"...there's something magical about summer camp."
How it begins: "When I was a kid, I had a button on my backpack that read I LIVE TEN MONTHS FOR TWO. When people noticed it, I'd get one of two reactions: total confusion, or a knowing smile. The ones who smiled would inevitably ask one question. A question that let me know without a doubt, that they were my kind of people: 'So where'd you go to camp?' "
The plot: For Jessie, Camp Chickawah always felt like home...the one place she truly belonged. It's where she met her best friend, Hillary, though the two aren't in touch any more. So being Chickawah's camp director has been her dream job. Only the camp hasn't been making money. And now the owners want to sell it to developers. And Jessie has only one summer left. To make the most of it, she invites all of Chickawah's past campers to come back for a memorable and nostalgic adult summer camp experience. Every week will have a different theme. They'll relive all their favorite camp moments. And when Hillary shows up with an idea that could save Camp Chickawah, Jessie is all in.
"(Because) once a camp person, always a camp person."
My thoughts: There is something magical about summer camp. My summer camp experiences were never eight weeks long, but they were always fun. And I always wished I could go to a place like Camp Chickawah with a lake, swimming and canoeing, archery, arts and crafts, hiking, scavenger hunts, color wars, and summer camp friendships and memories that last a lifetime. That's probably why I love reading books with a summer camp setting so much. And this one really captures all that magic. It has both humor and heart. I loved seeing Jessie and Hillary rekindle their friendship. Jessie's romance with a reclusive writer named Luke, and Hillary's summer fling with the camp chef were both sweet and swoony. And all the camp activities were so fun. This book just made me happy. To quote Jessie, "It was Chicka-wonderful!" And one I wouldn't mind owning so I can read it again every summer.
"...camp people never say goodbye; we say 'see ya next summer.' "
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Happy Reading!
This sounds like the perfect summer read. I never had a chance to go to camp when I was a kid, but it always sounded like so much fun! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved the days I got to spend with my friends at girls' camp. We had so much fun together.
DeleteI never went to camp either when I was young and this book sounds like alot of fun. Camp is a way to meet new friends and particularly if kids live in a big city they rarely get to see nature up close so camp is a valuable experience.
ReplyDeleteBeing out in nature is such a great experience for kids. And you certainly make friends at camp you'd never make any where else.
DeleteThis does sound like a fun one. I was two weeks at camp per summer myself until I started working there--only then did I get to stay all summer long. And that was even better. Hail Stuart campers brave and free... ;-)
ReplyDeleteSadly they did actually sell the place off to developers twenty years ago.
Hail Stuart campers! :D But very sad that they sold the camp.
DeleteI never went off to camp but it always sounded fun.
ReplyDeleteI loved the few weeks I spent at camp. :D
DeleteI, too, never went to camp, but since I lived on a farm, in a sense, my entire year was spent at camp.
ReplyDeleteThat's kind of true. :D
DeleteI loved this one too! As a former camp kid, it really touched my heart and made me so nostalgic and happy!
ReplyDeleteI felt like it really captured the spirit of friendship and summer camp. :D
DeleteGreat review, Lark!! It sounds fun.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this one. :D
DeleteI get the nostalgia. Summer camp has seemed a torture for some kids and a great outdoor adventure for others.
ReplyDeleteThat's so true. But it's always fun to read about. ;D
DeleteHi Lark, How can it be the last day of August?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in elementary school, a good friend of mine went to a day camp at a park every week during the summer. My parents could not afford even one week, but her mother paid for me to go one week for a couple of summers. It was fun and different. But I can sympathize with Harvee's comment: "a torture for some". Everybody isn't cut out for group experiences like that.
That's true. Introverts don't love that kind of forced sociality. Though I'm an introvert, and I did love being with my friends at camp. And I can't believe it's the last day of August either. Where did summer go?
DeleteI always longed to go to a camp like this one, too! I really enjoyed this one, as well! :)
ReplyDeleteIt was so fun...the perfect summer read. :D
DeleteMy own summer camp experiences were not fun, but I wouldn't say not to reading a book about a good experience! This sounds like a fun read.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't have fun summer camp experiences. But I think you'd find this book a lot of fun.
DeleteI never went to summer camp, but I imagine it would be a lot of fun. I think that's why I love reading camp stories - they always make summer time sound so fun. This book sounds terrific!
ReplyDeleteThey do make summer time sound very fun. That's part of why I love reading summer camp stories, too. :D
DeleteThis sounds fun! Summer camps weren't really a big thing where/when I was growing up - or atleast not the overnight camps but I always wished they were a thing!
ReplyDeleteThey're not a big thing where I live either...at least not ones where you go away for the whole summer. But I did get to go to weeklong ones several summers in a row that I totally loved.
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