Product Description

16-year-old Taylor Adams comes out of the closet to his parents and gets sent to Straight To God, an institution devoted to ""deprogramming"" troubled teenagers and ridding them of their vices - whether it's drugs, violence, or, in Taylor's case, other boys. Taylor has no problem with being gay, though, and he has already reconciled his love for God with his love for his boyfriend Will. The camp is like a prison where piety acts as a mask for cruelty and the greatest crimes go unpunished, and in its confines Taylor will learn about love, courage, rebellion and betrayal.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #181491 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Customer Reviews

Excellent book
I've recently finished Robin Reardon's "Thinking Straight," a book which falls under the Young Adult category, though I would recommend it only for teens in the upper age range, due to strong language and sexual situations.

The story is told from the viewpoint of Taylor, a teen who is sent to an institution to be "de-gayed" after he comes out to his parents. I was particularly interested in this story, because I've heard some truly horrendous reports detailing the methods used by these "ex-gay" ministries, and was curious as to how such a programme would be depicted in a work of fiction.

The daily routine of the programme which Taylor is forced to join sounds very much like what I've seen and read about these groups in the past, so it seems that the author really did do her research. The storyline was quite interesting, and it really did make me think about the many viewpoints out there (both religious and secular) which deal with what it means to be gay. There are a lot of shades of grey in this book; the situations discussed are not broadly drawn in black and white. In fact, in the end I did not completely agree with everything the author had to say about faith and homosexuality, but I did feel like I had learned a lot. And I had grown to care about the characters quite a bit as I read.

If there is a drawback to this book, it occurs in the last few chapters, in which the storyline veers wildly into melodrama. Now, what takes place certainly is within the realm of possibility---and surely does make for exciting reading! However, the book up to that point was very realistic and low-key in tone, so the sudden shift was a bit disconcerting. Also, I would say that one aspect of the plot, at the very end, seemed to me to be rather unlikely; however, I can't go into that without providing major spoilers. Still, overall I would classify these as minor problems that did not greatly decrease my overall opinion of the book as a whole.

I liked this one, and highly recommend it with certain qualifications. Those being, the reader should be aware that the book contains a few rather frank scenes with sexual content. And, the reader should probably have a natural interest in theology; a LOT of this book is all about theology! (I found all the discussions on the topic to be extremely interesting, but I realise that some people may have the exact opposite reaction.) The book certainly did draw me in, completely, on an emotional level; these people seemed completely real to me.

Not as good as Secret Edge
I bought this after reading Robin Reardon's first novel, A Secret Edge. This is a harder read, and not nearly as good. It takes a long time to get going, and only really gets exciting at the end. It's also a bit preachy....The setting of the book - a religious group, Straight to God, who 'straighten' people out - gets a bit boring.

I was going to give up on this book, but, although it was hard work at times, it did get better. But not a classic. Here's hoping Reardon's 3rd novel is more like the first!

Perhaps a different target audience?
There could be a fair - I believe a correct - alternative audience for this remarkable work. Not the adolescent aware of his/her developing sexuality, but rather the adolescent's parents. For the adolescent (male or female), A Secret Edge is probably a better choice for a first reading. The target of the book is the 'ex-gay' movement, which proposes that it can convert the sexuality of young people in particular (but not only the young.) The siting of the work may appear exaggerated - what amounts to a virtual prison camp. Such places, however, and such mind-bending tactics, do certainly exist, and have long existed under different names. The real difficulty with the teller of the story is social. His parents insist, a deadly mistake, on their 'right' to grandchildren. There is, of course, no such right. Despite this, they engineer meetings with presentable potential future wives for their son, who in fact is conducting a same-sex affair. Failure to arrange a daughter-in-law results in the referral of their son to a 'normality' camp, based on extreme evangelism. This turns out before long to be a hotbed of cruelty and hypocrisy, producing misery and self-righteousness rather than sanctity. Eventually, only after too long a miserable time, the truth, one of pretence and double-talk, comes to light. As said, this would be a better work for troubled parents, worried over the failure of their children to form regular attachments. There is something in this which recalls American Beauty, but without the film's humour. Secret Edge, or perhaps The God Box, would be a better choice for the young person him/herself. Both would equally suit lesbian young women.