Breakout!

Camp Rolling Hills #3

by Stacy Davidowitz

It’s the end of the summer, which means one thing: Color War time! Color War is the event of the summer, a massive camp-wide competition. The camp is divided into two teams, Blue and White, with upper campers vying for the envied spot of lieutenant, a team leader position. Jenny assumes she’s got lieutenant in the bag, being a “popular girl” and all. And Play Dough sure hopes he does too—members of his family have been White team lieutenants for generations! But when assignments are announced, both are in for a surprise. Play Dough’s a lieutenant all right—for the enemy Blue team—and Jenny isn’t lieutenant at all. So who is? Jamie, Jenny’s sidekick. With the entire camp amping up for an all-out war, can Jenny and Play Dough overcome expectations and lead their teams to victory?

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 2017

About the author

Stacy Davidowitz is a Manhattan-based author, playwright, and screenwriter. Her Camp Rolling Hills four-book series is published by Abrams – Amulet. Her plays include The Rubber Room (Old Vic; Naked Angels), PINK! (NYIT Nominee; Lark Finalist), Sacred Water (Rag and Bone), JOAN: Voices in the Fire (co-writer, The Guthrie), and Miracle Village (Stage Left). Her musicals include Hank & Gretchen, Camp Rolling Hills, and One Day. Her short plays have been produced at The Flea, Sam French, Williamstown, NYMadness, Amios, NYMF, etc. Stacy’s screenplay adaptation of The Rubber Room is in pre-production with All the Way Around. Published by Broadway Play Publishing, Indie Theater Now, YouthPLAYS, Steele Spring Stage Rights. Education: BADA; BS, Tufts University; MFA in Acting, Columbia University.

Reviews

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's summer again at Camp Rolling Hills, but in this book, it's the time when Color Wars are coming. This book is full of fun and camp shenanigans. Color Wars separate the campers into two teams, White and Blue. Jenny, a popular girl in the Faith Hill Cabin, is positive that she'll get Lieutenant. Play Dough is a boy in the Hamburger Cabin whose family has been Lieutenants on White and won the Color Wars for generations. However, both of them are in for a big surprise that leads to ups and downs throughout the entire Color Wars. Jenny's best friend, Jamie, gets the Lieutenant role instead, and Play Dough is Lieutenant for Blue instead of White. Both of them try to be heroes and lead their team to victory, but everything seems to be going wrong. The author does a great job describing everything that is happening and their emotions. I definitely recommend this book especially to people who love going to camp during the summer.

[Cecelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was absolutely my favorite book from the series.

I've always loved Play Dough and this book made me love Jenny (she legitimately would've been my favorite camper; I have a soft spot for the "borderline trouble maker that has a reason for all of the trouble making but is deep down a Good Kid" type of camper).

This is very clearly a Camp Person's book. There were so many moments of this book that reflects on my own experiences from camp. It's also a great portrayal of middle schoolers. I actually cried not once, or twice but a total of three times during the last thirty-ish pages. (And actual tears, not like my eyes got a little watery but like I had to put the book down because I was actually crying and then I started laughing because I was crying it was a wild ride I'm just a mess.)

This would've easily been a five star book but I took one off for the following oversights that could've easily been caught:
-the cover has a kid wearing flip flops during Color Wars???? where are his sneakers???
-the teams were Blue vs White. idk who decided that of ALL the colors WHITE would've been a good choice?! To have an entire half of camp (and half of the characters) cheering for white while continually saying things how "White will win" or "White has to win" or "White is the best" like do we not see how this is problematic?? Did no one step in and say "hey you know what how about we chose any other color like green or red or purple or literally any other color???" I just feel like it was something that could've been an easy fix and easily avoided.
-the fat rep is this specific book is absolutely horrendous. The amount of times they describe Play Dough with negative physical characteristics is tremendously higher than the amount of times they describe literally any 👏 other 👏character with any kind of physical characteristics. I've side-stepped around the name for the previous two books because you know, I know how camp names work and like maybe he gave it to himself idk but Play Dough is literally described with such negative connotations MULTIPLE TIMES PER CHAPTER. As a character, he's already self-conscious about his own body image and he thinks it consistently enough that we understand. The author does nothing to help give him a positive body image but instead using phrases like "doughy grandchildren" (seriously wtf) which just enforces a terrible representation. It'd be a different story if it was other characters mentioning his weight negatively (which happens) and then those characters realizing how mean that is (which also, thankfully, happens) but to continue to discuss his weight further past that is extremely damaging. Play Dough deserves better. I cannot believe any of that got through editing without someone saying "hey i feel like there's an unnecessary amount of focus on Play Dough's weight" he's like twelve and the targeted audience of this book are also twelve year olds! I'm just thinking how hurtful this would've been to me to read this kind of language when I was twelve.

It's very hard for me to give a book I loved and enjoyed and connected with a lower rating that the story deserves because of representation issues that could've been caught by having more diverse eyes on this book earlier on in the editing process.

[Georgina]

good book

[Katie Blanshine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gabe and I listened to this. The color wars might be our favorite book so far!

[Emma Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. 🙂

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breakout! is another installment in the world of Camp Rolling Hills. The development of Jenny and Play Dough getting in a "dating" relationship was unexpected but well-played, and contributed nicely to the series' message of "be true to yourself". As always, I wish these books had a little less questionable language, and also that Play Dough could be described in ways other than just how he's fat.