Rave – Jessica Campbell

Yn y 2000au gynnar, mae Lauren yn 15 oed, swil a’n casau ei chorff. Fel aelodau o eglwys efengylaidd, mae ei rhieni yn ei gwahardd rhag dod â gwerslyfrau ar esblygiad (evolution) adref, felly mae Lauren yn dewis astudio yn nhŷ Mariah.

Mae gan Mariah rhyngrwyd deialu, mam absennol, ac allor Wicaidd – y lleoliad perffaith ar gyfer sesiwn astudio, ac i Lauren cael ei phrofiad cwiar cyntaf. Ond mae uogrwydd Cristnogol a homoffobia mewnol Lauren yn gwneud i hi gwestiynu’r profiad.

Mae’r awdur Jessica Campbell (XTC69) yn defnyddio hiwmor tywyll i gyfleu argyfwng ffydd a rhywioldeb Lauren. Mae Rave yn glasur newydd, yn stori dod-i-oed am y mannau dirgel y mae merched ifanc yn eu creu a’r strwythurau cymdeithasol ehangach sy’n eu methu.

It’s the early 2000s. Lauren is fifteen, soft-spoken, and ashamed of her body. She’s a devout member of an evangelical church, but when her Bible-thumping parents forbid Lauren to bring evolution textbooks home, she opts to study at her schoolmate Mariah’s house.

Mariah has dial-up internet, an absentee mom, and a Wiccan altar – the perfect setting for a study session and sleepover to remember. That evening, Mariah gives Lauren a makeover and the two melt into each other, in what becomes Lauren’s first queer encounter. Afterward, a potent blend of Christian guilt and internalised homophobia causes Lauren to question the experience.

Author Jessica Campbell (XTC69) uses frankness and dark humour to articulate Lauren’s burgeoning crisis of faith and sexuality. She captures teenage antics and banter with astute comedic style, simultaneously skewering bullies, a culture of slut-shaming, and the devastating impact of religious zealotry. Rave is an instant classic, a coming-of-age story about the secret spaces young women create and the wider social structures that fail them.