this book truly were superb. I particularly loved Megan. I liked that Helen made an assumption about Erica and was able to pivot when she learned what was really going on. I also was glad that she was able to take some of the role of being Erica‘s best friend off Abigail since I still feel like it didn‘t belong there. Just a really great book overall. Anyone could have been the main character and I would have enjoyed the story. 3w
Bookwormjillk PS waaahhhhh I don‘t want camp to be almost over ***stamps foot*** 3w
BarbaraBB @Ruthiella Me too, she felt so real! Such a struggling adolescent herself too. 3w
BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk Neither do I! We‘ve been reading the best of books and all you clever readers add so much to the experience for me (edited) 3w
Susanita I liked both of them as friends. They were supportive as much as they could be but also called them out when they were being jerks. I‘m also glad Erica found a friend in Helen so that she could stop relying on Abigail as much when she was clearly going through her own stuff. 3w
CarolynM They were both really strong secondary characters and added a lot to the story. I can certainly see them as long term friends and life long LGBTQ+ allies. Off topic but I need to mention this - was anyone else appalled when the principal tells Megan “voting is a privilege not a right”? If this is really how voting is perceived in the USA it explains a lot. 3w
Lesliereadsalot I was so happy to have these characters along for the ride, open and honest and dealing with everything that came their way. Which was a lot! Big thanks to #CampLitsy25 for opening my eyes to such diverse books this summer. 3w
Meshell1313 @BarbaraBB exactly!!! They, like me the reader, learned a lot! 3w
mcctrish I love love love how these independent, unique women came together & found friendship and support. It was a bit heartbreaking to see Constance leave but she was pushed and I applaud her for taking the chance after watching Erica, Helen, Megan and Abigail have courage. One true friend can save you and they all found one. Camp is making summer seem like it‘s flying @Bookwormjillk 😱😭 as I inhale my sections and wait, tapping my foot, for Saturday 3w
squirrelbrain I agree @Hooked_on_books - it‘s always great to read about successful friendships just as much as ‘romantic‘ relationships. 3w
squirrelbrain @CarolynM. Of course, it served the principal to say that because he was on the ‘right‘ side of politics in his red town so I‘m sure that‘s how many people must perceive the right to vote in the US 3w
squirrelbrain @Bookwormjillk - #wintercamp anyone?! 3w
squirrelbrain Yes, I agree @Ruthiella @BarbaraBB - Megan wasn‘t perfect (and neither should she have been) so it was great to see a ‘normal‘ teenage friendship between her and Abigail. 3w
Megabooks @CarolynM I think there are a lot of people in the US (especially folks who fear looking forward for solutions) that would like to solidify their hold by taking away the rights of others - that includes voting. There was a bill that was going around this winter that would've made it difficult for women who changed to a married name to be able to register to vote. There are also people tossing around “headship voting“ where (con't) 3w
Megabooks @carolynM a man would have control of the vote of his wife and each of his children (until they turn 18), so a married man with four children would have six votes to my one as a single woman. It's atrocious! 3w
Megabooks I loved how St. James lays out a map for these women continuing their friendships in college and being adult roommates. Megan standing up in a conservative school environment for all of these other characters especially impressed me. She was quite a fearless teenager in her defense of Abigail, Erica, and Helen. I hope real teens like her never lose their spark. We need them. 3w
CBee Loved them both. I almost wanted Erica and Helen to end up together! Megan was my fave of the two. She never gave up on Abigail. 3w
BkClubCare @Bookwormjillk 😁😂🤗 3w
Deblovestoread Everything felt so authentic to me as the friendships grew. I‘m so glad that Abigail and Erica were able to build friend relationships with Helen and Megan something they both really needed. 3w
BkClubCare @Megabooks - whoa, I had NOT heard of that headship idea! and yes, voting 🗳️ in the US is confusing and debated for who is worthy. And they (powers that be) prefer apathy and decreased access so they can stay in power. 3w
BkClubCare @CarolynM - I had to look that up, too. But yes, there are many blocks put up to make it difficult to vote; just making it confusing, bothersome, and “what‘s the point?” - it is infuriating to me. 3w
BkClubCare I loved all the characters and appreciated that many were messy and good-hearted. The author did an excellent job with all the major and minor characters. Plus the humor! This is one of my favorite books this year. 3w
Roary47 I think the realness of all the characters in this book were great. They made mistakes like all humans do. Thank you for this discussion. I learned a lot through the book and discussion. 🥰 3w
Butterfinger I'll be up for #winter camp @squirrelbrain @Bookwormjillk Everyone needs a friend like Megan. She didn't let Abigail get by with stuff, but she was right there when needed. 3w
Megabooks @BkClubCare Yeah, Vance has talked about it publicly. Just a crazy idea but a huge win for the quiverfuls if they can swing it. Someone like Jim Bob Duggar would have over 20 votes! 😱 3w
BkClubCare @Megabooks - shaking my head. 3w
ChaoticMissAdventures I think that we all need a Helen and Megan in our lives, these White Women who are more privileged and who will go hard for you. They are usually really dedicated, even if they can be a bit overwhelming, like with see between Megan and Abigail. I agree with everyone here, the relationships felt very authentic and I really enjoyed all of the characters, even the ones I think were terrible people St James really knows how to put a cast together. 3w
Christine @squirrelbrain Yes please!! ❄️⛺️ 3w
Christine @Megabooks 😱 is right re: Jim Bob having all those votes!! (And have you started watching Season 2 of Shiny Happy People?) 3w
Megabooks @Christine I saw it was available last week, but I haven't watched it yet! 3w
Zuhkeeyah The friendships were fantastic. I really appreciated Erica and Helen‘s since it took courage and understanding from both sides to get them over the initial misunderstanding. Megan and Abigail‘s friendship helped them both grow out of their comfort zones. Yes, I think Megan initially gravitated towards Abigail because she was trans, but something much more honest was built by the end. I hope all of them remain in contact. 3w
Bookwormjillk @squirrelbrain I would love a #wintercamp ❤️ 3w
DGRachel As someone who almost never reads LitFic outside of Camp, I can‘t believe I‘m going to say this, but the books this summer have been 🤯 and I would totally be game for #wintercamp @squirrelbrain 3w
DGRachel Also, I know I‘m late to commenting, but I just finished this, and I think what I loved most was the characters - not only how real they felt, as complex, individual human beings, but also in relationship to each other as friends, family-figures, lovers, allies, etc. These are all women I would love to have in my life, in all their messy complexities. 3w
Christine @Megabooks It‘s wild. I‘m just glad that I didn‘t know about Teen Mania as a kid (and that my parents wouldn‘t have been able to afford it anyway!). 3w
JamieArc I loved these characters too. They weren‘t perfect, but they were real humans doing their best and showing up in an honest and caring way. Yes for #wintercamp ! While there may be a couple I don‘t love, many of them end up being home run picks for me, and this month‘s books will probably end up on my favorite of 2025 list 3w
JamieArc @christine If we are talking about the same thing, I attended a big teen conference put on by Teen Mania. It set my life in a trajectory that I‘m now recovering from 🤮 3w
JamieArc @christine I just looked it up and it is! I can‘t wait to watch the next season of Shiny Happy People (and probably be pretty triggered, lol) 3w
Christine @JamieArc OMG really? Ugh, I‘m so sorry you went through that. I‘m sure we are talking about the same thing. Did you watch Season 1 of Shiny Happy People on Prime? Well now there‘s a Season 2 and it‘s about Teen Mania. Really rough watch but also really well-produced. 3w
Christine @JamieArc Okay I just saw your second comment! Yes if you can handle Season 2 I think you may find a lot of value in it. (I‘m Exvangelical myself but escaped Teen Mania, at least. Again, I‘m really sorry about how you were harmed. 🩷) 3w
GatheringBooks Loved reading all the thoughts here. I think my only peeve about the book was the seeming lack of intersectionality. But it didn‘t really matter in the end as the tale served its purpose: plus, better to have it this way than have tokenistic representations that do not ring true or seem authentic at all. 3w
GatheringBooks I‘m all for a #WinterCamp, too. Let‘s do it! 3w
CarolynM @Megabooks Absolutely disgusting 🤬 Every adult in a true democracy has a right to a vote of equal value. And I would argue they have a duty to exercise it. (edited) 3w
Suet624 Not much to add to these great comments. I appreciated these characters and the book. Without this Camp I‘d never had even heard of the book. So many thank you‘s to all of you. 3w
Kitta @squirrelbrain omg yes to a #wintercamp!! 3w
Kitta @Megabooks headship voting sounds insane 😳 3w
DebinHawaii I‘m behind & just finished the book yesterday & I‘m not doing a good job contributing to the discussions at all 😬 but I appreciate reading everyone‘s thoughts as they really enrich the books for me. I loved both Megan & Helen & their allyship for Abigail & Erica. The friendships were such a strong part of this wonderful book & I liked that no one was perfect & they made missteps along the way. 3w
Maggie4483 I agree with everything here. Of all the relationships formed (or changed) throughout the course of this story, those of Abigail/Megan and Erica/Helen will be the deepest and most enduring. I don‘t see any chance of them ever moving past platonic, which is good. There is nothing better as a woman than a really, really great best friend. I recently reconnected with mine after 10+ years, and it‘s like no time has passed at all. 3w
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