Nerd Camp

July 11, 2011
What 10-year-old Gabe wants more than anything is a sibling, and he gets his wish when his father announces his fiancée has a son, Zack, precisely Gabe's age. But after Gabe meets super-cool skater dude Zack, he feels self-conscious about everything, especially his upcoming trip to sleepaway camp. Zack mistakenly believes that Gabe is going on an exciting wilderness adventure and is envious; what Gabe hasn't revealed is that the camp is actually geared toward brainiacs, with daily activities like problem-solving using the postulates of logical reasoning. Will Gabe's relationship with his new stepbrother sour if Zack finds out what a nerd Gabe is? Gabe composes lists of what he can safely tell Zack about camp, leaving out the poetry writing, singing songs written in binary code, and taking part in a "Lice 101" class in which they enthusiastically study the louse that has infested the camp. Though Weissman's message about individuality is mildly prescriptive and Zack's character is absent for much of the narrative, she persuasively conveys Gabe's anxiety over both living up to the perceived expectations of others and his desire to escape being labeled. Ages 8â12.

June 1, 2011

Gr 4-5-Gabe, 10, is excited about getting two things he has wanted: a brother and to go to camp. The brother is Zack, the son of his father's fiancee, who is also 10 and lives across the country in L.A. The camp is the Summer Center for Gifted Enrichment. Gabe wants to appear just as cool to Zack as he thinks Zack is, so he keeps the "nerd" details about camp to himself. At SCGE, the campers have lessons in the morning, then traditional camp activities in the afternoon and evening. The campers are typical kids, pulling pranks, whining about some things, and getting homesick; they just happen to be extremely bright. Gabe enjoys his bunkmates and loves everything about camp except the food. Zack is envious of Gabe's experience, so Gabe keeps him up-to-date on what's happening, sort of. He keeps a chart of things he can tell his stepbrother and the details that probably shouldn't be mentioned, e.g., that they like learning the digits of Pi. The boys' characters are well developed and although the three adults play a minor role in the story, they are civil to one another and to both boys. In addition to being a good, humorous story, the book also illustrates that kids who are bright are just kids and can enjoy a lot of different things.-Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2011

Gabe is torn between his enthusiasm for a summer residential program for gifted children and his fear that his new, cool stepbrother-to-be will find out he's a nerd.

Just his age, 11, Zack seems like the ideal sibling to Gabe, who has always wanted one. But surfer-boy Zack really doesn't like nerds. All the things Gabe enjoys--math team, reading and the gifted program--Zack describes as weird. Luckily, sleep-away camp impresses him. Episodic chapters combine camp scenes, letters home and a growing chart of the things Gabe's done he can tell Zack about and the geeky details that he can't. The third-person narration describes the fun of a camp where students write poetry, solve problems and investigate lice with microscopes and also swim, kayak, play sports and compete in a Color War. While Gabe is trying to present six weeks of camp activities in the best light for Zack, he's also choosing them in order to avoid fellow-camper Amanda, a girl who seems to be stalking him but turns out to be someone who could be a friend. The author sets up the thematic conflict believably, but the contrast between Gabe's enjoyment and his social fears gets tiresome. The protesting goes on too long, the resolution is pat and the author's hand and purpose seems evident.

This celebration of summer camp and geekiness tries too hard. (Fiction. 9-12)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2011
Grades 4-6 Perfect for kids whose quest for knowledge isnt satisfied by nine months of school, Weissmans latest novel features an appealing 10-year-old whos more certain of facts and figures than of his worth. Gabe questions his own coolness when he meets the boy whos about to become his stepbrother; theyre the same age but worlds apart intellectually, and Gabe tries to hide from Zack all traces of his own nerdy tendencies. Weissman portrays Gabe as a sweet only child whos as excited about getting the sibling he has always wanted as he is about being admitted to a Gifted Enrichment camp. Over the course of six weeks of camp, he revels in his adventures and then analyzes them for their nerdiness quotient, working out logic proofs to help him figure out how much to tell Zack. Weissman depicts a camp whose academic classes sound almost as fun as kayaking and color war. These smart, funny kids learn something from a lice infestation, and its only logical that Gabe also gains confidence in his own opinions and individuality.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)