CAMP SCARE

A group of girls learn hard lessons at summer camp.

Seventh grade lover of poetry and model student Parker is used to being an outsider in search of a friend group, but when popular girls led by classmate Cassandra bully and humiliate her, she becomes desperate for new experiences. Hoping for a fresh start at a summer camp away from everyone she knows, Parker decides to put her best foot forward. Instead of new friends, Parker finds an unhappy surprise—she’s assigned to share a cabin with Cassandra, who quickly spreads gossip that keeps the other cabin mates from wanting to get to know her. It gets worse: There are creepy rumors about the camp’s past, Parker is blamed for thefts, no one believes her when she says something tried to drown her, and other incidents occur that leave her feeling ostracized and afraid. As the other girls continue to shun her, Parker makes one friend among the mostly White main characters—a quiet girl named Jenny staying in another cabin and having similar experiences of alienation. While the problems escalate, the well-meaning but secretive camp director waxes nostalgic about the camp’s ideals, but Parker is convinced he’s hiding something sinister about its past. Uneven pacing bogs down the plot, but after a long buildup, Dawson offers readers some disturbing imagery and good scares. Some of the twists feel expected, but the book delivers in character growth.

Satisfyingly spooky adventure.