This book is a quick read, but I really didn’t like it. It’s about a boy named Adam who gets sent to a Christian camp by his parents after he comes out. It’s really stereotypical and the characters are really bad. There’s rampant homophobia, racism and slut shaming throughout the whole book. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Not for me I am sorry to say, a book that I started but did not finish as found it uncomfortable reading.

I can't believe it took me so long to read and review. This is a solid book for those who are wanting to learn more about the LGBTQ community. Sort of overdone with the parents but at the same time this may be some peoples reality, having to be sent away to a Christian conversion camp.

The premise held a lot of promise. It could have gone a little longer if only to develop some of the characters.

One of the antagonists doesn't get a moment of redemption or a closeout to their story. He was a young character that was seemingly misguided. There was no explanation or backstory to the behavior. No moment to close out the tension. It all seemed a bit haphazard.

It was a nice and sweet story, but I would not call it spectacular. I really liked how the author managed to develop Adam and his relationship.

Nice little romance story, sadly the writing style itself was not very well done in my option and to make this book actually worth reading and recommending it would have to be made a lot more readable!

Upon finding out their son is gay, Adam's parents ship him off to a Christian camp and warn him they won't tolerate having a gay son. But while there, he falls for Paul and both teens must reconcile their faith with love in order to find happiness.

First off I gotta say, I'm Pagan and even I wish there were nicer Christians in this. From the parents to Randall, they're almost cartoonishly evil. Boys can't go shopping together? That means they're gay? How do you get clothes then?

Anyway, this is a quick story; which makes sense considering it takes place over a short period of time. It has the innocence and charm of a summer camp story without it feeling too much like a typical coming of age plot. I empathize with Paul's struggle and it's portrayed in a realistic way that doesn't overstay it's welcome. Despite being brief, the story does feel complete instead of rushed like some short stories can be. I can see a teen reading this and liking it and for me, it's a nice change from the quickie smut. 3 out of 5.

Resolvi ler este livro porque achei a capa fofinha e queria um livro LGBT no momento. Gostei da premissa, mas confesso que acho que ela poderia ter sido melhor trabalhada pois o plot adolescente gay enrustido que é mandado pra "retiros" religiosos é bem batido.

Adam vai para um acampamento cristão tentando fugir da sua propria sexualidade porque os pais sao homofobicos e la encontra um cara por quem se sente terrivelmente atraído. Achei que tinha potencial pra se tornar uma historia muito boa porque tambem toca em um assunto tabu, que é o suicidio, que eu achei que foi mal explorado, alem do fato de que Adam é chato e altamente previsivel.

Mas o autor tem uma escrita gostosinha e a leitura flui de forma ok. Talvez eu nao comprasse o livro fisico caso tivesse oportunidade, mas nao foi tempo perdido nao.

DNFed about 20% in because I wasn't enjoying the read

2.7 stars!

***I received a free copy from the Publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.***

Adam is a believing-in-God, Reading-the-Bible, fearing-of-hell, Christian teenage boy... who feels attracted to boys.

"I’m gay. (...) I’ve tried to change, I swear. But I can’t."

When his parents find out, their reaction isn't the best!

It's like Adam has turned into this sinful, blasphamic, horrifing thing that will lead them all to hell!

So, the only possible way of dealing with such horrible ocorrence is shipping him off to Camp Revelation: what teens at church call “Juvie for Christians.” There, Adam is to seek God's light and look for salvation.

Adam knows he's gay, he knows what his feelings are... He even has a gay friend, Mike, who has accepted who he is.

But, Adam's faith is wavering... and he doesn't want to be hated by God. So he prays to God for a sign and he goes to the Camp.

For 4 weeks, Adam will stay in this Camp. There he will get to know 3 boys - Randall, Martin and Paul - and 1 girl, Rhonda; all of them with their own issues and religious doubts .

Will Adam survive 4 weeks in this Camp, where all they tell him is how wrong and sinful his feelings are?!

And what happens when Adam starts having feelings for one of his roommates?! Can he ever be reciprocated?!

Read the book to find out...

********************************
I Didn't enjoy this book much.

The characters in this book are extremely judgemental! ....In this book there's Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Slut-shaming, Hypocrisy, Negligence...

It was disturbing and depressing to read some parts of this book.... I felt extremely sorry for the teens stuck in this Christian Camp!!! They were taught all their lifes that they had to be perfect and if they commited any of the things their church considered sins, they'd be going to hell. Like Adam says:

"...our church tries to fit you into a certain mould, and if you deviate from it they crush your spirit."

And the counsellers and the man in charge of the Camp were cinical, hypocrites, uncaring and horrible... one of the teens in the Camp had a very serious issue that was not taken seriously! Just prayed upon... and that was horrible.

So, this book potraits a very ugly picture of Christianism... and God forbid every Christian to be like that!

Now, about the ending... it was a well put ending, but I didn't like that we were never sure of what end one of Adam's roommates had.

I am glad that, at least, Adam, eventually found a way to get away from it all... too bad not all others were that lucky!

(I wanted to take all of those teenagers away from that Camp! It pains me to believe they will all turn into future Bishops and Randalls).

So, there isn't much Acceptance and Support in this book... and that's why I wouldn't really recommend it.

And I cringe to think that this book was written in 2017...I really do hope that very few people think like this nowadays, since this book has some horrible ideals that seem to be from 50 years ago.

(See Full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2057071944)

I really loved this book! I found it to be both heart wrenching and heartwarming at the same time. Adolescence is such a difficult time for most teenagers. Donuts and insecurities abound. Add to that realizing you’re gay and on top of it, being told by the most important people in your life that you’re wrong and sinful simply by being who God created you to be. It’s almost too much to take, and unfortunately for some teens, it is too much to take. This was a touching story told in the point of view of one such struggling teen. As he wrestles with what he feels is right versus what he’s being told is right, he makes friends with other teens going through much the same thing, and experiences his first crush and his first heartbreak. This window into the mind of this confused boy as he learns to trust himself above all others, including his parents who’ve done nothing but tell him how wrong he is, is so extraordinary and meaningful. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a riveting and compelling read.

I loved this story! Adam and Paul are so sweet and brave. I wanted to throat punch Adam's parents and the people running the camp. This story is so relevant. This is a point of view that needs to be told. Great job!

DNF. No Rating.

I'm sorry this book wasn't for me and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't finish it.

This book was super easy to read, but this book made me angry. I'm a Catholic, not a extreme Catholic but they were basically in a summer camp that was like a cult. They basically bullied Rhonda when she ran away. They act like they are in the 1960's.

At first I thought this was going to be a piece similar to The God Box (not a bad thing at all). I was glad that it went a bit beyond that book. It allowed different views on religion to sprout and expand. There was a focus on not just the issue that many religious people have with being gay, but also the issues with premarital sex and hypocrisy. This was a fantastic first look at major issues with organized religion (not religion itself as loving God and having a relationship with Him or other gods and goddess is not inherently bad). This book will save lives. 

The pace is very quick. I read the book in two or three hours. I would have read it in one sitting, but I took my lunch at about half way through the book. It did not dwell on any issues for a long period of time, which was both good and bad. I felt there should have been more discussion on one of the major events towards the end of the book or at least some resources for teens going through the issues that the book raises. This book covers a lot of hard ground, I think adding the resources would help. 

I am having a hard time describing how much I love this book without spoiling major points. The book is very much needed. It focused on spirituality and different ways of viewing Christianity. It also allowed by the end two gay characters to have a relationship that fit into those religious views (no sex before marriage, which is drastically not the norm when it comes to books about relationships especially about gay men). 

I do have one note to the author: Thank you. This book is very important and I am beyond thankful for your work to provide it for teens (and adults) that need it. If I had this book as a teenager, I might have had an easier time with coming to terms with my religion and spirituality especially when I had issues based around faith when it came to my family. You have earned a very loud fan that will be promoting this book to people that can get this book into the hands of teens where it can be helpful.



5 out of 5 stars. I would recommend this book!

I was really excited to read this book based on the description, but just couldn't get into it. I found the characters and dialog so unbelievable that I couldn't concentrate on the storyline.

Same Love is the first book I've read by author Tony Correia. This was a very quick read but I enjoyed it. The story is told in first person POV by Adam whose conservative Christian family sends him to a camp when they find out he is gay.

While at camp he meets and becomes friends with Paul. Adam and Paul obviously have feelings for each other but Paul is struggling to reconcile his feelings for Adam with his strong faith. There are other campers who are having normal teenage problems and reading about their troubles brought back memories of things from my teen years.

Same Love isn't really a romance and it's not exactly what I would call a coming-out story. To me it was more like a glimpse into the lives of several teenagers struggling to deal with their feelings and their relationships with each other and also with their families.

I'm grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. The current price on Amazon is a bit out of my range for a book that's just over 100 pages long.

Same Love was a look into a young boy who is struggling. Struggling with religion, family and coming to terms with his sexuality. It was a shorter story but important for some kids to read to realize they are not alone and other people are struggling with issues too. I enjoyed it but it felt a bit rushed at times.

This was a pretty average book with its good points being the general topic, the diversity of characters, and Adam's honesty. The bad points are the lack of character details, growth, or development, the stereotypes, and the bland writing overall. Together they make for a book that leaves you with a "take it or leave it" feeling...slightly more than meh.

Each character that's there is given some basics and we can infer a complete character from those details but it's not really a complete picture, it's just based on guesses. There are races thrown in as well as stereotypes and both are mocked. For such a short book a lot was thrown in and it all ended in a rather lackluster conclusion. It wasn't a bad one, more of an HFN, but not really satisfying either.

An excellent book and resource for anyone needing a smile.