Camp: A Novel

by Elaine Wolf

For most girls, sleepaway camp is great fun. But for Amy Becker, it’s a nightmare. Amy, whose home life is in turmoil, is sent to Camp Takawanda for Girls for the first time as a teenager. Although Amy despises spending summers at home with her German-immigrant mother, who is unduly harsh with Amy’s autistic younger brother, Amy is less than thrilled about going away to camp. And her reluctance about camp is only the beginning. At Takawanda Amy finds herself subjected to a humiliating “initiation” and also to relentless bullying by Rory, the ringleader of the senior campers.

As Amy struggles to stop the mean girls from tormenting her, she becomes more confident. But then her cousin reveals dark secrets about Amy’s mother’s past, setting in motion a tragic event that changes Amy and her family forever.

Winner of the Forward National Literature Award and a book-of-the-month pick by the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County (NY), Camp is an acutely sensitive and compelling novel that will resonate with a wide readership.

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Family, Coming Of Age

272 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

About the author

Known as "the anti-bullying novelist," I write about what really goes on behind the closed gates and doors of our camps and schools. The issues I explore in CAMP and DANNY'S MOM are those I am passionate about and know well.

I was a camper and camp counselor for many summers. When I entered "the real world," I taught in public schools in California and New York -- and then I became a district language arts chairperson. One of my greatest joys was getting wonderful books into the hands of students and teachers. In the time before Kindles, iPads, and Nooks, I spent countless hours stocking shelves with "good reads."

My husband and I raised our children on Long Island, where in addition to teaching I was a co-facilitator of an adult writers' workshop. Now we live in western Massachusetts, in a community brimming with readers and writers. I feel as if I'm finally home!

Please visit me online at authorelainewolf.com

Reviews

[Paul Hankins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every secret has its price. . .

I am coming out to call Elaine Wolf's CAMP the sleeper hit of the YA genre in 2012. Elaine Wolf has been actively advocating for bullying awareness in the various social media forums. And she has quietly promoting her book, CAMP, while befriending readers at Facebook and Twitter.

Here is a book that isn't coming out to big fanfare. No cardboard cutouts or billboards. It's a quiet kind of promotion. From reader to reader. On the day I received my copy, I noted that a couple of my reader friends from Facebook had also received theirs. I am waiting for those friends to finish this book so that we can discuss it at length.

Remember those films from the 80's like LITTLE DARLINGS and MEATBALLS? reads much like these. And like so many more. While one might be tempted to categorize this book by it cover as a coming-of-age story, there is much more to CAMP than this.

Amy Beckman is invited to attend the camp that has just been purchased by her uncle, a darling of the extended family with his good looks, lovely wife, and up-and-coming socialite daughter. While the Beckmans don't have the same resources--or even the means to afford eight weeks at a camp on the lake in Maine--they are able to accept an invitation "benevolently" extended by Amy's uncle.

While at the camp, Amy faces an initiation which will remind readers of the horrors presented in Robert Lipsyte's RAIDERS NIGHT. What follows are a series of taunts by a bully that is written by Wolf in such a way that will be eye-opening and discussion ready regarding tactics and ploys used by bullies to gain and keep an upper hand over their victims.

But as much as this is a book about summer camps, it is also a tender book about familial relationships, loss and grieving, and the sometimes difficult navigation of maternal relationships. Here, I would liken CAMP to films like ORDINARY PEOPLE and TERMS OF ENDEARMENT.

Readers will want more from Amy as she attends the camp and more from the potential confrontation that might come at the end of the eight-week experience, but Wolf handles this in a way that allows the reader to see the real scope of the book and what Wolf is leaving with readers.

Ladder this one up with the films presented within the review and new YA titles like Jo Knowles's SEE YOU AT HARRY'S.

I hope that readers continue to find their way to CAMP during this reading season and that they might share this title after their eight-week summer break/reading season to share this with their students in the fall. CAMP is a discussion-worthy title on the subject of bullying and it should be included in ladders that include anthologies like DEAR BULLY.

Keep the conversation going. I am excited to see if I am correct about my assessment of Elaine Wolf's book. I don't need to be right about this. But it would be nice for Elaine, for the book, and for the ongoing conversation that needs to continue in regard to bullies, bullying, and the victims of this oft-unrecognized social ill.

[lily ✿ · Rating 2 out of 5]

marketed as a “coming of age” story, camp follows amy through her summer at an all girl’s camp - where she is bullied relentlessly, both by a stranger named rory and her cousin robin. is this issue ever resolved? not really - their picking on her just seems to bother her less as the summer wears on and she knows she’ll get to go home and escape them soon. i wasn’t certain what the moral i was supposed to take from this was.

in addition to the bullying plot, amy struggles with what is, quite frankly, an emotionally abusive relationship with her mother, who nitpicks everything, from her friend choices to her food choices to the way her brother’s blocks are lined up in his cabinet. this relationship is magically healed when her mother is diagnosed with cancer and spills her secrets about her secret life in germany, before she moved to america (some of which amy already knew from her snooping.) not to mention the worst plot twist of all, in which her brother diES. (like !!! what in the WORLD !!!)

and while i understand that this book was set in a different time zone - the 1960s - and some of these words were probably common and acceptable at the time, i couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with the use of slurs in the book.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grade: D-

In 1962, 14 year old Amy is sent to her uncle's camp for the summer, where she encounters several sociopaths who make her life miserable. The bullies she encounters, including her own cousin, are practically sadists and while there is a hint one girl's troubled family, the whys of her behavior are never explained. Additionally there are family dynamics thrown into the mix to explain her cold mother's behavior that just don't fit the rest of the story.

CAMP could have been a better story if Rory and Robin had a bit more balance to their characters. Amy had a bit of dimension, though the scene with her brother at the end seemed completely out of character. Elaine Wolf seemed to try to do too much with the story. Amy's mother treated her horribly, and we get a glimpse of her traumatic past, in a tidy excuse for her behavior.

While I thought Wolf did a terrible job with the characters and plot, her writing was pleasant and readable. She often used more telling than showing, but over all, I kept reading even though I rolled by eye at the overkill bullying.

THEMES: camp, 1960s, Holocaust, bullying, friendship, special needs, family, siblings, coming-of-age

I'm not sure whether CAMP is targeted at adults or teens, maybe both, but I can't in good conscience recommend it to either audience.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engrossing story about a girl named Amy who comes from a family with a strict immigrant mother, (described as German but actually Jewish), tons of silence and secrets and a mentally challeneged brother. The story takes place in the early 1960's...Amy's uncle buys a girls sleepaway camp and her parents decide to send her for the summer. Unfortunately, she becomes a scapegoat for the camp bully who dreams up an "initiation" where Amy is victimized. The rest of camp is tolerable but Amy is always worrying what her nemesis Rory and cousin Robin will do next. Amy is surprised to find out just how much her cousin resents her, finally hearing some family secrets that lead to tragedy. The story is more coming of age and learning to deal with family secrets than truly about bullying, but Amy grows as a person and anyone who can finish this book without tears is a stronger person than I. My only real fault with this book is that autism was virtually unheard of in the 1960's...you would have been hard pressed to find ten diagnosed cases of the condition in this country at that time. The vast majority of Americans were introduced to this condition via the movie "Rainman". But a little historical inaccuracy for convenience does not take away the powerful message of this story.

[Marcia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I heard about this book in an email from the author, touting it as a good choice for school summer reading lists and the anti-bullying curriculum. This book was a big miss for me. Too many sensationalized story ideas crammed into 200 pages, writing that was forced and choppy, no flow. I read to the end only because I had to see how the author could wrap this up. Bullying at summer camp is only a small part of this story with an icy mother-daughter relationship more the core. Throw in a mentally disabled brother, a creepy tom cat uncle, an affair or two, an accidental death AND the horrors of the Holocaust. There were four different books here, none of which got developed.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

this whole book was the main character being severely bullied by a bunch of mean girls at camp and her own mother.. the ending where we kinda got an explanation and backstory of the mother was rushed and there were still so many unanswered questions. this girl gonna need lots of therapy because she went through a lot of trauma geez
i absolutely hate bullying and it was sooo overdone like it was basically the entire book. so over kill

[Mona · Rating 3 out of 5]

***1/2

Set in the 60's, the story is about 14 y.o. Amy, her dysfunctional family, and the bullying she deals with at summer camp. I kept wanting to yell at her to stand up for herself, but then I'd remember how difficult it was growing up with an overbearing mother. But Amy eventually finds her voice only to lose something precious to her.

The story's a good one, but unfortunately, the narrator wasn't. She basically read the story with little inflection or emotion.

[Micki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the most fortunate accidental meeting of author Elaine Wolf on Facebook through a mutual friend (none other than Mr. Paul W. Hankins), that has resulted in a developing friendship of mutual respect and support. Elaine is the author of CAMP, a brand new YA novel which she graciously sent to me complete with autograph!!

Although I couldn’t get to reading CAMP right away, my daughter Keri snatched it up and read it in a matter of hours (she devours books almost as fast as I can get them into her hands) and loved it. I started reading it on Sunday and finished it last night in the wee hours of the morning. It was worth losing sleep over.

From the book jacket:

A coming-of-age novel about bullying, mothers and daughters, and the collateral damage of family secrets.

Every secret has a price.

For most girls, sleepaway camp is great fun. But for Amy Becker, it’s a nightmare. Amy, whose home life is in turmoil, is sent to Camp Takawanda for Girls for the first time as a teenager. Although Amy despises spending summers at home with her German-immigrant mother, who is unduly harsh with Amy’s autistic younger brother, Amy is less than thrilled about going away to camp. At Takawanda she is subjected to a humiliating “initiation” and to relentless bullying by the ringleader of the senior campers. As Amy struggles to stop the mean girls from tormenting her, she becomes more confident. But then her cousin reveals dark secrets about Amy’s mother’s past, setting in motion a tragic event that changes Amy and her family forever.

Camp is a compelling family drama that will resonate with a wide teenage readership. It will be a strong addition to recommended reading and summer reading lists, and it is appropriate for anti-bullying programs. Mostly, though, Camp is a mother-daughter story for mothers and daughters.

Here are my thoughts:

The afore mentioned Mr. Paul W. Hankins says he thinks CAMP will be the “sleeper hit” of 2012, and I think he’s absolutely right about that. I hope word of this well written debut YA novel spreads very quickly so that multitudes of people read it and share it, particularly via social media. We all know the power of social media.
A couple of days ago, Elaine posted a picture on her Facebook of a display table her book was on at the Barnes and Noble where she was doing a book signing. One of the books on that table was The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. After reading Elaine’s book, I see why both books were on the same table. I don’t want to give too much away from either book, but I will say I see a common thread among both books: huge secrets kept under the guise of protection that lead to devastating truths. I also see a quite obvious pairing with Dear Bully: 70 Authors Share Their Stories edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones.

The main focus of this story is how the narrator Amy Becker deals with despicable bully Rory at sleepaway camp (Camp Takawanda) and finds sanctuary in new friend and ally Erin. But the story runs much deeper than that. There is also the undercurrent of the classic mother/daughter struggle at play here, but with a twist: Amy’s mother is a German immigrant with a past too painful to share with her daughter, which drives a deep wedge between them. As I read the final chapters of CAMP, and the secrets revealed themselves, I thought of Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, which chronicles a similar mother/daughter struggle complicated by a secret past from another land.

Mother/daughter relationships are complicated (I have three lovely daughters, by the way) and beautiful and sometimes hard. I think this book can create and provide a path for more open communication between mothers and daughters. We mothers most likely have things in our pasts that we may not want to talk about with our daughters, which is probably an indication that we really should.

[Jodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know when you come across one of those books that really makes you stop and think about not only your life, but the way the world is? A book that grabs you and shakes you down to your core. Shakes hard. It's rare, unique, and to be treasured. That is exactly what I found in Camp.
When I first decided to review Camp, I figured it would be some fluffy book about a mother/daughter adventure and a big bonding experience. What I found was far from that. Camp doesn't skim on issues at hand, but rips deeply into them, revealing how bad bullying can get. I know we have all had our share, but not like this. And certainly not having to deal with all of the numerous issues Amy Becker has on her plate.
Amy and her mother have never gotten along. It isn't some trivial topic at hand, but an underlying issue that seems as though her mother truly hates her. If it isn't hard enough dealing with a mother who despises her, she also had to deal with the motherly role of taking care of her autistic eight year-old brother Charlie. This is not the life that a fourteen year old should be living. Her father understood this and signed her up for summer camp, hoping that she would enjoy some time away. Truth is--if Amy never would've went to camp, the tragic events never would have taken place. It was all a series of events starting with the overbearing bullying that took place that summer. I never would've had the courage and strength of Amy. My heart broke for her repeatedly. My tears continuously fell for her. In the end, I couldn't help but wonder... Could any of this really be true? This is something that I have never pondered after finishing a book. And in reading the note from the author, I had my answer. I am so very thankful for that note. So very thankful for Camp. Elaine Wolf deserves tremendous praise for her amazing talent.

[Cindy Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Amy’s Uncle Ed buys Camp Takawanda for Girls in Maine, her dad signs her up for the eight-week summer program even though she doesn’t want to go. Amy’s mother, who is unemotional with Amy, is even harsher with her younger brother, who has autism. Amy knows she needs to stay home to run interference between the two of them, and because Charlie is closely bonded with her.

But when summer comes Amy finds herself on a bus from her home in New Jersey to the woods of Maine, and right away she knows she doesn’t fit in with the rest of the group. The camp bully, who has Amy’s cousin on her side, also harasses her. Through the long weeks of camp, Amy learns to find her voice, make friends with some of the other girls, and remembers a disturbing incident with her mom when she was younger. But it’s not until camp ends that a shattering event will let her truly understand her mother and herself.

Camp by Elaine Wolf explores some really tough issues: bullying, strained mother-daughter relationships, finding your voice, and a hint of sexual abuse. These are all important issues to discuss, and a mother-daughter book club with girls 14 and over is a good place to discuss them. Though at times I felt the camp bully and Amy’s mother were too extreme in their actions, and I would have liked to know more about their motivations earlier in the story, I found Amy’s story—she’s caught between a needy brother, rigid mother and controlling campmate—compelling and thought-provoking.

The author provided me with a copy of this book to review.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really hot last night. Without air conditioning, i didn't think I'd be able to sleep. About 11:00 p.m., lying on my bed under the ceiling fan, I picked up my copy of CAMP, opened it, and started reading. Two hours later, I finished.

I read a lot, but I bet the last YA book I read was with my own daughters, several long decades ago, so I'm no expert in this genre. And, as I expected, there was a simplicity of prose and plot. But there's nothing simple about the characters in this book, their actions, or their emotions. In addition, the well-rendered camp setting brought me back to my own camp experiences, and those of my daughters, enriching the story and adding an additional layer of thoughtfulness.

By the way, thanks to that ceiling fan and a very satisfying read, I slept just fine.

[Scorpianmuse · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

I found this when out and about after cat-sitting my best friends little fur-balls. It wasn't in the YA section, so when I gave the back a quick read-thru, I thought it was about something else.

As I have read some other reviews of this book, I have discovered that the author is very anti-bullying. It is obvious. This book reminds me so much of a cross between "Little Darlings," "Mean Girls," and, the original "The Parent Trap."

Amy is sent against her wishes to summer camp, run by her uncle. She is hesitant to leave her disabled little brother, but goes. Before they even get to the camp, Amy becomes the target of a camp bully named Rory. Even worse, her cousin, Robin, is in with Rory. Amy does her best to ignore the camp bully, but isn't entirely successful, leading to embarrassing hazing and other instances of horrendous behavior. What is worse, is Robin joins in. Her uncle, reading her letters home, encourages her to write about how much she is enjoying herself when she isn't. She embellishes enough in her letters home.

Apparently, home life isn't much better for Amy. She loves her little brother--disabled and all, but her mother is apparently an empty soul of a woman. A woman who becomes the little "devil" on Amy's shoulder about how much to eat, what to wear, her posture, etc. This apparently "lack of any human emotion" woman also had an affair with Amy's uncle, and had a life before her father, in Germany, where her first daughter, Anna and husband were killed during WWII. So it seems Sonia only had enough love for her first daughter.

Amy gets through summer camp, only to have her brother die in a tragic accident while she is snooping/looking for the goods on her mother. Sonia fights cancer and finally admits this previous life to Amy. They end up with a someone resolved relationship. The End.

*sigh*

If only it was that easy.

I am all for anti-bullying. I was bullied relentlessly by this b****h relentlessly in my school days. I cringed any time I had a class with her. In stories like "Little Darlings" and "Mean Girls" the bullies pretty much get handled by her peers. In "Little Darlings," when the campers shenanigans get one of the counselors into trouble, the instigator of the whole plan finally get slapped upside her smug little face (go Cinder!). In Mean Girls, while the antagonist tries to get some revenge via trying to blame her friends for everything, she gets hit by a bus, still gets recognized in a neck brace and learns to get out her aggressive behavior by joining the Lacrosse team.

Too bad this didn't happen here. I wanted to see Rory get some kind of comeuppance for her actions. Sure, there are rumors that she was being molested at home by her father, but even with the absence of any visitors during visitors day, or waiting for her upon return, it isn't really known if Rory is being abused. I know, most people today will say that the bullies are facing trouble of their own. However, while I believe this to a point, I also know that there are some bullies that are just plain mean and evil--nothing going on behind the scenes to provoke. They are just assholes who get off on being mean.

And lets look at the mother, Sonia. Because she purportedly gave "all her love" to her first daughter, Anna, there was nothing left for Amy or Charlie. That is sad. This woman made her daughter stay in her room while she screwed her brother in law, to the point Amy would mess herself because she wasn't supposed to leave her room. The woman also comes across as mean. I mean, seriously, you just meet the camp bully and your daughter is telling you that she isn't what she seems...do you believe your daughter or this virtual stranger sucking up to you? Doesn't that come across as a bit shitty behavior for a parent? You write to your folks, asking to send certain clothes for a dance and bring cookies and such treats to share with her bunkmates, but gets a party dress (out of place) and a bag of fruit (laughable and out of place).

Even worse, and this gets a bit irritating. The father continues to try and placate Sonia. So he is always saying "Sonia, please, Sonia." It is one phrase that I just would have cut in half.

Look, I like the idea of this book. But there does not seem to be a pay out in regards to what happens to the bullies: Rory gets to skip off on her merry little way? No repercussions for Robin's hideous behavior toward her cousin? Yes, Sonia gets cancer, then she survives it...but she mellows only slightly. I think it needed something more.

[Amanda Hixson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weirdly Informative

I'm having some weird mixed emotions with this one. We start off with Amy Becker a nice sweet teenager who loves and adores her autistic younger brother. She has a German-immigrant mother who is very mean to her & has these rules vthat must be abide by. This mother of hers we come to learn has a past though and then there's the father who can be great at times but also agrees with the mother when it comes to certain things.

Soon Amy finds out she is going to a sleep away camp! She does not want to go but she must because her uncle just bought the place & she is allowed to go for free. But soon Amy finds herself in such a hellish nightmare at this camp for most girls have been there & Amy is the "new girl" and soon enough the relentless bullying begins with the ringleader Rory and who beastie Robin who just so happens to be Amy's cousin! What is up with this family? Amy does have one best friend Erin and a couple others help her out later on because they can't take Rory anymore but that doesn't stop her. You'll have to read it to find out what happens there.

Once camp is over much more emotions are thrown at you with a death in the family and Amy's mothers secrets are very revealed.

Like I said my emotions were all over the place with this book I was furious at the mother, furious at Amy for not standing up for her self! Furious at the bullies obviously and most of furious at the writer for making me cry over some parts of the ending of the book!

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so much more heart wrenching than I expected. Word of warning for a lot of traumatic stuff.

On the surface, this is a story of a girl who is being relentlessly bullied at a summer camp, and who is surrounded by untrustworthy adults who exacerbate her situation. The level of untrustworthiness in the adults is enormous - it's sort of shocking how little the girls are believed, except that of course we know it's a terrible and familiar pattern.

But Amy comes with more on her plate than your average fourteen year old. She has a severely disabled brother, a Holocaust survivor mother who is harsh and withholding, and an uncle/camp counselor who makes no secret of his rampant philandering. The few sympathetic adults are clearly struggling to handle the chaos that the other adults are introducing, and have little time or attention for the children.

The story gets extremely dark quickly, and doesn't let up at all; the end is utterly devastating, and while it was really well handled, I'm still wrestling with whether the finale was gratuitous. Without giving away spoilers, when I say that knowing in advance that this is in part the story of the disabled child of a Holocaust survivor is not enough information to prepare you for how dark this book is...well, that should tell you a lot.

Overall, there are some gaps in the story which aren't devastating but are definitely noticeable. The double-meaning of the title "Camp" is a little heavy handed, especially in combination with the cover design. But in general, this is a really solid, if EXTREMELY dark, coming of age tale.

[Marisa Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy has a difficult life at home. Her mom is cold towards her and her brother who she is very close to has an intellectual disability. She tends to spend all her free time with him. Her dad decides sending her to camp would be just the thing to make her happier and more social. Unfortunately, the camp has bullies and she is forced to deal with their abuse and discover truths about her mom's past. I was originally going to give this one two stars because I thought the reaction to the bullying was unrealistic because let's face it who in their right mind would go silently to a late night "initiation." I did raise it to three stars in the end because it did have some twists that I wasn't expecting.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this book was a page turner, I really felt like it was two different stories. The stuff at camp and the secrets after. Although some of the stuff at camp led to the discovery of the secrets, that was not needed. I loved the camp story, but wanted resolution to what happened there. I loved the story that happened after, but did not need the camp stuff in the middle. I wish it was sold as two books. Both stories would need a little fleshing out to be able to completely stand alone, but they would make better stories separately.

[meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Camp gave me all the emotions. Every single character has a motive and a backstory, and the entire plot is so fleshed out that there isn't any "what the hell" moments of confusion. I definitely had negative feelings towards particular characters, but what really got me was how Wolf explores *why* they are the way they are, and it makes the book all the more real. The ending is sad, but again, real, and I'm actually quite content with it. It was a necessary end that gave way to varying degrees of development and it everything, everything, everything made sense. Fantastic book.

[Saskia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

Bullying story that really hits the nail on the head. The cold mum, the 'spineless' dad ... there are always reasons people have the relationships they do. Sometimes those explanations centre around them being plain old horrid people, and sometimes they've had a rough road. You'll have to read the book to find out which category this one falls into!

Good story - engaging and keep me reading it in one sitting.

CW: bullying, sexual references

Y9 Y10 Y11

[Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not at all what I was expecting from this book. Now it is my fault because I should have looked into it more. From the cover and even the back synopsis made it sound like a creepy/paranormal/horror book.

Even though this story wasn't what I thought it was not the best written book. I didn't personally find the story that interesting until the last 20 pages or so.

[Mary Jane Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had not realized this was a Young Adult book when I ordered it. A teenage girl who is very devoted to her younger learning disabled brother is sent to summer camp in Maine. An out of control fellow camper bullies her mercilessly and is in cahoots with her cousin who also attends the camp. Many family secrets add to the dysfunction of her immediate family.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although my life view has become increasingly misanthropic, I believe most people have some good in them. Several of the main characters in the book are one-dimensional, with no redeeming qualities. The backstory of each isn't enough show realistic human complexity.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 Stars

This book had me hooked. It was so interesting and so intense. There were a lot of things that annoyed me though (Rory always saying "Yes Indeedy") so thats why its rating is low.

Overall, might read again, but not a book I would like to own.

[Ella Frye]

Similar to “Danny’s Mom,” this novel dealt with bullying and secrets. An honest look at the consequences of lies, ignoring warning signs leading up to violence and the pain of keeping secrets, even from those people you don’t think will understand your choices.

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. This book made me cry so hard. When he died I almost did too. Thank you Elaine for letting me experience this masterpiece. I also have an autistic brother the same age as Charlie and this book made me appreciate him so much more🥹

[Danielle Clark · Rating 1 out of 5]

too many stories.. too many ideas the author tries to stick into one book. Characters aren't really developed well or believable either.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on bullying and family dynamics. Couldn't put it down.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a truly wonderful, inspiring book. Praise for Amy Beckett...

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters are what carried the book

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay

[Mary Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very poorly supervised camp. Where were the counselors?