Cuckoo

It’s the summer of 1995, and teenagers from all over the United States are being forcibly taken to Camp Resolution, a gay-conversion camp hidden in the Utah desert, miles from civilization, with no contact with the outside world. Told by the full cast of well-drawn and authentic characters and in three distinct parts—a stage-setting prologue set in 1991, the meat of the novel set at camp, and an action-packed final section taking place in 2011—this is a novel where the pacing is brisk; the worldbuilding immersive; the plot intriguing, original, and existentially terrifying; and the emotions raw. Readers will quickly become invested in each of the teens, feeling their physical and psychological pain and ultimately rooting for them against all odds. Seething with anger at horrors both real and supernatural, Felker-Martin’s novel sets out to incite readers and inspire them to protect queer kids.