Flamer Hardcover – September 1, 2020

Mike Curato has done a remarkable thing—the same remarkable thing that all LGBTQ+ people eventually learn to do in order to survive, to understand, and—ultimately—to love themselves. He has told his story.The truly remarkable aspect of Mike Curato’s story, however, is its ability to communicate, in simple yet powerful images and words, the confusion and the terror of acknowledging and grappling with the Gordian knot of identity that all adolescents must confront. Simultaneously trying to make sense of his growing attraction to his best friend from camp, Elias; his complicated relationship with his parents; his devotion to his faith; his multiethnic heritage—which is but one target of the bullying he endured in middle school and at camp, and which he fears awaits him in high school; and the shame he feels for not having an “athletic” body, Aidan Navarro (the fictional protagonist of this graphic novel) represents the ordeal that just about every LGBTQ kid goes through, often in silence and not always triumphantly.Curato’s novel spoke to me in a voice I recognized all too well. But that voice was also tinged with hope. All young adult readers (and many adult readers) will learn much from reading this text, whether it serves for them as a mirror that reflects their own experiences, as a window that helps them see what life is like for others, or as a doorway that allows them to enter a new world of understanding and empathy.

I bought this book when I saw a news report that someone was wanting to ban it from a library. I try to buy everything that I see that is being protested. This one fits the regular bill - gay themes, discussion of masturbation, non-white protagonist, struggles with puberty. And of course, acceptance by Our Hero that he is a special guy and there is nothing wrong with him. It's also illustrated, so the young target audience will find it easy to read. Many of the illustrations are not much more than sketches, but some - especially the canoe on the lake - are beautifully rendered.Thank you to the nittering nabobs who put this on their "ban" list. I would have never have found this one on my own.

Anyone else notice that almost none of the people giving this book 1 star are shown as "verified purchase?" Meaning THEY DIDN'T READ IT?? This book is honest, real and heartbreaking. SO many young people will relate to it. I bought this when eight people in my town (of 27,000 people) tried to ban it. There is NOTHING sexually inappropriate in this book (as the committee of professional educators and librarians hired by our town's BOE could tell you). Your kids have seen more graphic content in a "straight" context. If you are some pearl-clutcher trying to raise your dainty little kids in a bubble, fine. Tell THEM they can't read it (they will anyway) but don't tell anyone else's kids not to.

I read Flamer because it’s a banned book in Florida. I wanted to know what the hype was about. Aiden Navarro is a teen boy, raised and involved in the Catholic Church, away at Boy Scout camp, the summer before high school. Aiden is dealing with parents who fight a lot, bullies everywhere he turns (for being chubby, having a soft voice, not being manly enough, not being white enough), and strange new feelings he’s not sure how to navigate. If people knew he wasn’t normal, they wouldn’t love him. He shares a tent with a boy he can’t stop thinking about, while worrying about what would happen if people knew.So why is this book banned in Florida school libraries? It’s called pornographic, teaching kids how to be lgbtq. And dangerous for it’s suicidal ideation. Is that the truth?This book contains many scenes of exactly what it was like to be a teenager in the 90s.Rampant fear of homosexuality and AIDS.Ready access to pornography.Straight teenage boys talking non stop about their junk.Going through puberty and discovering Masturbation.Thoughts of suicide (it was the era of grunge).I think this book tries to provide a relatable story to kids that these feelings are normal and that if you stay strong, you will find a tribe of people willing to accept you. I think it would have done a better job of it if the author had provided a glimpse, maybe through an epilogue, of high school life that didn’t suck, or an epilogue showing where Aiden is an adult living his best life. It’s awful dark without showing that this time period as a teenager gets better as you age.I do think this is a book that raises thoughts and feelings and glimpses of suicidal ideation without doing a better job at telling the reader how to manage them. The issue with this book, for me, isn’t the closeted gay kid fearing his thoughts and emotions. It’s the suicidal thoughts with an image depicting how he’d do it. There is a page at the end with resources to suicide hotlines. Does a kid read past the acknowledgment section? I can see why groups think this book is dangerous. Words matter. And a lack of words matter. Should it be banned? No. I firmly believe no book should be banned. Parents should be involved in what their kids are reading and talking with them about it.

The book explores experiences that many have felt growing up. Reading it as an adult will definitely rekindle feelings of acceptance and memories. I can’t believe a book this important is on so many banned lists.

Words can't describe how amazing this book is. Everyone needs to read it. It's a lesson in empathy and the truth about the toughness of being an adolescent.

A beautiful heartfelt story that made me cry… for Aidan but also for my own young self. That some MAGA Christo-fascist types have tried to ban this book or restrict access to younger teenagers tells you everything you need to know about them.There no absolutely no obscenity or pornography in this book. Unless you count some young guys making fun of gay people by pushing a Frankfurt into a hot dog bun. You'd really have to have an obscene mind to find anything obscene or in any way unsuitable for younger teens in this book.

Loved the powerful story, the drawings and use of flames and orangish color in the art. Highly recommend it!