Flamer

Aiden Navarro is the 14-year-old Filipino American protagonist of the story. The novel follows his battle for Self-Acceptance in a racist and anti-gay culture, one that is antagonistic to almost every aspect of his identity: He is short, overweight, biracial, and gay. While summer camp is usually a reprieve from the bullying he receives at school and the chaos of his home life, things are more complicated this summer: Puberty has turned the other boys into vulgar, aggressive, sex-obsessed monsters that he doesn’t understand. He also begins to experience confusing feelings for his tentmate Elias.

Despite being kind, clever, and funny, Aiden often struggles to make friends because of how he is perceived. His best friend is a girl named Violet, whom he routinely writes to and receives letters from while at camp. Over the course of the novel, Aiden does connect with a few of the boys in his patrol—Elias, David, and Bobby in particular. Through Aiden, the story depicts the challenges of Growing Up as Someone Deemed “Other,” and how difficult growing up in a culture of hate is for children who do not fit with dominant norms and expectations. After years of bullying and being told that being gay is a sin, Aiden has developed self-hatred and refuses to accept that he is gay.