What do you think?
Rate this book
TrueColors #10
Bright Purple: Color Me Confused
Jessica LeCroix drops a bomb on her best friend, Ramie: "I'm a lesbian." Ramie Grant cannot believe her ears. Jess!? Her best friend, her teammate . . . a homosexual? Before long other girls on the basketball team find out, and little jokes become vicious attacks. In the end, Ramie must decide if she will stand by Jessica's side or turn her back on a friend in need. The tenth book in the teen fiction series TrueColors, Bright Purple examines the subjects of sexuality, identity, and forgiveness. Includes discussion questions.
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2006
15 people are currently reading
936 people want to read
About the author
Melody Carlson
419 books3,261 followersMelody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.
She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.
Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.
She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.
Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
January 31, 2009
This could have been an interesting look at how Christianity and being gay can go together - or not. However, the book ultimately was too overtly preachy, but with flawed logic. The narrator acted very unkindly toward her friend, which doesn't do much in the way of portraying Christian values. Plus, comparing sexuality to race just doesn't work.
May 11, 2016
Okay. So other than the fact that the author is clearly homophobic- and the main character STILL wants Jessica to be straight- this book was so laughably offensive and ridiculous. FIRST: The MC is worried Jess is into her. Yep. Because. Lesbians. Every lesbian just attracted to every girl ever. Yup. That's how it goes. *eye roll* (same as how people assume bi\pan people are into every single person on the planet. Don't fucking flatter yourself.)
SECOND, the author tries to make heterophobia a thing with a gay character.. like THAT ISN'T A THING. STOP TRYING TO MAKE IT A THING. Also, our MC thinks that if she's seen even within 10 metres of Jessica, people will immediately assume she's a lesbian.
This is not a book about a girl being conflicted between religion and beliefs. This is a book that just consists of gay bashing. I'm fucking done with Carlson's bullshit. This is a piece of crap.
SECOND, the author tries to make heterophobia a thing with a gay character.. like THAT ISN'T A THING. STOP TRYING TO MAKE IT A THING. Also, our MC thinks that if she's seen even within 10 metres of Jessica, people will immediately assume she's a lesbian.
This is not a book about a girl being conflicted between religion and beliefs. This is a book that just consists of gay bashing. I'm fucking done with Carlson's bullshit. This is a piece of crap.
November 20, 2009
I haven't read many in what I will call the Melody Carlson "color" series but this was one I did. It is an easy read geared towards adolescent girls, and it presents the awkwardness and confusion well that comes up when a young person (especially one active in the conservative Christian community) is open about struggling with his or her sexual identity. What I do not like about this book is how it glosses over the questioning person's feelings and experience. The message a young Christian person wondering if he or she is gay might get out of this book is that he or she just needs to pray and obey Jesus, and he or she will wake up one day and realize how wrong and confused he / she was acting. I do not believe it is that simple. I do however think the message of LOVING and SUPPORTING one's friends, no matter what they are dealing with, is very important to all young people, regardless of religious belief.
October 3, 2013
This book frustrated me. I hated the gay bashing and how the author just glossed over Jessica's feelings.
November 9, 2014
Argh! I thought the first, what, eight were bad! Well, from the first chapter, it's obvious melody Carlson is homophobic. Well, Excuse me! Then in the end, NOTHINg is resolved! I kid you not! Which is the type of language they use, btw. In the end, the main charecter, such a horrible bitter person I forgot her name, is STILL dissing gays! Argh! I am mad at the author!
December 23, 2016
attention melody carlson & all christian heterosexuals: Assaulting Gays is Wrong is not a position that automatically makes you a good and loving servant of god. at the end of this book the mc plans to treat her lesbian bff with love, and that means being mostly nice except when she tells bff that she's still uncomfortable. it also means "ministering" to her so she'll come to the Truth of Heterosexuality. speaking as someone who's been confronted by both direct threats of homophobic violence AND religious talk about how I'm Not Created To Be A Lesbian and God Will Save Me, both of these experiences are traumatic! this kind of "love" is what made me suicidal as a teen. i had so much love for god. i prayed and prayed and nothing changed. i prayed and none of it made sense. finally i went to college and found other dykes and now years later those impulses only come as distant shockwaves from the past, brought up by specific triggers. but i can't do social religion bc it comes flooding back, the terror and disgust for myself. similar and far worse things happen to LGBT people constantly! so maybe stop justifying your homophobia with decontextualized and badly translated Bible passages. maybe actually do the hard work of examining why you think homosexuality is fundamentally wrong, but owning possessions somehow isn't. i read this book while reading some shelves at work today. i hope to god no lez or bi teen girl comes across it.
October 8, 2008
This was an interesting book but I think it dealt with homosexuality in an unbalanced way. There's no problem with Jessica being sexually abused in the past but why didn't the author show that many GLBT people were not abused? There were minor gay characters in the book, why couldn't Carlson elaborate on one of them showing a gay teen who had a happy childhood? Also Ramie is quite annoying and un-Christian through most of the book. Jesus wouldn't support cutting friends out of your life due to their sexual orientation.
July 9, 2014
I really hated everything about this book. The characters, minus Jessica, were all really horrible people. Melody Carlson's books aren't all as homophobic and closed-minded as this one, but I definitely wouldn't recommend anyone read this. Unless you live in the bible, in which case you might just approve.
May 26, 2008
Take my advice.. Do not read this...
June 22, 2013
This book really frustrated me and I hated the gay bashing
July 10, 2008
Ramie's best friend since childhood suddenly announces that she's a lesbian, causing Ramie to flee to the restroom in the mall where she throws up.
Following this extreme reaction, Ramie settles into bigoted religious cant and, despite her mother's urging that Jessica needs her best friend now more than ever, makes things worse as Jessica's secret gets out at school. She worries that people will think she is lesbian simply by association and by her participation in girls' basketball, going so far as to quit the basketball team temporarily.
The attempted suicide of another student who has been teased for being gay is an eye-opener for Ramie, and she starts to realize how much she is hurting Jessica. She and another friend reach out to her, and find that Jessica has been carrying an even deeper secret, one that she desperately needs help for. This event leads to the author having a gay teen didactically quote the statistics for harassment, gay-bashing, and suicide rates among gay teens.
Meanwhile, Ramie convinces her Pastor that the church should hold a forum on the issue of religion and homosexuality. The forum dissolves into lots of shouting, as well as misguided, but well-intentioned attempts by the members of the youth group to show "Christ's Love" to the gay teens.
Carlson has a heavy-handed agenda, and I don't think the book will change the minds of Christian teens about homosexuality, nor bring other teens to appreciate the Christian point of view. Too little has been paid attention to Jesus' message of love and acceptance.
Following this extreme reaction, Ramie settles into bigoted religious cant and, despite her mother's urging that Jessica needs her best friend now more than ever, makes things worse as Jessica's secret gets out at school. She worries that people will think she is lesbian simply by association and by her participation in girls' basketball, going so far as to quit the basketball team temporarily.
The attempted suicide of another student who has been teased for being gay is an eye-opener for Ramie, and she starts to realize how much she is hurting Jessica. She and another friend reach out to her, and find that Jessica has been carrying an even deeper secret, one that she desperately needs help for. This event leads to the author having a gay teen didactically quote the statistics for harassment, gay-bashing, and suicide rates among gay teens.
Meanwhile, Ramie convinces her Pastor that the church should hold a forum on the issue of religion and homosexuality. The forum dissolves into lots of shouting, as well as misguided, but well-intentioned attempts by the members of the youth group to show "Christ's Love" to the gay teens.
Carlson has a heavy-handed agenda, and I don't think the book will change the minds of Christian teens about homosexuality, nor bring other teens to appreciate the Christian point of view. Too little has been paid attention to Jesus' message of love and acceptance.
September 4, 2013
I picked up this book because I was hoping to read the story about a transformation from super conservative thinking to some level of acceptance and understanding. Instead, the main character spends most of the book going "woe is me! My best friend ruined my life by deciding to be a lesbian!" and rejecting any viewpoint that counters her. I didn't exactly expect to get an ultimately affirming viewpoint on homosexuality, but the fact that there were no accepting characters who the narrator saw as true Christians was a major downer. The LGBTQ community is also put into an extremely negative light, which doesn't help the message of "they're human just like us!" all that much. And as someone who's black, queer, and Christian, the comparisons of race and sexuality were not appreciated one bit.
If nothing else, it made me feel better about how awful I was when I was in high school when a Christian friend came out as gay because at least I didn't do anything the characters in this book did, even while not being supportive at all.
If nothing else, it made me feel better about how awful I was when I was in high school when a Christian friend came out as gay because at least I didn't do anything the characters in this book did, even while not being supportive at all.
October 31, 2011
If I could give this book negative stars, I would. What an awful book, with such hateful so-called "religious" people. I just can't believe it. The stereotypes perpetuated and made fun of about the "sinning gay person" are just atrocious; the fact that the best friend confides that she's gay, and the main character physically becomes ill and disgusted ... I just can't see how these people think they could be better than anyone else. I was sickened by the behavior in this book, and that the religion okays this kind of behavior and belief -- it just feels like hatred. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone ever.
January 29, 2025
Holy fucking shit. I was working on a “books that made me” Instagram post and I completely repressed this one for decades but it just hit me like a brick and is reminding me of so many hurtful things about my teen years and how damaging church was. Long story short, this book is part of a series of books that supposedly “tackle” tough topics like mental illness, sexuality, and substance use for teens, from a(n incredibly harmful) Christian perspective. This was recommended to me by…someone?? I don’t know, they’re lucky I can’t remember them right now. Whatever. Jokes on them. I’m still gay and mentally ill LOL fuck this author and all her stupid shitty books
March 3, 2012
Ok, this is probably one of the hardest postings I have to make, since the topic in question is oh-so controversial.
I’ve always been a big fan of Melody Carlson, especially the first series I read – the True Color series. Now, Bright Purple, which I just bought for my sis and I, deals with the topic of homosexuality. For some reason, this book seemed to attract quite some negative reviews on goodreads.com (there weren’t enough ratings on librarything.com for me, small sample sizes are not very accurate).
But anyway, concerning the book: I loved it. Sure, Ramie starts of as more-than-slightly homophobic, but that’s because she needs to make the character transition. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a plot. Apart from that, her over-the-top reaction to her best friend coming out of the closet is to let others (presumably) understand how she feels.
The other issue that seems to come up is how homosexuals are unfairly demonized as militaristic and pushing an agenda. Now, speaking as someone outside the US, I think I can say with all fairness that that is probably true. It is true that they do have an agenda they are pushing. The net is a fairly terrible filter, so I end up reading all points of view and can form my own judgments. As far as I can see, they are not a purely victimized group.
The ending feels realistic too. It’s fairly unresolved except for one point – that no matter what, she needs to continue loving Jessica unconditionally while she encourages her to follow God’s will and pray for God to rescue her.
Now, on to the whole born-vs-choice issue. It’s been bugging me about whether people are really born this way so I did a bit of research. From what I read, it can all be summed up by what Byne’s says that ‘what evidence exists thus far of innate biological traits underlying homosexuality is flawed’[1]. In fact, social and physiological factors seem to play a larger role than any biological factors.
In short, you’re not born that way.
But needless to say, I think Bright Purple by Melody Carslon should be read by everyone. To my friends who are gay, well, I’m praying for you. You know what I think and you know that I have never judged you intentionally. But still, that doesn’t mean that I won’t tell you the truth, even though it may hurt.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Byne, W., 1994. The biological evidence challenged. Scientific American 270(5):26-31 , p. 26.
I’ve always been a big fan of Melody Carlson, especially the first series I read – the True Color series. Now, Bright Purple, which I just bought for my sis and I, deals with the topic of homosexuality. For some reason, this book seemed to attract quite some negative reviews on goodreads.com (there weren’t enough ratings on librarything.com for me, small sample sizes are not very accurate).
But anyway, concerning the book: I loved it. Sure, Ramie starts of as more-than-slightly homophobic, but that’s because she needs to make the character transition. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a plot. Apart from that, her over-the-top reaction to her best friend coming out of the closet is to let others (presumably) understand how she feels.
The other issue that seems to come up is how homosexuals are unfairly demonized as militaristic and pushing an agenda. Now, speaking as someone outside the US, I think I can say with all fairness that that is probably true. It is true that they do have an agenda they are pushing. The net is a fairly terrible filter, so I end up reading all points of view and can form my own judgments. As far as I can see, they are not a purely victimized group.
The ending feels realistic too. It’s fairly unresolved except for one point – that no matter what, she needs to continue loving Jessica unconditionally while she encourages her to follow God’s will and pray for God to rescue her.
Now, on to the whole born-vs-choice issue. It’s been bugging me about whether people are really born this way so I did a bit of research. From what I read, it can all be summed up by what Byne’s says that ‘what evidence exists thus far of innate biological traits underlying homosexuality is flawed’[1]. In fact, social and physiological factors seem to play a larger role than any biological factors.
In short, you’re not born that way.
But needless to say, I think Bright Purple by Melody Carslon should be read by everyone. To my friends who are gay, well, I’m praying for you. You know what I think and you know that I have never judged you intentionally. But still, that doesn’t mean that I won’t tell you the truth, even though it may hurt.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Byne, W., 1994. The biological evidence challenged. Scientific American 270(5):26-31 , p. 26.
December 17, 2017
so, for the most part, I like the color series. I think it does a decent job of portraying different mental and emotional issues. however, this book was utter trash. I was excited at first to read it. The subject looked interesting and I wanted to see a good portrayal of how Christians so react to homosexuality. This book showed me that it is possible to write a book so bad I hate the protagonist and like the antagonist. like, I didn't realize that people can actually have a complete PHOBIA of gays until I read this. And then for her to want to be the gays friend all of a sudden and think people wouldn't question it is stupid. People, this book sucked and if I could give it no stars I would. you had a good idea but executed it in the worst way possible.
March 12, 2025
Read this book legitimately like 15+ years ago but randomly thought of it last night, and had to scoot on over to gr to give it the 1 star it barely deserves. As a people pleasing gay Christian this did an unbelievable amount of damage to pre-teen me and probably kept me in the closet for somehow even longer than I was already stuck in there for hahahahha
February 11, 2019
Homophobic. So homophobic.
February 11, 2014
It's been so long since I've read this book but for the most part I remember what happened. I'm bored so I figure I'll give it a go.
So I picked this up because I was curious about reading a book from the POV of a Christian teenager and her view on homosexuality. Well I got it... and it ticked me off.
I can't say I was surprised by Ramie's behavior but I still can't choke down the hatred. Her friend comes out and Ramie proceeds to freak out. She cries, she throws up, she demands, "WHERE DID MY BEST FRIEND GO???" Um... she's right freaking there. She just gave you a snippet of info you weren't aware of.
I wasn't so sympathetic towards Ramie because she wasn't sympathetic at all. Jess is a teenage girl who's struggling with her sexuality and religion. Her devotedly Christian parents are unaccepting, her classmates all but spit at her, and her supposedly best friend ignores her like garbage. Yet... Ramie acts like she's the victim! I just... I have no idea where all the self pity came from. I understand she's confused about how to react to Jess but you'd think that Ramie was the one being beaten down. Not Jess. Ramie just hangs out with her totally accepting friends, dates a cute guy, and tries to figure out what to do with Jess while simultaneously treating her like crap.
Poor, poor Ramie.
Still, this book gets a little better and that includes Ramie. She starts remembering that it's not very Christian to treat even sinners like crap.
Speaking of, I can't really remember if I thought the portrayal of homosexuals was fair or not. I remember there was a group of gays were who very bitter and seemed like they were out to get all those dreadful heterosexuals. That wasn't so cool but I guess I'd be ignorant if I said those types don't exist. Jess and that other guy were pretty chill so I suppose that's diverse enough. After all, homosexuals are just like us heterosexuals - many are great people and many are just off their rockers.
Anyway... I couldn't give this more than two stars. It's really hard to give a book a high rating when the protagonist is so unlikable. It ruins the experience.
So I picked this up because I was curious about reading a book from the POV of a Christian teenager and her view on homosexuality. Well I got it... and it ticked me off.
I can't say I was surprised by Ramie's behavior but I still can't choke down the hatred. Her friend comes out and Ramie proceeds to freak out. She cries, she throws up, she demands, "WHERE DID MY BEST FRIEND GO???" Um... she's right freaking there. She just gave you a snippet of info you weren't aware of.
I wasn't so sympathetic towards Ramie because she wasn't sympathetic at all. Jess is a teenage girl who's struggling with her sexuality and religion. Her devotedly Christian parents are unaccepting, her classmates all but spit at her, and her supposedly best friend ignores her like garbage. Yet... Ramie acts like she's the victim! I just... I have no idea where all the self pity came from. I understand she's confused about how to react to Jess but you'd think that Ramie was the one being beaten down. Not Jess. Ramie just hangs out with her totally accepting friends, dates a cute guy, and tries to figure out what to do with Jess while simultaneously treating her like crap.
Poor, poor Ramie.
Still, this book gets a little better and that includes Ramie. She starts remembering that it's not very Christian to treat even sinners like crap.
Speaking of, I can't really remember if I thought the portrayal of homosexuals was fair or not. I remember there was a group of gays were who very bitter and seemed like they were out to get all those dreadful heterosexuals. That wasn't so cool but I guess I'd be ignorant if I said those types don't exist. Jess and that other guy were pretty chill so I suppose that's diverse enough. After all, homosexuals are just like us heterosexuals - many are great people and many are just off their rockers.
Anyway... I couldn't give this more than two stars. It's really hard to give a book a high rating when the protagonist is so unlikable. It ruins the experience.
March 13, 2018
Issue: "Love the sinner, hate the sin"
Sub-issues: Messages from conservative Christianity re: homosexuality, women,
Ok, so this book was written in 2006, and I remember reading it way back then. I suppose that this book in particular would be responsible for my vicarious living through the "protagonist" Ramie - and the book being a primer for E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. that a Christian should NOT do if or when someone reveals a "secret" about themselves. So Ramie's end point, would have been my starting point.... at that point.
The actions taken are so bad that I had to go through about 1/3rd of the book going "drop kick book"; and even on pg. 170, still going "drop kick book" (the story only has 203 pages!). Ramie is portrayed in rather a neutral light, in comparison with other books in the series - by this I mean: Ramie is neither "unsaved" nor is there a deliberate choice to engage in this behavior - and YET, the initial actions are not the actions to be followed.
It gets better towards the end, but not resolved as Ramie is still hoping against hope, praying that her friend Jess will realize the error of her ways and renounce being a lesbian. So there's a distinct reason that this book has such a lower rating than the others.
This review is from 2018, so the particular demand for gay marriage is one that has been decided. I also realize that members of the LGBTQ community may be concerned that this is fragile.
Sub-issues: Messages from conservative Christianity re: homosexuality, women,
Ok, so this book was written in 2006, and I remember reading it way back then. I suppose that this book in particular would be responsible for my vicarious living through the "protagonist" Ramie - and the book being a primer for E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. that a Christian should NOT do if or when someone reveals a "secret" about themselves. So Ramie's end point, would have been my starting point.... at that point.
The actions taken are so bad that I had to go through about 1/3rd of the book going "drop kick book"; and even on pg. 170, still going "drop kick book" (the story only has 203 pages!). Ramie is portrayed in rather a neutral light, in comparison with other books in the series - by this I mean: Ramie is neither "unsaved" nor is there a deliberate choice to engage in this behavior - and YET, the initial actions are not the actions to be followed.
It gets better towards the end, but not resolved as Ramie is still hoping against hope, praying that her friend Jess will realize the error of her ways and renounce being a lesbian. So there's a distinct reason that this book has such a lower rating than the others.
This review is from 2018, so the particular demand for gay marriage is one that has been decided. I also realize that members of the LGBTQ community may be concerned that this is fragile.
November 8, 2011
I didn't care for this book because everyone in it is so stereotypical. Ramie reacts just like you'd expect a fundamentalist (not using it badly) Christian to act when she finds out her friend is a lesbian;with disbelief,disgust,and hatred.Although towards the end she and Jess become friends again.And her boyfriend is a typical preacher's kid.
Ramie's mom is an ex Christian (she left the faith because her parents were too strict) who,throughout the book,says snippy comments like this,"Have fun at church! Of course when I was a kid church and fun never went together."
What really bothered me was that when Joey,a gay boy at their school, tries to commit suicide, Ramie and her friends go to visit him at the hospital and the gay group staying with him is so nasty to them and so is the news crew that came to cover the story.And the news and gay group try to make it look like Joey was bullied so much because of his homosexuality that he tried to kill himself when he really wasn't.And Ramie and everyone who came with her are made out to be "the bad guys" on the local news.
The author made it seem like gays and the supporters of gays are out to get everyone and competley embelish stories so they can get on tv and make everyone feel bad for them.
I was very disappointed in this book because I like the True Colors series a lot but I can't reccomend this to anyone.
Ramie's mom is an ex Christian (she left the faith because her parents were too strict) who,throughout the book,says snippy comments like this,"Have fun at church! Of course when I was a kid church and fun never went together."
What really bothered me was that when Joey,a gay boy at their school, tries to commit suicide, Ramie and her friends go to visit him at the hospital and the gay group staying with him is so nasty to them and so is the news crew that came to cover the story.And the news and gay group try to make it look like Joey was bullied so much because of his homosexuality that he tried to kill himself when he really wasn't.And Ramie and everyone who came with her are made out to be "the bad guys" on the local news.
The author made it seem like gays and the supporters of gays are out to get everyone and competley embelish stories so they can get on tv and make everyone feel bad for them.
I was very disappointed in this book because I like the True Colors series a lot but I can't reccomend this to anyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2011
Aptly titled "color me confused", because I found this a confusing novels, with so many issues thrown into the plot that it was hard to see a coherent viewpoint.
Ramie reacts badly when her best friend, Jess, comes out as a lesbian. Her feelings no doubt echo what many teens say and feel about gay teenagers, and Carlson writes well about the hurt and pain this cause gay teens. Ramie is a Christian, and is challenged by how to accept Jess. The Bible says homosexuality is wrong, but it teaches us to love one another. So should she accept Jess? Or is that condoning sin? That, I think, is the crux of the novel, so all the other issues that appear - sexual abuse, dating, seeing inapporpriate movies, being bi-racial, being a girl who plays sports - clutter and confuse. Carlson appears to espouse the conservative Christian view of "hate the sin, love the sinner" - homosexuality is wrong, but you still should be friends and friendly towards Gays. I would hesitate to recommend this without letting people know that it has a conservative Christian viewpoint, although I dont think anyone could argue with the message that we should show kindness to everyone.
Ramie reacts badly when her best friend, Jess, comes out as a lesbian. Her feelings no doubt echo what many teens say and feel about gay teenagers, and Carlson writes well about the hurt and pain this cause gay teens. Ramie is a Christian, and is challenged by how to accept Jess. The Bible says homosexuality is wrong, but it teaches us to love one another. So should she accept Jess? Or is that condoning sin? That, I think, is the crux of the novel, so all the other issues that appear - sexual abuse, dating, seeing inapporpriate movies, being bi-racial, being a girl who plays sports - clutter and confuse. Carlson appears to espouse the conservative Christian view of "hate the sin, love the sinner" - homosexuality is wrong, but you still should be friends and friendly towards Gays. I would hesitate to recommend this without letting people know that it has a conservative Christian viewpoint, although I dont think anyone could argue with the message that we should show kindness to everyone.
September 25, 2010
I like Melody Carlson's books, I honestly do, this book was...touchy for me. Being bi, her main character who was narrating the story, she offended me. Her reactions to her friend outing herself, taking a MAJOR LEAP and trusting her friend with this and she just running to the bathroom mall and puking her guts out just because her best friend is lesbian.
If I were Jessica and my best friend reacted like that--including getting me to out myself in front of classmates--I would have dumped her. She acted not even close to a Christian.
I read it but I wasn't to impressed by it, granted I expecting to be preached to from this book about how the LGBTQ community is just sooooo horrible /saracsm, but at least it wasn't like that. Reactions were somewhat believable and overall, I liked it but it didn't leave much of an impression on me.
If I were Jessica and my best friend reacted like that--including getting me to out myself in front of classmates--I would have dumped her. She acted not even close to a Christian.
I read it but I wasn't to impressed by it, granted I expecting to be preached to from this book about how the LGBTQ community is just sooooo horrible /saracsm, but at least it wasn't like that. Reactions were somewhat believable and overall, I liked it but it didn't leave much of an impression on me.
July 12, 2010
This book was interesting. I've been Christian now for 3 years, and I also am Bisexual. It was interesting learning how some "strict" Christians perceived Bisexuals/Gays. Although I don't entirely agree with the books approach to this topic, It is realistic in my opinion. Its still how many people feel about the GLBT community, and it expressed that well. I only wish that Ramie had come to understand her friend a little bit better and not just expect God to heal her, as if being Gay was some kind of disease, which in my opinion it isn't. You simply are born that way, or develop in that direction, it can't be helped.
March 8, 2013
An interesting read for me as a Christian. In the past year I've had two friends that I grew up with in church come out as gay so this is a topic close to me. I didn't agree with everything in this book and wouldn't recommend it if you're not a Christian. The harsh attitude that christians have towards gay people (in this book and real life) is not right but I'm used to hearing it since I grew up pretty fundie. It might just be anger provoking if you're not really a church person and I would definitely understand. Not the best written either (dropped off at the end unresolved, hate that) but I did enjoy it and thought it was worth reading once. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
July 12, 2010
The first 100 pages made me uncomfortable, because I didn't know where the author was going. However, the last 100 pages pleased me. The lesson is basically love people where they are at, and treat them justly. A good lesson for all.
October 4, 2010
The main character, Ramie, did not appeal to me. This is not how I would want my "bestfriend" to respond, and she made me angry throughout the whole book. Christians are supposed to love unconditionally no matter what and always be there for people in need.
November 6, 2013
I HATED this book. She made it seem like anyone in the LGBT community is a complete psycho. The entire book is just Ramie whining and feeling sorry for herself. I would've given it less than one star if I could.
February 7, 2024
Before this book, I'd been having a fantastic year so far when it comes to reading. 42 books read and I've already got five contenders for best book of 2024. As a lesbian who believes in a higher power, I knew this book was going to piss me off, but I had no idea just how much it would piss me off. I had no idea that I would wake up the night after reading it with my shoulders tense, grinding my teeth in anger. I had no idea that it was going to remind me of some really shitty times in my life.
I've read plenty of bad books before; I've gotten angry at authors before. But this is different. This is not just bad writing or disagreeing with how someone views the world. This is fucking personal. This is every friend I've lost after coming out. This is every person who told me that God still loves me or I just haven't met the right boy or that I am an abomination. This is everyone who has ever asked me who the man is in the relationship. This is every straight girl who looked at me with terrified animal eyes, who assumed that I must be attracted to them because I am a lesbian. (Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart.) This is every night I spent in my closet when I was sixteen, praying and sobbing and begging to be straight. This is a nightmare that I lived through in the form of a book, and I fucking hate it.
The fact that it's almost outright stated that Jess is gay because she was assaulted by a female counselor at camp is fucking insulting. Can we fucking stop with the bullshit narrative that people are gay because they were abused? Nobody ever abused me as a child; nothing "turned" me gay. On the very last page, the main character (and by extension, the author) says that "the world would be a mess if we all decided to become homosexual". Notice the word "decided". As if this is a fucking choice. Yeah, I'm totally making the choice to lose friends and family. How delusional do you have to be to think that I would voluntarily choose to like women? When did you, Melody Carlson, make the choice to be straight?
I also hated how every lesbian in this book was butch and tough, and every gay boy was super into fashion and really only existed to prop up the straight characters ("I like gay boys better than lesbians", our main character says after getting showered with compliments). Newsflash: not every gay person fits into a stereotype. There are plenty of very masculine gay men, as well as plenty of very feminine gay women (such as myself). (Also, most of the butch women I've known have been incredibly sweet. Just because someone looks tough doesn't mean they're automatically argumentative.) There is a whole spectrum of being queer.
"Hate" is not a strong enough word for how I feel about this book. This was a triggering, poorly-written, boring, homophobic waste of paper.
I've read plenty of bad books before; I've gotten angry at authors before. But this is different. This is not just bad writing or disagreeing with how someone views the world. This is fucking personal. This is every friend I've lost after coming out. This is every person who told me that God still loves me or I just haven't met the right boy or that I am an abomination. This is everyone who has ever asked me who the man is in the relationship. This is every straight girl who looked at me with terrified animal eyes, who assumed that I must be attracted to them because I am a lesbian. (Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart.) This is every night I spent in my closet when I was sixteen, praying and sobbing and begging to be straight. This is a nightmare that I lived through in the form of a book, and I fucking hate it.
The fact that it's almost outright stated that Jess is gay because she was assaulted by a female counselor at camp is fucking insulting. Can we fucking stop with the bullshit narrative that people are gay because they were abused? Nobody ever abused me as a child; nothing "turned" me gay. On the very last page, the main character (and by extension, the author) says that "the world would be a mess if we all decided to become homosexual". Notice the word "decided". As if this is a fucking choice. Yeah, I'm totally making the choice to lose friends and family. How delusional do you have to be to think that I would voluntarily choose to like women? When did you, Melody Carlson, make the choice to be straight?
I also hated how every lesbian in this book was butch and tough, and every gay boy was super into fashion and really only existed to prop up the straight characters ("I like gay boys better than lesbians", our main character says after getting showered with compliments). Newsflash: not every gay person fits into a stereotype. There are plenty of very masculine gay men, as well as plenty of very feminine gay women (such as myself). (Also, most of the butch women I've known have been incredibly sweet. Just because someone looks tough doesn't mean they're automatically argumentative.) There is a whole spectrum of being queer.
"Hate" is not a strong enough word for how I feel about this book. This was a triggering, poorly-written, boring, homophobic waste of paper.
April 11, 2021
I picked this book up on a whim and wow... It is important to remember it was published in 2006, as the climate overall was a lot harsher for the LGBT community, and I do like that this book tried to reach a balance between Christian beliefs and the LGBT community, but it just did not work well.
Ramie spends most of the book being an absolute jerk, and Jess doesn't really try to do much to help the situation during the times Ramie is trying to be less of a jerk. Ramie's boyfriend is also extremely annoying.
I do like that this book shows that everyone can suck, but it spends too much of the time on that. It also comes across as super corny/preachy when it comes to the religious stuff. Not to say some good points aren't made, as I do like some of the insights, but for being a book coming from a Christian about LGBT issues, it felt almost anti-religious with how dumb Ramie was the majority of the time. Though, once the LGBT cast became larger, most of them came off as jerks too. So, maybe the problem wasn't the religion or the LGBT stuff, but just the fact almost every character comes off as a complete jerk.
Oh, and then there's Ramie after her change of heart. She gets so angry at those around her who haven't changed, for doing/saying things she very strongly agreed with just days/weeks ago. There's no real discussion, no her acknowledging she had been participating in that behavior with these very people not very long ago. It comes across as hypocritical.
Literally the only reason this book gets two stars is that I did like some of those insights Ramie figured out, about how religion and the LGBT community can intersect without hatred being involved. Other than that, this book is just full of hate and stupidity--and this is coming from someone who is both a Christian and a member of the LGBT community.
Ramie spends most of the book being an absolute jerk, and Jess doesn't really try to do much to help the situation during the times Ramie is trying to be less of a jerk. Ramie's boyfriend is also extremely annoying.
I do like that this book shows that everyone can suck, but it spends too much of the time on that. It also comes across as super corny/preachy when it comes to the religious stuff. Not to say some good points aren't made, as I do like some of the insights, but for being a book coming from a Christian about LGBT issues, it felt almost anti-religious with how dumb Ramie was the majority of the time. Though, once the LGBT cast became larger, most of them came off as jerks too. So, maybe the problem wasn't the religion or the LGBT stuff, but just the fact almost every character comes off as a complete jerk.
Oh, and then there's Ramie after her change of heart. She gets so angry at those around her who haven't changed, for doing/saying things she very strongly agreed with just days/weeks ago. There's no real discussion, no her acknowledging she had been participating in that behavior with these very people not very long ago. It comes across as hypocritical.
Literally the only reason this book gets two stars is that I did like some of those insights Ramie figured out, about how religion and the LGBT community can intersect without hatred being involved. Other than that, this book is just full of hate and stupidity--and this is coming from someone who is both a Christian and a member of the LGBT community.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews