Summer Camp YA

(3) YA African American seventeen-year-old Elliot sloughs off her family's expectations, renames herself Ever Lawrence, and heads to a geeky summer-camp competition to win a full scholarship to Rayevich College, which offers a unique program in science-fiction literature. Laced with a soupçon of romance, this homage to Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest brims with a diverse cast of witty characters figuring out how to be themselves.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(2) YA At a jazz camp of "mostly dudes," bass player Wes and his drummer best friend Corey meet Ash, who has her own unique musical style and refuses to play with the condescending guys. Frustrated, she leaves--and Wes and Corey go with her. What follows is both a classic road-trip novel and an inventive teen adventure that subtly addresses race, family, and socioeconomics.

Reviewer: Sian Gaetano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2016

(4) YA At Camp Dogberry, sisters Bee and Hana Leonato are tricked by fellow counselors into revealing their feelings for their co-counselor crushes, Ben and Claudia, respectively. The abundant rotating perspectives can get a bit confusing, but the rustic Maine summer camp makes a lively backdrop for all the tangled alliances in Booth's clever retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) YA On September 11, a now-iconic photograph captures one-year-old Abbi "Baby Hope" in front of the collapsing World Trade Center. Almost sixteen years later, Abbi just wants to be an anonymous camp counselor--but fellow counselor Noah knows who she is and needs her help. This heartbreaking, romantic, and, yes, hopeful novel conveys the grief and strength of those affected by the 2001 tragedy.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) YA Following a devastating breakup, Cassidy flees to the Jersey Shore; Bryan is struggling with his new life in a wheelchair following a tragic accident. Both desperate to forget the past and hoping summer will mend wounds, the teens fall in love while working as camp counselors. A tender romance (with a sensitive treatment of disability), perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han.

Reviewer: Meredith M. Sittman

(1) YA Aiden is not looking forward to starting public high school in the fall; his Catholic schooling heretofore has had its challenges--"jerks"--but at least it had become familiar. A summer at Boy Scout camp provides a break from his squabbling parents and a chance to breathe ("Everything is so quiet" in the woods) before school starts. Not so fast: camp also has bullies, whose taunts referencing Aiden's presumed sexual orientation are only exacerbated by Aiden's growing love for another camper, the athletic and sweet-natured Elias. Grownup LGBTs will know exactly what Aiden is going through, but this book speaks so well to those kids currently undergoing the ordeal. The graphic novel takes its time to fully pull readers into Aiden's psyche and his setting, which provides the pleasures of summer and friendship and nature along with the rewards of Scout activities. (Orienteering!) The drawing is expertly cartooned, and the palette is black and white with occasional, and then increasing, daubs and splashes of red whenever passions--of many kinds--ride high. The variation of small, storytelling panels and full-page and double-page spreads for big moments is wonderfully effective, and the climax--Aiden in a literal dark night of the soul in the outdoor chapel--is high drama indeed, emotionally powerful, proudly and extravagantly spiritual (and as Catholic as any Graham Greene epiphany). He comes through it to have one perfect day at camp to sustain him going forward. If you will forgive the editorial intrusion, I wish I had had this book fifty years ago.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(3) YA Mother-Daughter Book Club series. Emma and her book club friends spend their last summer before college as camp counselors. Trying to cure homesick little campers, the girls realize a book club might be the answer. Fans have waited four years for this satisfying sixth and final book in the popular middle-grade series and will be especially happy to catch up on boyfriend news and college plans.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(3) YA Attending a highly regarded theater camp on scholarship makes sheltered small-town Floridian and rising senior Penny question her own expectations that she'll marry her high-school sweetheart, Logan, and take over her family's diner. A tender love story with appealing focus on the power of a transformative summer, the desire for independence, and the pursuit of one's dreams.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) YA Struggling with anorexia and panic attacks, dancer Sam attends "Perform at Your Peak" therapy camp. She bonds with artists and athletes with similar issues; learns coping mechanisms; misguidedly pursues a crush on a counselor; and gradually redefines her beliefs and goals. A realistic, relatable examination of the painful consequences pressure and perfectionism can have for ambitious teens--with some potential paths to healing.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(4) YA Ten teens attending a wilderness camp for delinquents must complete a survival exercise. To pass time, each participant (à la Chaucer's Canterbury Tales) tells a self-revealing story, most involving betrayal, bullying, assault, and misunderstood quests for justice. The embedded tales--each by a different YA author, including compiler Hutchinson--range from bland to disturbing to thought-provoking, leading to an uneven collection.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(2) YA Cyn and Ryan (Evil Librarian) just want to enjoy a demon-free summer at drama camp. Then Cyn is assigned to set-design a musical written by cute camper Peter--who turns out to be a demon. That the good guys will win and Cyn and Ryan will work it out are givens, but plenty of supernatural action, snark, and kissing build to a satisfying conclusion.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2017

(3) YA Lucy's mother's cancer returns and her boyfriend puts "a pause" on their relationship. On top of that, her summer job at a camp for kids with trauma and the revelation of long-held family secrets prompt Lucy to re-examine her innermost biases. Lucy, whose father is a Methodist pastor, struggles to maintain her previously steady beliefs in this original take on faith and hope.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(4) YA In an inventive novel with overtones of horror and fantasy, twenty-five girls receive a mysterious invitation to attend summer camp. The girls are divided into five cabins, and each diverse group faces bizarre and dangerous situations. Written almost like a play, with an omniscient narrator editorializing on the happenings, the plot can be somewhat confusing, but the oddly appealing premise should carry readers through.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) YA Grieving his sister's death by suicide, proud grammar-nerd Nick is sent by his parents to "Jesus camp," where he encounters a variety of preposterous tactics and regulations--and the pesky ghost of Jack Kerouac. Nick is a sympathetic character, and although the camp and staff are portrayed in a broadly satirical way, Nick and his fellow campers' struggles are depicted with intimacy and compassion.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(3) YA Teenager Moses is court-mandated to work at a camp in Michigan after a prank he pulled with his cousin, Charlie, ended in tragedy. Moses's affection for a camper and friendship with the other counselors help him confront his grief and anger; flashbacks describe his conflicted relationship with Charlie. This debut features sharp and insightful writing and a protagonist who's difficult to forget.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) YA Quinn is a counselor at her family's seaside summer camp known for its legendary sea creature. She doesn't believe in Wessie but sees the creature while involved in a boating accident that kills her friend. Quinn battles grief and guilt on her journey toward self-forgiveness; her story is supported by a strong sense of place and a cast of distinct, well-drawn characters.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) YA This graphic memoir traces Thrash's transformative final summer of sleepaway camp, during which she falls for a counselor, comes out, and weathers the mixed response. The muted pastels of Thrash's loose-lined watercolor-pencil and pen illustrations reinforce a contemplative tone, and teenage Maggie's inner journey is heartfelt and thoughtfully drawn. However, substantial textual "voice-overs" skew the balance between action and retrospection.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) YA Andrew, Ben, Clarisa, Stella, and Mason spend a month at Camp Ugunduzi, a "therapeutic wilderness program" for teens with mental health disorders. Together, they bond as a group and confront their individual issues (which include anorexia, narcissism, anxiety, OCD, and depression). The campers' genuine, prickly friendships take center stage in this story that acknowledges the difficult and sometimes impossible-seeming path to recovery.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(3) 4-6 Plucky triplets Dawn, Darby, and Delaney Brewster (Revenge of the Flower Girls; Revenge of the Angels) are back, and this time they're heading on a week-long camping trip with their cool aunt Jane. A rivalry and resulting competition with a trio of brothers quickly ensues, offering much action and hilarity as well as opportunities for sisterly quarrels and (eventual) bonding.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl