Mother-Daughter Book Camp

March 1, 2016
Five college-bound friends spend their last summer together as counselors in a girls' camp, coping with homesick little girls. The friendship and adventures of Emma, Megan, Cassidy, Becca, and Jess unfold in alternating first-person chapters at Camp Lovejoy in New Hampshire. Absent boyfriends cause concern, of course, but camp activities and personalities are at the fore. New to the camp counselor business, the girls make some missteps at first, but, inspired by their hometown book club, they come up with a wonderful idea to distract their little charges from homesickness. They purchase enough copies for all their campers of Understood Betsy, a 1916 children's book, about a girl sent to live on a farm and how she learns to enjoy its routines. Frederick keeps this series closer light, mixing protagonist-age-appropriate concerns such as college and boyfriends with pranks, songs, poems, food, and games--activities within the realm of the book's audience. Mild excitement presents itself in the form of a threatening weather event. There are surprisingly few book discussions, but Frederick returns to Understood Betsy occasionally to make some points. The protagonists are white save for Chinese Megan, but there is a decent degree of diversity among the campers. It's all innocent fun for summer campers. (Fiction. 10-14)

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May 1, 2016

Gr 5-8-Before the teen protagonists scatter around the country to college, they spend one last summer together as counselors at Camp Lovejoy. For most of the group, this is their first time in this type of situation, and they struggle to help their younger charges. Many of the campers are dealing with homesickness, and the counselors jump into action to help make their summer one they won't forget (with the help of Understood Betsy, the classic novel by Dorothy Canfield Fisher). All but one of the main characters are white (Megan is Chinese American). There's enough context here to guarantee that those who haven't read the six previous installments will appreciate this final volume. While many of the teen counselors are going off to college and are dealing with boyfriend drama, much of the action is very innocent and perfectly middle grade-friendly. Young readers who have made the journey with these characters will be sad to say goodbye to them but will be satisfied with how it all ends.

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