Pitched directly at sports fanatics, Wallace’s new novel follows an 11-year-old boy during his first visit to Camp Olympia, where he’ll join with his new buddies in Cabin Three to compete with five other cabins in various sports for the coveted camp trophy. Riley is one of the youngest and smallest boys in the camp and knows he’ll be ignored until he proves himself. However, Riley is a true sportsman, giving his all even in the sports in which he doesn’t excel. Soon he’s included in the shenanigans of his cabinmates, including the rivalries that extend outside of sport into trashing other cabins. The author includes horrifying ghost stories and the menace of a legendary snapping turtle rumored to live in the camp’s lake, but most of the narrative follows Riley’s efforts at basketball, baseball, long-distance running and especially swimming, his best sport, with camp statistics listed after each chapter. The tale sticks fairly close to realism, allowing Riley to win and lose, and builds good suspense during the final showdown. Good fun for young sportsmen. (Fiction. 9-13)
