Camp Cauldron

by Juli Alexander

This is a SHORT STORY of approximately 10,000 words or 35 pages. This story involves different characters but is set in the world of Stirring Up Trouble and Trouble's Brewing.


Forced to spend Spring Break as a counselor at a camp for troublesome young witches instead of drooling over hotties at the beach, Emma relinquishes her hopes for romance. Could the perfect guy be waiting in the midst of poison ivy, s'mores, elephant trunks, and kangaroo feet?


Cover by Rickey Mallory.

30 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 8, 2013

Reviews

[Liliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book

So this short little story actually takes place in Juli Alexander’s Stirring Up Trouble world, one which witch I love! See what I did there? Because they’re witches? Eh? Yeah, yeah… lame, I know. Lol. Anyway, the main character from that series, Zoe, and her witchy best friend Milo were actually mentioned! Eeeep! That was exciting! I just love Juli’s work! Everything I’ve read so for is just so much fun and so very funny!

Camp Cauldron is basically a camp for kids who misuse magic. You see, in this world, when you use magic for personal gain (yep, words straight out of Charmed—loved that show!), well, there are certain side effects. Giraffe necks, fish lips, elephant trunk… yikes! But boy are they hilarious! Zoe herself actually gets into some trouble, too. (Make sure you check out Stirring Up Trouble !)

Camp Cauldron was pretty great for being such a short story. But I guess it helped that I was already in love with this world ;) Witches and magic are one of my favorite things to read about! I highly recommend this novella (and series!) whether you’ve read Stirring Up Trouble or not! It was a lot of fun, hilarious, plus there is a bit of romance thrown in which I quite enjoyed. If you have not read any of Juli’s work, you definitely need to!

[Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a word, lame. It might seem strange for me to call a young adult book juvenile, but juvenile it is. The heroine is fourteen but I can't honestly see anyone past their preteens getting much out of Camp Cauldron. The heroine is incredibly whiny. 'What do you mean I have to volunteer at summer camp?? My life is over and it's all your fault!' Unfortunately the hero seems to think she's amazing. Problem: hero wants to get earplugs for the kids in his cabin but he doesn't want to embarrass the snorer. What does the heroine suggest he do? Pretend he's the snorer (because the actual snorer's elephant trunk isn't a give away at all). 'OMG, what an amazing idea! That will so work! You're a genius!' Anyone with two brain cells to rub together could achieve that level of genius, you know? She then falls for him because... he's not bad looking and doesn't have an elephant's trunk or giraffes neck? (Long story.) Then, with a brief interlude to tell us that witches get diarrhoea if they eat real chocolate, the story ends with said characters madly in love and invited back to summer camp next year. Whoop dee do.

[Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Worst Spring Break Ever

This short story lives in the same world as her others in this series but the characters are not related. I am not quite sure on the timeline but book one is Stirring Up Trouble. Book two is Trouble's Brewing (Stirring Up Trouble).

Sophie is a troublemker and Emma is her best friend. While Emma is afraid to use her magic that's not what gets her into trouble.... Her father's desire for her to score brownie points with the Council is. So instead of an awesome spring break at the beach she gets to do community service as a camp councelor along with Sophie at Camp Cauldron (the camp for remedial ie troubled magical kids). Little does she know that it will change her life :)

This story was fun and funny and I would recommend it to anyone who needs a good laugh a long as they enjoy fantasy. I really liked it and I hope the author writes more stories about these characters and the camp!

***This series is suitable for young adult through adult readers

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I haven't read the novel series, I picked this short story on Amazon during a free promotion. It was fun and magical! (Excuse the pun.)

Though only about 30 pages, the author crammed enough character and plot development to make this story feel longer and full bodied. There were some fun moments where kids worked magic they weren't supposed to and suffered the consequences and also a little YA romance thrown in.

It was a fun short read, and though I am not a huge fan of stories of young teens and magic, I did enjoy this. Picking or not picking up the series would only be a matter of preference in genres, vs whether the author did a good job in writing this little piece. If I was more into this type of story I wouldn't hesitate to read on. But if you are interested in YA with magic thrown in, I would definitely recommend giving the series and this author a go!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am hoping that this is a series, because it should be, I definitely want more