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There's a Badge for That
With breathtaking scenery and the chance to forge new friendships, Camp Sweet Clover, nestled in the woods of eastern Ontario, provides campers with a summer haven. Sixteen-year-old Piper is enjoying an escape from reality when she receives a phone call from home—a home she can never return to—that leads her to make a drastic decision. Her friend Melody, 15, puts her own emotional well-being on the line and reaches out to help. Melody's quick thinking saves Piper’s life, but doing so shakes her to her core.
Follow the girls in this hard-hitting, analogue coming-of-age story as Melody questions her strategically planned future, and Piper continuously fights to create a future she isn’t convinced she deserves. The turmoil of the summer of 1994 follows them into that future when, years later, they find themselves back on camp soil, along with their found family, reconnecting to a time that neither of them is ready to admit no longer exists.
Content Warnings: domestic violence, suicide, sexual assault
Follow the girls in this hard-hitting, analogue coming-of-age story as Melody questions her strategically planned future, and Piper continuously fights to create a future she isn’t convinced she deserves. The turmoil of the summer of 1994 follows them into that future when, years later, they find themselves back on camp soil, along with their found family, reconnecting to a time that neither of them is ready to admit no longer exists.
Content Warnings: domestic violence, suicide, sexual assault
274 pages, Paperback
First published May 23, 2025
1 person is currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Relly Moring
1 book15 followersRelly Moring is a young adult author of hard-hitting, queer, contemporary novels. They are the partner of a lumberjack math-whiz, and the parent of three feral children, but they’ve also been a postpartum doula, an axe-throwing coach, a photographer, a babywearing educator, a music journalist, a nightclub drink-slinger, and an artisan of magickal spell jars and other witchy wares your parents would condemn.
They do their best writing in impossible circumstances, like amid a worldwide pandemic while homeschooling their children, battling chronic illnesses, and grieving loved ones, all at once. Relly has a penchant for platonic soulmates and writes characters with turbulent histories and sunshiny story arcs. There are a few hills they will die on, but you can pry the Oxford comma from their cold, dead hands.
They do their best writing in impossible circumstances, like amid a worldwide pandemic while homeschooling their children, battling chronic illnesses, and grieving loved ones, all at once. Relly has a penchant for platonic soulmates and writes characters with turbulent histories and sunshiny story arcs. There are a few hills they will die on, but you can pry the Oxford comma from their cold, dead hands.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 21, 2025
well. i don't request arcs i think i won't like, so i was really hoping i would love this one --- the blurb made it sound like a literary exploration of adolescence, and instead it ended up reading like a middle school story-with-a-moral with a bunch of dark, edgy topics thrown in. i don't think that the handling of mental health was THAT awful but it did seem reductive and i felt like important points and scenes were regularly skipped over.
in the end i think that this read like a list of events that happened more than a story. i also think a thesaurus was overused. no quotes because i respect that it's an arc and things can change to the final product, but i was thrown completely out of the story by some dialogue tags.
in the end i think that this read like a list of events that happened more than a story. i also think a thesaurus was overused. no quotes because i respect that it's an arc and things can change to the final product, but i was thrown completely out of the story by some dialogue tags.
May 23, 2025
There’s a Badge for That is an ambitious debut that weaves the lives of several kids who meet at summer camp and have their world views shifted after a traumatic event occurs.
Going into this book, I was expecting a very different story to be told. Given that one of the comps is Camp, I expected the summer camp to be the main focus of the story, and it sadly wasn’t. The jump in time also threw me off because I was expecting a YA story.
Right away, I felt dropped into the story a little too hard and had difficulty connecting with the characters since they were introduced quickly and we didn’t get a lot of back story. I think what added to this was the lack of description. This made it hard to really sink into the setting and vibe with the characters. We were in Melody’s head most often and I didn’t ever feel like I knew Melody. I also didn’t get a great sense of the camp dynamics, such as what a “counselor in training” actually was, and we didn’t get to really see anything happening at camp, which was disappointing. Same with the hospital dynamic, we’re told we’re there but I didn’t feel like I was truly immersed in the setting.
Some of the dialogue was a little stilted and didn’t feel real; in particular, the language felt too modern rather than from the 90s (I.e. “some guys got it into their heads that I’m not straight” - I personally think some bullies from the 90s would have just said gay or a slur). I absolutely adore the acceptance of mental health and LGBT+ identities, but that wasn’t the experience I had growing up in the 90s, which again made it feel more present day.
There were several very intense incidents that felt glossed over. There wasn’t enough build up to them and then we moved on to the next topic in the next paragraph. I really wanted to stick with these moments-despite how painful they were- and feel the gravity of the situation and the implications for our main characters. These situations change the entire trajectory of our main characters’ lives but I left the scene feeling like they checked a box and moved on to the next task.
Of the things I really liked, Piper’s anxiety and insomnia were relatable - I’ve spent so many nights running through lists and being unable to sleep. This felt real and a common experience.
I really liked how Piper compared her safety in the shelter to the safety of camp - I only wish we got to spend more time in the camp so I could feel that, we didn’t get camp through Piper’s POV sadly.
I also really liked the journal entries and letters and felt like these were the best parts of the book. I almost wished the entire book was letters back and forth and journal entries because I felt like I could understand and know the characters more thoroughly when these were present.
Going into this book, I was expecting a very different story to be told. Given that one of the comps is Camp, I expected the summer camp to be the main focus of the story, and it sadly wasn’t. The jump in time also threw me off because I was expecting a YA story.
Right away, I felt dropped into the story a little too hard and had difficulty connecting with the characters since they were introduced quickly and we didn’t get a lot of back story. I think what added to this was the lack of description. This made it hard to really sink into the setting and vibe with the characters. We were in Melody’s head most often and I didn’t ever feel like I knew Melody. I also didn’t get a great sense of the camp dynamics, such as what a “counselor in training” actually was, and we didn’t get to really see anything happening at camp, which was disappointing. Same with the hospital dynamic, we’re told we’re there but I didn’t feel like I was truly immersed in the setting.
Some of the dialogue was a little stilted and didn’t feel real; in particular, the language felt too modern rather than from the 90s (I.e. “some guys got it into their heads that I’m not straight” - I personally think some bullies from the 90s would have just said gay or a slur). I absolutely adore the acceptance of mental health and LGBT+ identities, but that wasn’t the experience I had growing up in the 90s, which again made it feel more present day.
There were several very intense incidents that felt glossed over. There wasn’t enough build up to them and then we moved on to the next topic in the next paragraph. I really wanted to stick with these moments-despite how painful they were- and feel the gravity of the situation and the implications for our main characters. These situations change the entire trajectory of our main characters’ lives but I left the scene feeling like they checked a box and moved on to the next task.
Of the things I really liked, Piper’s anxiety and insomnia were relatable - I’ve spent so many nights running through lists and being unable to sleep. This felt real and a common experience.
I really liked how Piper compared her safety in the shelter to the safety of camp - I only wish we got to spend more time in the camp so I could feel that, we didn’t get camp through Piper’s POV sadly.
I also really liked the journal entries and letters and felt like these were the best parts of the book. I almost wished the entire book was letters back and forth and journal entries because I felt like I could understand and know the characters more thoroughly when these were present.
August 23, 2025
I loved reading this YA novel, even though I don't often read much YA myself. As someone who never went to camp myself, I was always envious of those who did when I was younger. They always came back with so many fun stories after the summer, and friends from different places around Ontario. It seemed so special. I feel like There's a Badge For That gave a glimpse into that for me. I love a story about the strength of friendships, and I feel like this one really was centred around friendship/relationships standing the test of time. I wouldn't mind reading a follow up novel to see where life takes the group after all this.
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May 26, 2025Did you find an error in your copy of THERE'S A BADGE FOR THAT? Congratulations! You own a *rare* misprinted, first edition—there are only 33 in existence! What a fun surprise! Publishing is always an adventure! Happy reading, friends!
April 26, 2025
The premise of this book was great, and I think on paper I would have liked this book, but sadly the pacing ruined it for me. Basically all plot points were revealed without any feeling or emotion. It was as if the author took “show don’t tell” and flipped it around. Some characters were fine and I understand that this book could’ve been so good but frankly the writing killed it for me.
Thank you to NetGallery for the ARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own
Thank you to NetGallery for the ARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own
July 24, 2025
Despite this book not being in a genre/age category I normally gravitate toward, I really enjoyed reading it! Especially that ending! 🥹
It has so many tropes I love: found family, platonic soulmates, road trips, 90’s vibes! I never had the pleasure of a camp experience, unfortunately, but reading this made me nostalgic for it. It’s such a love letter to summer camp, and I’m here for it.
While I wish we could have slowed down a little more and really dived deeper into our main characters and their experiences, I was happy to follow along and witness the story unfold.
I hope this book finds its readers because I think there’s so much value in it. A wonderful little debut from a lovely author. I’ll definitely be reading Moring’s next book, and I can’t wait!
I hope this book finds its readers because I think there’s so much value in it. A wonderful little debut from a lovely author. I’ll definitely be reading Moring’s next book, and I can’t wait!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews