Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash

Each summer Maggie is sent to an all-girls' camp in Kentucky that proudly follows years-old traditions of Civil War re-enactments, target practice and more. At fifteen, Maggie falls for 19-year-old counselor, Erin. First love can be hard enough, but Maggie's is compounded by the fact she is gay and has fallen for an authority figure who is strictly out of bounds. Maggie strikes up a friendship with Erin while trying hard to hide her true feelings to avoid discovery and the inevitable censure that would follow from her peers if they find out she is a lesbian.

A well-written memoir of what it is like to grow up in a conservative family, live in a conservative community, and realize you are gay. Limiting her memoir's focus to this particular summer at camp allows readers to really put themselves in Maggie's shoes. Thrash doesn't focus on her parents and how they might react to her coming out, but instead, limits her tale to peer responses. Teens should relate to Maggie's belief that if her fellow campers find out she is a lesbian, cruel attitudes are inevitable at an all girl camp already overflowing with back-stabbing rumors and snide remarks.