Is it hard to read?
No, the conversational language, first-person voice and linear story make it straightforward to follow. The greater challenge is emotional: Aiden’s experiences of bullying, abuse and suicidal thoughts are intense.
Fiction · Comics & Graphic Novels · Young Adult · Comics and graphic novels
Flamer
EstablishedLambda Literary Awards, 2021Reading facts
✓ Checked- Reading effort
- 31 / 100Moderate
- Length
- 368 pagesHenry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks · 2020
- Reading time
- 7 h 15 minat 50 pages an hour ·
- Pace
- Moderate
- Emotional intensity
- 5 / 5
About 7 h 15 min · at 30 minutes a day, about 15 days
Estimated from the page count of this edition. Dense books can take longer than the estimate.
About the book
Fourteen-year-old Aiden Navarro spends the last week of Boy Scout camp in 1995 caught between the pleasures of camp life and boys who mock his weight, Filipino heritage and effeminate voice. His attraction to his tentmate, Elias, conflicts with what he has learned at Catholic school, while letters to his friend Violet offer somewhere to speak more freely.
Reader notes
Mostly black-and-white panels flare into fiery color as Aiden struggles to express his feelings. The YA graphic novel is emotionally raw but allows room for humor and friendship; homophobic bullying, his father’s emotional abuse and suicidal thoughts are serious parts of the story.
How it reads
- Writing style
- Conversational · Direct
- Tone
- Dark · Earnest · Hopeful · Intimate
- Structure
- Linear
- Driven by
- Character · Relationships
- Point of view
- First person
- Setting
- Wilderness
Reading complexity
- Writing
- 2 / 5
- Ideas
- 3 / 5
- Structure
- 2 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 1 / 5
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
- Writing
- How much attention the sentences and language require.
- Ideas
- How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
- Structure
- How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
- Background knowledge
- Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
- Emotional intensity
- Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Themes
- Belonging
- Identity
- Mental health
- Religion and faith
- Sexuality
- Trauma
Content notes
- Violence
- Mild
- Sexual content
- Mild
- Swearing
- Strong
- Substance use
- None
- Abuse
- Strong
- Self-harm or suicide
- Strong
Standing and awards
Established
- Lambda Literary Awards, 2021
Questions readers ask
What serious subjects should I be prepared for?
Strong abuse and suicide-related material are central, including homophobic bullying, Aiden’s father’s emotional abuse and Aiden’s suicidal thoughts. Boys at camp also mock his weight, Filipino heritage and effeminate voice.
Is it bleak throughout?
No, the emotionally raw story also makes room for humor, friendship and hope. Mostly black-and-white panels flare into fiery color as Aiden struggles to express his feelings, giving his inner life a visual intensity.
How much does religion matter to the story?
Aiden’s attraction to his tentmate, Elias, conflicts with what he has learned at Catholic school. That tension connects faith and sexuality to his struggle with identity and belonging during his last week at camp.
How long is it?
368 pages in the Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks 2020 paperback edition.
Which edition is shown here?
Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks · 2020 · Paperback. ISBN 9781250756145.
How long does it take to read Flamer?
About 7 hours 15 minutes at 50 pages an hour, based on the 368-page Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks edition. Dense books can take longer.
About the author
Mike Curato
Mike Curato is an author-illustrator whose work ranges from the stylized Little Elliot picture books to graphic novels for teenagers and adults. He adapts his drawing to each project rather than imposing a single house style. Flamer uses rough black pencil and ink wash, punctuated by colored fire imagery, while its summer-camp schedule gives a long coming-of-age story firm structure. The book draws on Curato’s adolescence and lets sexuality, mixed Filipino-Irish heritage, Catholic faith, body image, and masculinity bear on one another. In Gaysians, denser, more realistic pages carry four interwoven adult viewpoints. Curato developed its composite characters through interviews and sensitivity reading, broadening an autobiographical starting point into a story of queer Asian community.
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Edition and details
- Publisher
- Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks
- Publication year
- 2020
- Format
- Paperback
- Pages
- 368
- ISBN
- 9781250756145
- Edition language
- English
- Original language
- English
- First published
- 2020
- Genres and form
- Fiction · Comics & Graphic Novels · Young Adult · Comics and graphic novels
- Editions
- 2
- Languages
- 1 (English)