Flamer
Mike Curato
Henry Holt & Co.
Published September 1, 2020
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About Flamer
Award-winning author and artist Mike Curato draws on his own experiences in Flamer, his debut graphic novel, telling a difficult story with humor, compassion, and love.
I know I’m not gay. Gay boys like other boys. I hate boys. They’re mean, and scary, and they’re always destroying something or saying something dumb or both.
I hate that word. Gay. It makes me feel . . . unsafe.
It’s the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone’s going through changes—but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can’t stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.
My Review
This entire graphic novel takes place at a scout camp during the summer. The cover copy description is not wrong that this is a difficult story. It’s got bullying. It shows a lonely boy grappling with his identity in an obviously painful way. The book has some great moments, too. I loved the arc of friendship between Aiden and Elias. It offers an honest tribute to Boy Scout camp, showing the camaraderie, skills, and challenges that campers face while offering an unflinching look at the harm that homophobia causes, both among leaders and campers.
The illustrations are in black and white, with orange appearing on some pages. I loved the way Curato used that color. In some panels, it highlighted an important object. It also seemed to represent Aiden’s identity as a queer boy and either presented positively (as a superpower) or negatively (as the flames of Hell), depending on how he felt about himself in those moments.
That really helped connect that he had big, complex feelings about his identity, from internalized homophobia to recognizing that it made him unique and stronger as a person. I love that message of hope. There’s one moment where Aiden speaks to a fiery version of himself, and he says something about hating being weak. His fiery self responds that he is strong.
I loved that the graphic novel allowed that moment to happen so visually and to have Aiden literally confront himself and have this spiritual moment that offers him a new way to see himself.
One of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2023
Flamer was one of the top ten most challenged books of 2023. It’s definitely a difficult story, but it’s also one full of hope and frank conversation about loneliness, bullying, and identity that some readers desperately need to hear.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Representation
Aiden has a crush on a boy. He’s also Filipino American.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Contains the F-slur and homophobia. F-bombs used. Strong profanity used pretty frequently.
Romance/Sexual Content
References to sexual arousal. Reference to masturbation and pornography. A couple of panels indicate someone masturbating. The illustrations are oriented so that nothing is shown.
Spiritual Content
Aiden serves as an alter boy at his Catholic church. He also helps with the nondenominational Christian service at camp.
Aiden talks about learning at a Christian school that being gay is a sin and wrong.
Violent Content
Shows instances of bullying. Contains the F-slur and homophobia. Aiden mentions the origin of the F-slur as referring to sticks and referencing queer people being burned at the stake in the past.
One scene shows suicidal ideation and leads up to a suicide attempt. It’s interrupted by something of a spiritual experience.
Drug Content
None.
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