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

(2) YA After seventeen-year-old Nick Sole accidentally-on-purpose causes a major meat contamination incident at a processing plant, he finds himself confronted with a full-blown zombie outbreak. Beaudoin's blackly comedic tale takes zombie lore to new territory--with the outbreak's unusual origin and with its consideration of the next phase of human evolution. This satisfying read features an original voice, sly pop-culture references, and a twist ending.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2012

(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

(2) YA Since surviving a brain aneurysm, fifteen-year-old Adrian has been seeing spirits. Working at her aunt's summer camp, Adrian meets a boy who is also clouded by visions of his own death, then discovers that the spirits she sees are connected to the dark mystery surrounding her aunt. The atmospheric novel's aura of mystery and romance is aptly melded to the heady joys and secrets of summer camp.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2001

(2) YA Summer camper Andy finds himself falling under the influence of Johnny, a reckless counselor. Andy is presented with a moral dilemma when he learns that Johnny was involved in an altercation with another counselor, who then dies in an apparent drowning. The sense of impending doom in this dark coming-of-age novel will keep the reader engaged to the end.

Reviewer: Nancy Vasilakis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 1999

(2) YA Former best friends Celine and Bradley are now enemies and academic rivals. When they both jump at the opportunity to participate in a wilderness competition with a scholarship attached and end up on the same team, they are forced to work together to achieve their individual goals. They also work through what tore them apart in the first place while realizing that there could be more to their feelings. In her debut YA novel, British romance writer ­Hibbert offers an entertaining, laugh-out-loud tale featuring memorable Black characters. The alternating first-person narration of the England and Scotland–set story allows for introspection and reveals the nuances of the multifaceted protagonists. Popular jock Bradley is bisexual and lives with obsessive-compulsive disorder, which the author includes without centering or treating as problematic. Celine, struggling with ­abandonment issues related to her father, can be abrupt and emotionally closed off but is also a compelling and amusing character. Along with a constellation of well-drawn secondary players, Bradley and Celine's skillfully written romantic banter make this an engrossing rom-com.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(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 After establishing the absorbing origin story of Stevie Bell in the Truly Devious trilogy (Truly Devious, rev. 1/18, and sequels), Johnson gleefully takes a stab at the slasher movie trope by sending her teen detective on a cold case at a summer camp. Stevie is offered a job by a wealthy "tech bro" who wants to create a true-crime podcast. He's hoping that she will crack the case of the notorious Camp Wonder Falls murders, where four teenagers were bludgeoned to death in the summer of 1978. Stevie accepts and gets right to work interviewing locals and collecting clues, which is a welcome distraction from her ever-present anxiety and complicated relationship with her boyfriend. But there is someone in Camp Wonder Falls who will do anything--including murder--to keep our heroine from discovering the dark truth. This satisfying standalone mystery will delight fans of teen horror flicks and true-crime documentaries, as well as those who prefer their mysteries wrapped up after one volume. Crime history geeks will be particularly tickled by the multiple references to, and author's note about, Frances Glessner Lee, the woman who "basically established forensics in the United States." Here's hoping this highly entertaining volume isn't the last we hear from Stevie Bell.

Reviewer: Jennifer Hubert Swan | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) YA Margaret Rose Kane spends the summer with a pair of great-uncles who have devoted their lives to building three sculpture towers in their backyard. When a local group plans to have the structures demolished, Margaret Rose rallies a group of kindred spirits to save the towers. Konigsburg tackles some big themes without sacrificing her usual incisive characterizations and inventive storytelling.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2004

(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

(2) YA Aspen is an exclusive Catskills summer camp, ruled by elitism, segregated by gender, and rife with long-entrenched sexism and homophobia. Returning to Aspen after a traumatic exit years before is Mars, a genderfluid teen who believes the camp caused their twin sister's death. Alongside the pedestrian oppressiveness of this summer camp is something more alarming: memories vanish, as do people. With only one ally among the boys, Mars is drawn to the girls who tend the camp's beehives. But the girls (and bees) are as sinister as they are welcoming. They hide Aspen's gruesome secrets, and Mars will risk everything to uncover those secrets. This horror novel perfectly understands its genre, drawing out unease, disorientation, and grotesqueness through its language, the supernatural, and everyday evils. Mars is a strong lead, a character of fury and persistence. La Sala's prose is dripping and heady, unapologetically gothic enough to build tension and carry readers through the more surreal portions of the story. With laser focus, the narrative arrives at its conclusions through a delicious balance of restraint and clamor. La Sala strikes all his targets: navigating gender in hostile environments; grief; the monstrous gluttony of wealth; violence; young queer desire; and yes, very scary bees.

Reviewer: Anne St. John | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) YA Thirteen-year-old Andi Byrd is a talented trumpeter, constantly encouraged by her supportive mother. After her mother dies and she is sent to live with relatives, Andi finds it hard to get back into her artistic groove. Her talent lands her a spot at a prestigious music camp, but the inspiration still isn't there--until Andi meets Zora. A regular attendee of the camp, Zora has a reputation for excellence--a reputation she's upheld at the risk of her well-being. As the only two Black girls at the predominantly white camp, Zora and Andi are initially reluctant to be lumped together but soon discover they are just what the other needs. Zora's strict practice regimen reminds Andi to focus on all aspects of the music; in turn, Andi teaches Zora that improv is welcome every now and then. As they grow closer, the girls begin to apply these lessons to other areas of their lives: Zora acknowledging her desire to be a dancer rather than a flutist, and Andi coming to terms with all the memories of her mother, not just the good ones. The novel is told in alternating first-person accounts (separated by free verse written from the viewpoint of the camp itself), and the voices of Andi and Zora are distinct and consistent, providing a comprehensive view of this coming-of-age romance. Themes of self-harm and anxiety are geared toward a middle-school audience; a list of resources appears in the author's note.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(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

(2) YA Illustrated by Aatmaja Pandya. This graphic novel sensitively explores friendship, love, art, mental health, and self-harm. Just before Jade leaves for the Art Farm, a competitive summer intensive program that might snag her a scholarship to art school, her best friend, Phoebe, attempts suicide. Worried about Phoebe, who is now in a mental health facility, and fearing that her own clay art is simply not good enough, Jade tries desperately to focus on her Art Farm work. While searching for inspiration, she falls into a sweet summer romance with fellow artist Mary. Jade discovers that burning her drawings can create a kind of magic, replaying her memories with Phoebe in the flames. It's cathartic--until it starts to bring the clay monsters she's now making to life. Pandya's illustrations are shaded white and navy except in moments of intense emotion, when scenes turn brilliant red. This device heightens the contrast between the friendly, rounded art style showing Jade's rural summer program and her growing internal distress. Her emotional arc is compellingly messy and gut-wrenching, as she grapples with her responsibility to a friend in crisis, genuine trauma reactions, and the stresses of life as an artist. Readers will learn about the process of working with clay and grow to care about these tender, complex relationships, including Jade's relationships to her art and to herself.

Reviewer: Bodie Shanis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(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

(2) YA In 1983, Smiles and Nike are working as camp counselors in the South Bronx. As the summer goes on, neighborhood tensions build and secrets come to light, from budget concerns at camp to racial and religious conflicts. Told in alternating voices, the book features two fully realized narrators with complex lives, a memorable supporting cast, and a complete immersion in the early-eighties zeitgeist.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2015

(2) YA Fourteen-year-old Tallulah Casey (Georgia Nicolson's younger cousin) attends a performing arts summer school in the Yorkshire Dales. She quickly makes friends--all as boy-obsessed as she--while garnering self-confidence and discovering her hidden talents. Lullah's madcap adventures, her literary musings, and her naive inner monologues are all highly entertaining. An amusing glossary of Briticisms and Tallulah's own made-up phrases is appended.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2011

(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

(1) YA Fifteen-year-old war refugee Ariel is adopted into the family of "de-extinction" scientist Jake Burgess and sent to camp with adoptive brother Max. Meanwhile, psychotic Leonard Fountain is on a deranged road trip. And the crew of the ship Alex Crow fights for survival on an ill-fated late-nineteenth-century Arctic voyage. Strong prose with a distinct teenage-boy sensibility anchors this ambitious novel's exploration of survival and extinction.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2015

(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

(2) YA Fifteen-year-old loner Perry has been sentenced to forced socialization at Camp Washiska Lake, where, in a fantastical turn, he discovers that the world of his favorite game is based on another universe, the World of the Other Normals. Through the protagonist's incisive observations, rampant insecurities, and unapologetic embrace of nerd-culture, Vizzini depicts the teen male experience with authenticity and honesty.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2012

(2) YA It's a big summer for middle schooler Maggie: she is starting a braiding business with her best friend, Daija, and she will be meeting her half-sister, Callie, who is from the Bahamas, for the first time. Callie's mother recently passed away, and Callie will be moving in with Maggie's family in Jacksonville, Florida. While Maggie is welcoming to Callie, Daija is not so happy about this new sister, as she and Maggie are practically sisters. Protective of her friendship and their new braiding enterprise, Daija is not interested in embracing Callie and is determined not to be replaced by a stranger. However, Callie soon becomes the least of their worries as nemesis Angela and her crew decide to open a competing braid business and start to steal their customers. Is it possible for the three girls to overcome their differences and insecurities and become sisters and friends? Drama between the Braid Girls and the Sistahs Who Braid heats up as the competition for business leads to a memorable climax. A summer crush for Maggie lends extra excitement. Told through the alternating points of view of the three girls, the story explores themes of friend and family relationships, grief, bullying, divorce, and parental absence, all handled with care and sensitivity.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) YA In this Australian import, Sibylla is dreading her high school's nine-week-long outdoor education program. So is Lou, a transfer student who's mourning the death of her soulmate, Fred (from Six Impossible Things, in which Lou and Fred fell in love). The girls are drawn together when Sib's geeky friend Michael befriends Lou. The alternating narrators' honesty and humor will keep readers engrossed.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014

(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