Emily Danforth Knihy

Set in rural Montana in the early 1990s, emily m. danforth’s The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a powerful and widely acclaimed YA coming-of-age novel in the tradition of the classic Annie on My Mind. Cameron Post feels a mix of guilt and relief when her parents die in a car accident. Their deaths mean they will never learn the truth she eventually comes to—that she's gay. Orphaned, Cameron comes to live with her old-fashioned grandmother and ultraconservative aunt Ruth. There she falls in love with her best friend, a beautiful cowgirl. When she’s eventually outed, her aunt sends her to God’s Promise, a religious conversion camp that is supposed to “cure” her homosexuality. At the camp, Cameron comes face to face with the cost of denying her true identity. The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a stunning and provocative literary debut that was a finalist for the YALSA Morris Award and was named to numerous “best” lists.

? Rich with detail and emotion, a sophisticated read for teens and adults alike. Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Full of Victorian sapphic romance, metafictional horror, biting misandrist humor, Hollywood intrigue, and multiple timelines, this tale is a wickedly whimsical celebration of storytelling, sapphic love, and the rebellious female spirit. Set in 1902 at The Brookhants School for Girls, it follows Flo and Clara, two students infatuated with each other and daring writer Mary MacLane. To honor Mary, they form The Plain Bad Heroine Society, meeting secretly in an apple orchard, where their happiness turns macabre as they meet tragic fates alongside a copy of Mary’s memoir, victims of a swarm of yellow jackets. The school closes shortly after, haunted by three more mysterious deaths on its grounds. Over a century later, the abandoned Brookhants resurfaces in the spotlight when writer Merritt Emmons releases a book celebrating its queer, feminist history, inspiring a controversial horror film adaptation. The film stars celebrity Harper Harper as Flo and B-list actress Audrey Wells as Clara. As filming begins, the past and present intertwine, blurring the lines between the curse and Hollywood's exploitation. This story within a story features black-and-white illustrations and combines the ghostly sensibility of Sarah Waters with the dark imagination of Marisha Pessl, resulting in a spellbinding, humorous, and richly layered read.