THE PACK

A girl and her friends experience otherworldly dangers and fantastical discoveries at summer camp.

Twelve-year-old Harmony, who lives with her divorced mom, is grumpy that they had to suddenly move from Los Angeles to a small Northern California town simply because some weird little man had followed her around the mall. Even worse, Mom enrolled her in summer camp, where Harmony is sure misery awaits her. Camp Coho, in the redwood forest near Mendocino, is no ordinary camp. Readers learn this when the camp dog, Guardian Hound MacUmba, silently assesses the campers as they arrive. Observing “tiny threads of rage” floating around Harmony, he silently tells the camp director, Mr. Magnussen, “This one could prove to be difficult.” Rude and sarcastic, angry at her absentee mother, Harmony nonetheless befriends cabin mate Olivia, and gradually, the pair teams up with three boys their age. They discover that they have more in common than camp after Harmony responds to a dare with a forbidden, late-night trek into the forest, followed by her worried friends. Here, this imaginative fantasy by debut author Hendrix becomes a roller-coaster ride into the supernatural. A fierce, massively transformed MacUmba saves the young people from a “draugar” (war dog zombie), and they are transported back and forth in time via ancient “Sentinel Trees.” The quintet subsequently learns that ghosts, goblins, the fae, and the undead are real, and they have magical potential of their own. Throughout, Hendrix adds real-world substance to the plot with a framework of the area’s folklore, history, geography, and ecology. Readers will find hints of what to expect in the upcoming sequel as still prickly Harmony and her friends enter seventh grade while honing the magical skills that will undoubtedly be needed. A brief excerpt from the second installment, introducing a new character, provides an additional teaser.

Lively and sometimes-surly preteen characters helm this fresh, well-crafted supernatural fantasy.