JUST A BOY AND A GIRL IN A LITTLE CANOE

Take one college freshman, an absentee boyfriend, a moment of humiliation, and add summer camp.

For Sam, this summer is a chance for redemption after being shamed as an 11-year-old at the same camp where she is now returning as a counselor. Plus, boyfriend Eli is off to Europe and this is something to do. Despite her dedication to absent Eli, Sam can’t help being flattered by—and very attracted to—cool guy Gavin, who seems safe since he also has a long-distance love. What follows is a breezy summer fling that also addresses slut-shaming (directed at Sam in the past and, now, at a buxom, Canadian, Christian counselor) and the questionable ethics of a relationship where both parties are already involved elsewhere. Sam makes bad choices romantically but blossoms into a great, compassionate counselor and friend. Mlynowski captures the sleepaway experience, specifically the Northeastern, secular Jewish variant, where most campers and staff are white and Jewish, with humor and affection. Many readers will recognize the camp culture of hard work for little pay, insularity, day-off rituals, and bonding as well as the depictions of secular Jewish life, with its textured, overlapping social connections both in and out of camp. Fun, sexy, sex-positive, and inclusive (peripheral characters are racially and sexually diverse) while rooted in a specific identity and cultural space, this deceptively thought-provoking summer read also offers a thoughtful feminist subtext.

Sizzling and smart.