CAMP SYLVANIA

After returning to summer camp, besties Maggie and Nora start to drift apart as new friends and the supernatural come between them.

After last year’s vampire situation, Maggie eagerly anticipates the next twist Camp Sylvania might throw at them, but Nora doesn’t want anything to do with the paranormal. She can’t help but be jealous of Maggie’s friends from last year—and when Nora gets a cool bunkmate, Maggie likewise takes it as a threat to their friendship. The camp itself has undergone a New Age revamp, with the new director emphasizing the importance of chemical-free skin care products, primal-screaming workshops, a raw, vegan diet—and a glowing liquid called moon water. Then one camper goes missing, and others start to notice excessive body hair growth. Maggie and Nora will have to reconcile before their friendship and the summer go to the dogs—or is it werewolves? The girls’ differing reactions to the previous summer’s events and their strained friendship, along with the parental relationships portrayed, the new director’s genuine care for the campers, and the host of puberty references, make for a compassionate and complex presentation of tween life. Humor and clear storytelling in the narration (which alternates between the two protagonists) balance the heartfelt messaging, creating an easily digestible read. Maggie reads white; Nora is cued Latine. Final art not seen.

A fun summer romp with honest portrayals of friendship woes and the pitfalls of well-meaning adults.