The Camino Club

August 1, 2020
"We all rescue each other on the Camino." Each of the six teens walking together with their guides on the Spanish portion of the Camino de Santiago has a different reason for being there--and each will test the limits of their bodies, hearts, and spirits during their once-in-a-lifetime journey. Manny, Claire, Shania, Troy, Diego, and Greg are an unlikely sextet who have committed crimes back home in Toronto but have qualified for a diversion program in lieu of spending time in juvenile detention. To pass the program, they must spend a week and a half walking a portion of the Camino, journaling, and attending mandatory daily group sessions. When they first meet, Diego compares them to the crew of The Breakfast Club--and like the movie characters, they go on to complete their punishment with fellow offenders, learning to care deeply for each other, and themselves, along the way. Alternating chapters are told from three of the peregrinos', or pilgrims', points of view: Shania's, Troy's, and Diego's. The teens soon learn that everyone has their own complicated reasons for ending up there, and the author doesn't shy away from difficult topics, including gay conversion therapy and grief. The group is ethnically diverse and includes gay and lesbian characters; each faces personal challenges that will help many readers feel seen. A vivid Spanish countryside setting and captivating journey bring new depth to a classic architecture. (Fiction. 14-18)

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October 1, 2020

Gr 7 Up-Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims walk the Camino de Santiago each year. The path across Spain to the Cathedral de Santiago is a challenging one for the best of hikers but for a group of errant teenagers from Canada, the journey could prove to be the most difficult and most rewarding time in their lives. As an alternative punishment for minor crimes, Diego, Troy, Shania, Claire, Greg, and Manny are sentenced to complete the physical and spiritual trek, however unwilling they may be at the beginning. Craig uses the voices of Latino mama's boy Diego, white rebellious Shania, and white, gregarious Troy in alternating chapters to weave a story of friendship, love, determination, and redemption among the cast of characters. The story introduces the Camino de Santiago to some while offering landmarks to those familiar with the pilgrimage. The format of short chapters and journal entries will appeal to reluctant readers. VERDICT Young adult readers will enjoy this journey and will find themselves in at least one of the characters.-Betsy Davison, formerly at Homer Central H.S., NY

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2020
Grades 9-12 Six teenagers?Diego, Manny, Shania, Claire, Greg, and Troy?all have reasons for getting into trouble, but now they have the opportunity to forgo punishment for their various offenses by spending the summer walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage across Spain, along with a court-appointed chaperone. During the trip, the teens are required to keep journals and to engage and bond with each other, and while all six of them are wary of the trip and of one another, they begin to connect (a la The Breakfast Club) as they each figure out who they are and who they want to become. Craig captures the distinct voices of each teenager as they come together to form a chosen family of sorts over the course of this emotional journey of healing. The evocative, lush writing inspires vivid imagery of the Camino de Santiago and will almost make readers wish they had a crime to erase with a pilgrimage of their own.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)