Welcome to Camp Myth, the only summer camp built exclusively for young mythological creatures. Forget canoe rides and knot tying lessons - these kids are more likely to fish for a Kraken, or learn the proper way to train a Chimera!
Join Felix, a rebellious Fae forced to attend camp as punishment for his obsession with humans; Argee, the first (and only) nerdy Cyclops; and Moxie, a Kitsune who would rather smart-mouth than shape-shift. Can these three mythic outcasts survive long enough to earn a merit badge for Phoenix Watching, or will they end up as just another campfire story?
Packed with over fifteen pieces of amazing artwork, and an all-ages story based on mythologies from across the globe, Phoenix Watching is the perfect way to spend your summer vacation!
Camp Myth is a unique new YA series by Chris Lewis Carter that gives readers a chance to be featured in a future volume. Find out how you can enroll a character at www.campmyth.com.
From high-school textbooks to award-winning magazines and podcasts, Chris Lewis Carter has been featured in over two dozen publications, including Nelson Literacy 8, Word Riot, 3AM Magazine, Niteblade, and Pseudopod. He is a contributor to indie game developer, Studio Kontrabida, and will be published in the upcoming Chuck Palahniuk-edited collection, Burnt Tongues (Medallion Press, 2014). When he isn’t writing, Chris can usually be found playing video games or listening to podcasts – most likely both at the same time. He is also the creator of Camp Myth, a successfully-kickstarted YA series that is available now!
After reading Camp Kiss by JK Rock I knew I wanted to read more books about camp. Because here in the Netherlands we have no camp, so the only other option is to experience camp through books, right? So when I heard about this series Camp Myth I knew I had found an awesome book, I mean combine camp and fantasy elements and you must have an awesome book right? So when the author asked me if I wanted a copy for review it really made my day!
Phoenix Watching is the first book in the camp myth series and actually it's only the beginning. In this book we meet the main character and experience his first days of camp. As soon as I picked up this book I immediately liked it, it starts with an introduction as if the main character is talking to the reader and he promises to tell you about his vacation. Then the story starts for real and I really enjoyed it. The story is fast paced and I couldn't put it down. I read the book in one evening and was dissapointed when I finished it, because I wanted to read more. I really liked the idea of a camp for mythology creatures. It's original and it's obvious there is a lot of thought behind it all. The story is a bit too short for my taste, but that might be because I just wanted to read more!
Also there are beautifull drawings between the chapters and I was almost looking forward to finishing a chapter so I could see another drawing. The drawing aren't of the main characters, but of a few side character about whom there is a chapter at the end of the book.
The characters are really done well, they each have characteristics that make them different from the rest, although for some characters it was a bit difficult to get an idea of their personality. I also had a problem getting a feel for the main character at first, I did get a sense of his personality, but when he goes to the camp I have no idea what his thoughts are about that. I did like the characters, but still would've liked to get to know them better. At the end there is also a chapter from the point of view of a different groups of campers, but it was really difficult to keep them apart because I had not a good idea who they are, because all we get to know about them is the drawings and accompanying text.
There is already quite a lot of world building, there is no info dump, but small pieces of information we get thoughout the story. For example there is some information about how fea and cyclops live, but not too much depth. And when they go find a phoenix there is some information about the phoenix. It does have the feeling there is a whole thought through world behind the whole story, but we only get a bit of information and then especialy about topics that are needed to understand the story. I really can't wait to learn more about the world, because I have this feeling there is so much more behind it all.
To conclude: I really enjoyed this book. The story is original and fast paced. The characters each have their own characteristics and I liked getting to know them. The world building is done really good and the information is given at the right moments when you need it. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
My kids and I listened to this on the Cast of Wonders Podcast. The story is fantastic! It definitely keeps you listening. We were all sad when it was over but have plans to buy the entire series as it becomes available. Wonderful, and I would recommend it for ages 5 and up.
Quick summary: Kids from various mythic races (Cyclops, Centaur, Fae, etc) go to summer camp to learn about existing together and about each others' traditions and strengths. They earn various merit badges along the way, the first of which is one for Phoenix Watching. The main characters in this book are Argee the nerdy Cyclops, Moxie the Kitsune (a shape-shifting fox creature who enjoys sarcasm), and Felix the Fae (who just happens to be obsessed with human society).
Woah! Was I ever pleasantly surprised with this book! A very fun adventure filled with charming characters, magic, and mythology! I would say people who enjoy Harry Potter should check this series out. Right now.
I liked all of the characters and really felt like their unique personalities shown though. I enjoyed seeing what kind of predicament they would get themselves into and out of. The world building was top notch everyone felt very solid and fully fleshed out. I cannot wait to pick up the next "merit badge" book and find out what will happen next. I'm also going to recommend this to my friends and family.
Camp Myth is a camp for mythological creatures. It is kind of like the Rick Riordan books only with fae, mermaids, kitsunia, etc instead of demi Gods. This book follows a fae, kitsunia and cyclopes and all the excitement they get into in just two days time.
So I enjoyed this book. It had a fun plot, the characters were great and the pace was good. However, it just ends with a line like, "How often do you get to meet a unicorn?" Don't get wrong it's a great line but not a good ending to the book. While it was an enjoyable book I needed more. I will have to see if there are more books now.
I listened to this over on Cast of Wonders. The School Story is an inveterate subgenre of YA literature, and summer camp comfortably falls into that category. This is solid fun listening with a full cast a solid audio production. Lots of characters thrown at you, but the full audio production helped. A particular favorite was Tina Connolly’s exuberant camp counselor. The story does suffer from being the first in a series, thus requiring delivery of a ton of worldbuilding. However, I never found it devolving into tedium. There’s steady pacing and fun action. It is definitely a worthwhile investment of your time.
I came across this book by way of the Cast of Wonders podcast, where the book was presented in its entirety as an audio drama .
I thought the book was OK. Very obviously aimed at younger readers, and very obviously intended as the start of a series which doesn't seem to have got very far as yet. Not particularly to my taste - I don't think I will check out any of the rest of the story myself
I read this because there is an interesting kid's RPG based on it and the book was free on Kindle.
The story is extremely short and comes to an end before it really starts. There are lots of interesting concepts that are introduced, but none of them are explored. With so many good YA novels available these days, I can't think of any reason to recommend this book.