Charlie is a thirteen-year-old queer black girl participating in a week-long Christian backpacking trip through the Blue Ridge Mountains. As the only person of color in an all-white youth group, she navigates the physical strain of the trail alongside the alienation caused by the camp’s Eurocentric religious traditions and casual prejudices. Guided by two female counselors, the group follows a historical path meant to honor feminist pioneers, but Charlie finds herself questioning the exclusionary nature of these "Three-Maiden" rituals. Along the way, she forms a quiet, supportive bond with Sydney, a trans girl also struggling to find her place within the rigid expectations of the group.
Readers interested in the intersection of organized religion and marginalized identity will find a grounded depiction of how institutional spaces often fail teenagers. The book is for those seeking a nuanced look at how young people negotiate their faith when it conflicts with their personal reality. Readers walk away with a specific understanding of how small social microaggressions accumulate during shared physical challenges. It serves as a study of the quiet resilience required to maintain one's integrity while being underestimated by peers and authority figures.
- Published
- 2017
- Language
- EN
