I've recently started reading LGBTQ-centric graphic novels and manga. Growing up, this kind of literature was not widely available, especially targeted toward teens and young adults.
Though I am well past both aforementioned age groups, I love seeing all the colors of the rainbow represented in fiction. It gives me hope that one day, in the not-too-distant future, LGBTQ+ kids won't have to experience the same trauma many of us have had to (or are still) going through.
Today, I’m going to be looking at Flamer, a graphic novel by Mike Curato.
Aimed at young adults, the book takes place at a Boy Scout summer camp over the course of a week in 1995. We’re introduced to Aiden Navarro, a 14-year-old Filipino boy who is struggling both with his appearance and orientation, especially in light of his Catholic faith. He’s hoping camp will provide a good distraction from middle school bullies, warring parents, and a fear of what his life will be like when he starts at public high school.
I blindly picked Flamer up at a local pride event because it caught my eye. The back cover quotes Aiden, reading:
“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.”
As somebody who went through some of the same internal struggles as the protagonist, I felt this deep within my soul. It was 1995 when I, too, began questioning my orientation, and filtering the answer through the lens of the faith that had been imposed upon me, my parents’ traditional values, and a society which rejected anything perceived as “different.”
Throughout the course of the book, we see Aiden attempt to enjoy himself at camp despite his own internal struggles, difficulty fitting in, and the thoughtless wisecracks his peers made about gay people. We also join him as he slowly realizes he’s developing a crush on one of his camp mates, Elias, with whom he shares a tent.
Aiden finds himself unable to express his feelings to Elias for most of the book but takes comfort in the fact that his friend seems to “get” him in ways his other peers can’t. It seems to be through particularly vivid dreams in which Elias plays a “Prince Charming”-type of hero and Aiden a damsel in distress that he begins to realize he can’t keep suppressing his feelings.
But how can he not, when his faith tells him that being gay is wrong, he doesn’t know how his parents will react, his camp mates constantly make hurtful jokes, both about him and gay people in general, and he’s involved in an organization that instantly rejects leaders who are open about their sexuality?
All these factors weigh heavily on Aiden, who reaches a very dark place by the end of the week. And, while I will refrain from giving away any specific details, if I had one complaint, it’s that the book arrived at its conclusion a little too abruptly. I appreciate the message it sends and agree with the cover that “this book will save lives,” but I also felt it could have been fleshed out a little more to show how Aiden’s sense of self-worth and his confidence improved following the conclusion.
Overall, Flamer is absolutely worth a permanent spot in your library, especially if you, like Aiden, are struggling with your identity or even your very existence.
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