I really enjoyed and related to this book. It kept me interested from page one. I would love either a second book or an epilogue if possible!

Special thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC!

The title "Good Christian Girls", together with the synopsis that "after the incident", Jo Delgado was sent to a Christian camp for girls to be put on the "right path", let me wrongly associate this book with the "gay conversion camp" trope common in some queer YA literature. Not at all.

Jo meets Lacey Heller who grew up in the camp, isolated from the world and homeschooled by her parents. Her parents own the camp and set its religious agenda. But nobody is there to be explicitly "converted", despite the fundamentalist views promoted by the camp leadership. Instead, driven by their mutual attraction, Jo helps Lacey to start questioning her world-view, to think about her plans for the future, and to figure out her sexuality.

This is mostly well-written. I liked in particular that nothing is black and white and that the characters (main and others) are complex in their views and actions. All characters develop over the course of the book. There is love both in the families and outside. There are also narrow views, betrayal, and manipulation. Overall: four stars of five. I guess this is a debut novel--it makes me hope for more books by this author.

Also: Have fun with the camp names of the counselors! Who would call them Clueless, Crowbar, or Mudslide?

(based on an ARC from NetGalley)

“Nothing interesting ever happened at Camp Lavender. Of this, I had been completely certain.”

That is until this summer. Good Christian Girls is a YA coming-of-age contemporary novel that features a sapphic romance. The story is dual pov and follows Lacey and Jo.

Lacey is the sheltered daughter of the camp owners. She is homeschooled and lives at camp year round and has limited exposure with the outside world.

Jo is an atheist who’d rather be at science camp. But her devout Catholic aunt thinks Christian camp will be a better use of her time.

Jo and Lacey develop a friendship that has its fair share of ups and downs throughout the book. I really enjoyed watching them get to know one another and how their connection blooms.

Based off the book title and cover, I was expecting a heavy emotional read. And I’m pleasantly surprised it wasn’t as heavy as I anticipated. There were plenty of times I bristled as dialogue took me back to my Christian days and agitated my religious trauma. While there is homophobia that occurred on page (oh my god I cringed every time a character used the word “homosexual”), that wasn’t what got me. It was hearing the propaganda again. Phrases like “still small voice” and being taught that your body is not your own but belongs to your future husband. The heavy shaming attached to purity culture. The emotional manipulation. That was what was difficult for me to read.

I will say, though, that I loved the characters who showed faith looks different for everyone. I appreciated the look into characters who were more accepting and open minded.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Lacey and Jo’s story. It was a pretty quick read and the summer camp vibes were fun (Bible study and worship night moments aside 😅).

Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy of this eARC in exchange for a honest review.

I enjoyed seeing the developing relationship in the camp and seeing love blossom out of the pain and control they both suffered.

Well, this was for the religiously traumatized girlies. A highly relatable and familiar read to me. The writing and pacing were spot-on for the coming-of-age vibes of this book and immersed you well into the story.

We meet Jo, who is sent to camp by her aunt hoping that she’d be ‘counseled’, and Lacey, who lives at camp all year long with her parents who run the camp. As they become friends, Lacey eventually begins to find herself and open herself up to new experiences.

Despite the heavy themes, I appreciated how it wasn’t presented in an intimidating manner. It felt honest to me, especially with how we see religion being practiced in different wavelengths and how it varies from one character to the other: we see characters extremely close to their beliefs, while others lax and accepting—and how it affects Jo and Lacey’s development. The ending was not grand in any way, but it was realistic. I did wish to see more than just a somewhat quick wrap-up of the end of summer camp—maybe one more chapter or an epilogue a few years down the line—but I think the resolution fit right into the story and gave the readers a bit of hope of what would happen to the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC. :>

This coming-of-age sweet teenage romance between Lacey and Jo felt honest and poignant. The religious element was handled with care, as was the blooming relationship that has its share of ups and downs. While I do wish the ending had provided a little more clarity, or depicted more of Lacey’s journey in terms of her finding herself and taking a stand for herself, I can relate to her in so many ways and understand that perhaps, it would be unbelievable for her to fully resolve every issue that she may need to face.

Lacey is an extremely sheltered girl with a passion for poetry. Her parents own a campground in East Texas that operates as a summer camp for young Christian women to spend some time away from the temptations of the secular world, communing with nature/God, participating in arts/crafts/watersport, Bible study and worship. Her family represents quite a typical devout Christian family and Lacey is homeschooled. Jo has been sent to this camp despite being raised in a not-too-strict Catholic household and this is instead of attending a prestigious science summer camp. This is because her aunt believes it may help after an “Incident” with another female and convinces her mother that this is where Jo ought to spend her time.

Throughout the summer, the two girls establish a wonderful friendship. Jo is able to gently and respectfully challenge Lacey’s upbringing while encouraging her to pursue her own dreams of going to college and of writing poetry. While Jo never loses sight of who she truly is, even while making friends with the other camp goers and blending in as best she can with the group, the story is more centered around Lacey’s journey of self-discovery.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and couldn't put it down. I felt enormously and tenderly for the characters and their situation, largely because I could identify and strongly relate. The writing was strong and the plot moved at a good pace. I only wish I could’ve seen an epilogue, a nice flash to years later when Lacey’s fully embraced herself, found her voice, and definitively overcome whatever sure opposition she would’ve faced from her extremely devout family.

One thing I really appreciated was the delicate handling of the Christians, as a whole. They weren’t all shown to be one stereotypical type–there was a diverse amount of practice displayed from the typical to the liberal. I thought it was an important inclusion to ensure not all believers are painted with the same brush, while treating other belief systems with respect as well.

Overall, a lovely coming-of-age story. Well worth reading and remembering that this is surely a tale shared my so many others. If you have a similar background/upbringing to Lacey, as I do, you may want to be aware that some of the scenes depicted/particular phrases may spark memories of a similar experience. If that could be triggering to you, this may be a book you tread through carefully–but for me, it was nearly cathartic to revisit those times and root for a character to find both herself and love.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review!

From the cover and description, I expected this book to be a lot darker than it was. It was tough to see how Lacey's parents treated her, especially in relation to her college applications, but I found this to be a pretty fluffy romance despite the homophobia from others at the camp. I loved that Lacey wrote poetry, and especially when she talked about Emily Dickinson it seemed like a very real way for her to express herself within an extremely sheltered environment.

I loved my summer camp experiences! Despite the Christian focus of the camp setting, with Bible study and church included within, it was still very recognizable as a summer camp and reminded me of all the fun I had. Lacey and Jo were in a very peculiar spot, being at summer camp the summer before college---on the cusp of adulthood and freedom but restricted by the rules and strict morals of Camp Lavender nonetheless. Besides Rebekah, many of the girls at the camp seemed to find themselves in that same grey space, and I enjoyed the exploration of it.

This was a fun book to read and I'm glad I got to read it :)

I want to start by issuing a major trigger warning for religious trauma. As someone raised in the south in an extremely conservative, religious family, I experienced so many of the things that happened to the characters at Camp Lavender. Our church camp also did modesty checks on our clothing. There was regularly use of emotional manipulation to trigger what we thought was a profound, religious experience. Being taught that our bodies belonged to future husbands and not ourselves. Reading this brought up so much for me, so read with caution.

Because of how I was raised, I related so much to what these characters were going through. It isn’t easy to question what you’ve been taught, but I was so proud of them both for overcoming and beginning a journey to find out not only who they are, but what they believe. I love them and am so invested in them. I NEED a sequel. Einstein and Rapunzel forever.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Camp Lavender in Texas is home to Lacey Heller. Her parents have run the Christian camp for girls her whole life. She does home school as her parents wanted to keep her sheltered. Hopefully she will be off to NYU, the school of her dreams soon. She also writes poetry as a form of expressing herself and puts it out on an internet page. Jo Delgado wanted to go to a science camp but after being caught kissing a girl her aunt changed the funding to the Christian camp, although they are Catholic. Lacey doesn’t usually get close to the summer camp girls but Jo and she strike up a budding friendship.

The cover of the book looks more ominous than the story feels. Camp includes bible study, lake activities and spiritual meetings. Rebelling comes in the form of sneaking out to drink after curfews. This is a debut novel and the story is fine but it left me wondering at times. Do her parents do anything else to support the family than run a summer camp? I disliked there were no repercussions for the parents' actions. And they didn’t reach a resolution with Lacey. (It is helped by a third person but that doesn’t show how her relationship with her parents will be for the next year.) The rebelling by drinking is standard but cliche. And having Jo lie to avoid punishment didn’t sit well with me either. (3.5 Stars)

This book is geared for 9th grade and up. I don't expect major long-term love commitments. But I do want some more closure or lessons learned from a teen or YA story. I’ve been to religious (1 week) summer camps during my teens so that part of the story I found very engaging. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

What a wonderful story! Jo is sent to summer camp by her aunt to cure her of being gay. Jo does not fit in and is miserable. Then she meets Lacey, the daughter of the camp owners. The plot is about 2 girls learning to love in a Christian environment. There are adventures by both girls, drinking and theft. There is also love and finding yourself in the World. I recommend this book for all love story readers.

Jo doesn't want to be at Bible camp—she wants to be at science camp. But since *the incident*, her family is worried that she needs more Jesus in her life, so...to Bible camp it is. Meanwhile, Lacey can barely conceive of anything other than Bible camp; her parents own and run Camp Lavender, and it's where she's been raised and homeschooled. She's seen year after year of campers come and go...but Jo is the first one to make her question the singular way of viewing the world that she's been taught.

I approach this subgenre of queer-teens-in-hyperconservative-environments with a certain amount of trepidation, but this was a lucky find. Jo and Lacey's stories are subtle—Jo understands who she is better than Lacey does at the beginning of the book (and the summer), and though Lacey starts to figure things out herself, there's only so much growth and change that she can do in one summer. Better, this isn't a fire-and-brimstone camp with an underbelly of abuse: it's a camp in which well-intentioned adults with some specific beliefs are genuinely trying to do right by their charges...even if they can't always see that their one-size-fits-all way of life, uh...doesn't fit all. This isn't a conversion camp; it's a good place for many of the girls, and even Jo—who doesn't want to be there—is observant enough to notice that there are girls for whom it's probably the only place they fit in.

Writing-wise, I think it took part of the book for the author to find her stride (the dual first-person doesn't really help), and there are some logistical things that don't quite line up—first Lacey never ever shares her poetry, and then a few pages later we learn that she's been posting it online for weeks; she doesn't get much interaction on her posts, but Jo is able to find her account immediately because it's a popular one; it doesn't occur to Lacey to wonder why, by the middle of summer, her top-choice college hasn't gotten back to her; etc. There are also a number of side plots that go nowhere and could easily have been cut out. But...I also suspect the author is writing from personal experience here, and that even if she was never a (queer) preacher's daughter living at Bible camp, she knows quite well what it is to be a sheltered, religious kid starting to figure out a bit more of the world. Again, it helps a *lot* that this is a pretty understated story, with no furious Bible-thumping or closed-door beatings or dramatic escapes in the middle of the night—well, maybe the last one, but you can read the book if you want the details.

This is one for readers looking for something more coming-of-age than romance—it's a better book for it.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this quick read of a much needed book in today’s day and age. Many LGTBQIA+ books can get very heavy with exploration. Something that also is needed especially for adolescents that do not live in places where human rights are a normal part of life. However, having a book like this that people can identify with in a low key way is just as valuable.

I enjoyed the camp atmosphere and the sub plots as even non queer individuals like myself can enjoy the process.. I will say there is a little sadness knowing that while this book is billed as fiction, it is very much a chronic story of so many.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I wish good reads had a better rating system as this book is more like a 4.25 out of 5.

Lacey Heller wants nothing more than to escape her home town and her parents' Christian Girls Camp. One more year, and she can get away to college.

Jo Delgado family has sent her to Camp Lavender where she meets Lacey after hurting herself on the first day.

Lacey finds herself intrigued by Jo, who clearly does not want to be there, and is shockingly a atheist. And gay.

Good YA novel. The characters are interesting and their situation kept me reading. The ending felt vaguely inconclusive, but admittedly it's not a easily wrapped up book.