Flamer by Mike Curato
A Graphic Novel
Title: Flamer
Author: Mike Curato
Publisher: Henry Holt
Publication Year: 2020
ISBN: 9781250756145
Rating: 5 stars
For Aiden Navarro, Boy Scout Camp is usually his escape. It gets him away from his Catholic school where he is relentlessly bullied and out of his house where his parents are constantly fighting. In his fellow scouts, he sees boys that are different from the jerks that bully him at school. Aiden is under a lot of stress and pressure. At home, he serves as the emotional confidante for his mother and the protector of his younger siblings. He is extremely anxious about entering public high school in the fall. He knows it will get him away from his Catholic school bullies, but he’s worried that at a public school, he will face even worse. He feels like camp is the one place he can really be himself and just focus on looking out for himself.
However, this year is different. Some of the other boys at camp can be just as mean as the guys at school—calling him the f-slur, making fun of his Filipino heritage, or the fact that he’s slightly overweight. Once again, he finds himself as an outsider in what feels like every possible way. He feels certain that he can’t be gay because “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 definitely understand that). Yet, despite that, he can’t stop thinking about Elias, his tent mate and one of the boys who is nicest to him and doesn’t point out the ways he is different. When Aiden is with Elias, camp feels as fun and welcoming as it always has.
Toward the end of the last week of camp, things come to a head for Aiden. First, one of his favorite camp teachers is fired for being gay (this book takes place in the mid-90s before the ban on homosexual people being in leadership in the Boy Scouts was lifted). The rumors spread by both the adults and other campers whip up the homophobic sentiments that have been running through the camp all summer as “jokes.” Then Aiden in a moment of passion kisses Elias who doesn’t react well. Elias moves out of their tent and Aiden is upset at alienating his friend but is also terrified that Elias will tell the other campers what Aiden did and that he will be in danger. Tired of feeling like he doesn’t fit in, Aiden leaves a note in his tent and goes to an empty chapel with the intent to attempt suicide.
The title, Flamer, serves a dual purpose in this book. First and most obviously, “flamer” is a slur that is used against homosexuals, especially homosexual men. But it also refers to another theme of fire and salvation throughout the book. Aiden is Catholic and takes his religion very seriously. He loves God and wants to serve Him, but knows that the Catholic teachings at the time tell him that to be gay means going to hell where he will be in eternal hellfire. He also talks about the story of Pentecost (a Christian story where the Holy Spirit came to the apostles of Jesus and blessed them with “tongues of fire” that allowed them to speak many languages and thus spread the teachings of Jesus around the world). Aiden hoped to feel something similar to the tongues of fire when he was confirmed, but he didn’t. In Aiden’s words, these tongues of fire essentially made the apostles “Catholic superheroes,” superheroes also being another common thread in this story. Aiden is super into X-Men but feels most connected to Jean Grey, who is associated with Phoenix Force (and of course a phoenix is a bird reborn from its own ashes—Jean is also a woman, which sets him apart from his peers who prefer the men of the X-Men). In his X-Men daydreams, Aiden always pictures Elias as Cyclops (perhaps only because Scott Summers is married to Jean Grey) who’s optic blasts could also be described as similar to fire (I know the eye beams aren’t hot like fire though—don’t at me nerds). One of the skills Aiden talks about a lot at scouting camp is how to build a successful fire and after he strikes out with Elias, he dreams about being given a Viking funeral at camp with his fellow troop mates shooting flaming arrows into his canoe funeral pyre. At the end, when Aiden is about to complete suicide, he finally experiences his own Pentecost that rekindles the fire in his soul, whose embers he swears to protect.
The importance of fire is also highlighted in the illustrations. Most of the illustrations are in black and white (and some, like the night canoeing scenes are breathtaking), but shades of red and orange are used to emphasize elements of the story. Dreams, campfires, anger, super powers, and images of religious significance all include these warmer fire colors to show their importance and impact and mirror the ways fire is used as a symbol in this story.
While this book does have dark parts and it is hard to watch Aiden suffer, the story is told with compassion and has an overwhelmingly positive message. Aiden realizes that while he has a lot of struggles, he also has a lot of people who love, support, and care about him. He figures out that even though he feels like he doesn’t fit in a lot of the time, there are always people he will fit with and people who love him for exactly the reasons he stands out. In the Afterword, Curato talks about how many of Aiden’s experiences are based on his own. How he too loved scouting, but how hard it was to be a closeted kid in scouting in the 90s. He reminds young readers that their feelings are valid and it’s ok to feel sad and frustrated but that ultimately they are lights to the world and their light should be fostered and nourished.
I also felt like this book was especially topical with the recent comments made by the Pope concerning homosexuality. The Catholic Church can be a hard place to be if you don’t fit the desired mold. While the Church provides Aiden with a sense of love and support and is a big part of his life, it is also one of the many voices telling him that something is “wrong” with him and that he will face punishment and suffering for being himself. For a lot of people that find themselves in marginalized communities, these sorts of teachings lead to them leaving the Church and feeling disconnected from the deity they consider to be their creator, which can add to feelings of depression and isolation. Even though I’m not really a theist myself, I liked that the intervention at the end seems to be divine and is reminiscent of the story of Pentecost. In the Afterword, Curato references the divinity inside of all people. I thought it was really beautiful that Curato posits that God still loves everyone—regardless of sexuality, it is just other humans who get in the way of that message. Aiden is still able to count on his religion and beliefs even though the Church says otherwise.
On a less serious note, the lighter parts of this book are just delightful. I used to go to art camp in the summer, which is pretty different from Boy Scout Camp, but Curato perfectly captures the joy and fun of summer camp when you’re a kid. At one point, the campers are sitting around a fire chanting “Boom-Chicka-Boom!” and I couldn’t help but smile. Aiden does fun classes like learning how to make friendship bracelets and weave baskets. I think in a lot of ways, Aiden’s fear of high school also has to do with a fear of growing up and having to become an adult so seeing these sweet and fun memories of childhood right as he is on the cusp of outgrowing them was a little bittersweet but made me think of a lot of my favorite childhood and camp memories.
This book is hard to read in some parts, but the overall message is relatable and uplifting. I hope young people who are experiencing the same sorts of issues as Aiden will be able to find this book and feel seen. I hope they take the hopeful message from the end of the book as inspiration to keep going and that they are worthy of love and connection just as they are.