The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore

December 1, 2017
Five women are forever shaped by a harrowing experience they shared as girls at summer camp.It's 1994 at Forevermore, a sleep-away camp in the Pacific Northwest. The first days are filled with singalongs and preparations for an overnight kayaking trip. Siobhan, a new camper, tries to adapt to the strange social dynamics. One magnetic girl named Dina receives desperate offerings of daisy chains and chocolate milk, while Andee, a tough girl, nearly fails the swim test as everyone gathers to watch her struggle. Someone in the crowd whispers a name for what Andee is: "One of the scholarship girls." Siobhan is stung and confused by the small cruelties of Nita, a veteran camper. Isabel, meanwhile, has remained largely invisible and silent until the third day, when the kayaking trip sets off. Fu (For Today I Am a Boy, 2014, etc.) alternates between short chapters about the kayaking trip and long, expansive sections following each of the girls far into the future. We see the ripple effects of this summer before the specifics of what happened unfold. The trip becomes a predictable, though nightmarish, tale of survival, but Fu's characters are rich, real, and distinct. What happened at Forevermore is not, we see, the worst tragedy of most of their lives--but it is formative. With rawness and objectivity, Fu depicts the women these girls become along with their struggles, both cosmic and mundane. Ultimately, Siobhan is the axis of the novel. Her story is given fewer pages and saved until last, but it resonates deeply and gives sharp focus to what came before.An ambitious and dynamic portrayal of the harm humans--even young girls--can do.

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 11, 2017
In the latest from Fu (For Today I Am a Boy), which reads like a collection of linked short stories, a summer-camp accident changes the lives of five girls, all between the ages of nine and 11. Nita, Andee, Isabel, Siobhan, and Dina arrive at Camp Forevermore in the Pacific Northwest for different reasons—entranced by brochures featuring girls with “bold smiles of uneven teeth and no-nonsense braids,” or eager to escape the strictures of their monotonous upbringings. At first occupied by swimming tests and self-conscious friendships, the campers soon embark on an overnight kayaking trip to a nearby island to become “capable, knowledgeable outdoorswomen.” When group leader Jan falls ill, the girls are forced to traverse the island’s dense woods seeking rescue, and must contend with the elements and one other. In sections that alternate between the events of the trip and the sweep of each character’s adult life, effects of the trauma linger; from Dina’s eating disorder and failed modeling career to Nita’s sublimated, near-rabid need for her son to Siobhan’s mistrust of children. Fu precisely renders the banal humiliations of childhood, the chilling steps humans take to survive, and the way time warps memory. Agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists.

March 1, 2018

At the exclusive Camp Forevermore, upper-middle-class girls, as well as a few scholarship recipients, are given the opportunity to explore nature and "rough it" in the woods. When Nita, Andee, Siobhan, Isabel, and Dina are unexpectedly left alone on an island when their counselor dies, they must do everything they can to save themselves and maintain their sanity. Spanning decades, this tale examines the lives of the girls before the events at Camp Forevermore and after. Each chapter is written from the point of view of a different character, with Siobhan serving as the narrator for the events at Camp Forevermore. Andee's sister Kayla, who does not attend the camp, narrates Andee's story, providing a unique point of view. The cast of characters are racially, socially, and economically diverse. Themes such as cliques, adolescent insecurities, and the pressure to fit in will resonate with readers. VERDICT Purchase where realistic fiction is in high demand.-Ashley Leffel, Griffin Middle School, Frisco, TX

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.