DO NOT ENTER! 2

The preteen diarist goes to summer camp and makes a new, albeit spectral, friend.

Sounding just as insecure but less whiny in this second volume of his private notebook, Charlie has a mostly idyllic summer thanks to Kamp P. He shares a cabin (whose name, bizarrely, is said to mean Earth in “Native American”) with school friends and idolized cousin Joje and repeatedly runs into the deliciously terrifying but friendly ghost of a camper who drowned 50 years before. Writing in mixed font sizes, with words printed in green for emphasis, Charlie also records injuries, wasp stings, camp activities, and pointed life lessons. William, Charlie’s bullied friend (“He’s such a GOOD GUY, I don’t know why it’s so hard for him to make friends…I know why: he’s too FAT”) shows up at camp, many pounds slimmer, announcing, “I’ve changed what I eat. I was sick of being fat and ugly.” Charlie is more a reactor than a ruminator, but readers will pick up on his feelings easily enough, even when he’s unsure what he feels after the news that his antagonistic older half sister was in a coma and nearly died after being hit by a car. Nevertheless, Charlie ends on an upbeat note, rather callously, all things considered, reflecting on the “BEST SUMMER, EVER!” As before, toxic masculinity appears throughout: “Look at the bright side. We didn’t get beat by girls.” Characters read white.  

A summer camp story let down by fatphobia and other problematic content.