Rating Your Bunkmates and Other Camp Crimes

by Jennifer Orr

Twelve-year-old Abigail Hensley is a socially awkward aspiring anthropologist who has always had trouble connecting with her peers. Abigail is hopeful that a week at sleepaway camp is the answer to finally making a friend. After all, her extensive research shows that summer camp is the best place to make lifelong connections. Using her tried-and-true research methods, Abigail begins to study her cabinmates for friendship potential. But just when it seems that she is off to a good start, her bunkmate's phone gets stolen, and Abigail is the main suspect. Can she clear her name, find the real culprit, and make a friend before the week is done?

Genres: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Fiction, Juvenile

240 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2020

About the author

Jennifer Orr is a writer and former elementary school librarian. She lives in Walnut Creek, California with her husband and two daughters.

Reviews

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need to preface everything I say about this book with: I’m not the target audience. Sometimes this doesn’t matter as I consistently read books that are intended for readers born in a different century than I was. However, I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older my tolerance for friendship drama has decreased exponentially.

Socially awkward twelve year old Abigail Hensley may have skipped three grades at school but she’s never had a friend. It’s not from lack of rigorous anthropological research on her part. Unfortunately other girls her age simply don’t share her interests - fencing, time travel, anthropology and French cuisine. They also have a bad habit of intruding in her personal space bubble, even though she has generously narrowed the recommended four feet to three and a half.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to successfully befriend a girl my age. It’s like I’m helium, physically unable to mix with any other chemical element. Bonding with girls my age just doesn’t seem part of my atomic makeup.

Joining Abigail in Clovis Cabin are:
* Sofia, Fia, Fia, with her impractical bejewelled fingernails
* Quinn, who speaks like she’s a Magic 8 ball
* Rachel, with her crooked name sticker and rule breaking tendencies
* Mary Elizabeth George (Meg), who lives in the shadows of her perfect older sister
* Gabby, who’s enthusiastic and agreeable. She’s Abigail’s roommate.

Despite being oblivious to social cues Abigail is trying her hardest to figure out the science of making friends. She’s determined to crack the code this week and will be making extensive Field Notes to help her navigate the process.

I plan to use these notes to help me with my ongoing experiment: finding a friend.

Unfortunately for Abigail this social experiment may not be as easy to implement as she hopes. Shortly after arriving at Hollyhock something is stolen from another Clovis camper and she’s the prime suspect.

While I’m always drawn to books where I get to attend summer camp vicariously (this was not something that was available when I was growing up and I’ve always felt I missed out on a rite of passage), too many of the conversations in this book revolve around accusations for my liking, so I didn’t enjoy my time at Camp Hollyhock as much as I had anticipated. I hope (and expect) younger readers will disagree wholeheartedly with me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Capstone Editions for the opportunity to read this book.

[Lost in Book Land · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello Again!


It's been a week guys, not even in a bad way, it's just been a week and it's only Wednesday. I just feel like this time of year is so busy and on top of everything else this time of year brings, I am trying to finish a bunch of books I am currently reading, assemble and order the rest of the furniture pieces for my townhouse, and still find time to relax. I love this time of year though if I am being honest and I feel like with my new job this year has been much less stressful than past years. I have really been able to decorate and enjoy the decor, think about baking (in a mindful not over baking kind of way, which I usually massively over bake for the two people that live here), watch television and movies I  enjoy and just work on reading or whatever else I want too. As a result of this, I have had time to read some middle grade that I have found interesting. I was fortunate enough to receive an E-ARC copy of this middle-grade book on Netgalley recently and decided to jump into it. 

SPOILERS  AHEAD


Abigal is not your normal 12 year old, see she is on a mission this summer, a mission to figure out the matrix to making friends. Abigal is incredibly intelligent and has skipped several grades (so instead of being in middle school, she is in high school already) and has no friends among her peers, however, this summer Abigal is going to summer camp with other girls her age! Abigal is an aspiring archeologist and looks up to a famous archeologist and her best friend who star in several movies. She plans to use their matrix to find a friend among her cabinmates. However, pretty much from the moment she rearrives things start to go sideways. One of her new bunkmates brought their phone to camp which is strictly against the rules but Abigal decides not to tell hoping it will make her a fast friend. But this does not go as planned, as her bunkmates (Rachel) phone is stolen! Everyone is quick to accuse Abigal, they say she is the new girl (she is outside of their established group of friends) and not like them.  However, Abigal is determined to clear her name and still make a friend. But will Abigal be able to do all of this before camp is over? Or will she go home with people thinking she is a thief?


Overall, I really enjoyed this middle grade, honestly more than I thought I would. I loved Abigal's character as well as the uniqueness of each of her bunkmates. I also loved the added layer of this not just being a camp story but also a mystery. Abigal was determined to figure out who actually took the phone and later on who took her field notes. Additionally, this book is written in a very unique style, via Abgial's field notes which just makes the experience even more interesting for the reader. To wrap things up, I am giving this book 4.5 stars out of five on Goodreads and I highly recommend picking it. It was a super cute middle-grade mystery read that has friendship and all the camp fun you can handle!





***I was given an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review

[BunTheDestroyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

**I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Published edition subject to change**

Ohhhh my goodness this book was TOO cute! No kidding I couldn't put it down and read it in a day.

At first, I had a hard time relating to Abigail. She was just too much, and she felt like a robot. But a few chapters in, and she really grew on me.

Abigail is overly smart and has skipped 3 grades. She goes to camp to do girl bonding (I consider myself to be fairly social and I would never ever go to camp and I'm glad my parents never sent me) and make friends. I feel like her struggles were very realistic. Abigail doesn't understand what she needs to make friends - she feels like she keeps failing when she is only being herself.

Weirdly enough, it's those same qualities that end up helping her succeed! She did need to build up her social skills but she got there eventually.

I felt that this book perfectly conveyed what it's like to be a tween girl and how OTHER tween girls act. I could relate to Abigail, even being far past my tween years, and her analysis of girls behavior - "herd mentality" and "siding with your crush over other girls" - was very cute and informative. I think it could teach readers of the same age how to look out for those behaviors. Herd mentality is very common at all ages and horrible.

I enjoyed that there was no romance. Just a pure book about friendships. I absolutely loved it. And the cover art is great too; it encompasses the story well. The book really does have a lot of twists considering it's not a mystery! I kept being surprised.

A couple of things that I had issues with: I read the ebook edition and so on page 174, the character Meg comes out of nowhere when I was led to believe Rachel and Abigail were walking alone. So hearing her speak was jarring because I didn't think she had been introduced in the setting. Along with that, a few pages later, 182 or 183, Meg is described as having split from the pack, which Abigail notes as unusual. However, if she had been present on page 174, then she already knew the plan so it would be natural for her to side with Abigail. The whole Meg thing on these pages was confusing. Again, subject to change when the book comes out.

I also did not really get a feel for the setting; I live in Cali and have visit NorCal but I didn't pick up any specifics. It was camp and could've been anywhere. The only thing that possibly hinted at location were the banana slugs. But I only know that because a Cali school's mascot is the banana slug...I forget which one. CSUN? Anyway, I definitely got a feel for the CAMP setting, not the NorCal area.

Would read more from this author, and would highly recommend this book!! I loved it!!

[OjoAusana · Rating 4 out of 5]

*received from netgalley for honest review* So this is a rather interesting book lol its a unique set up with the "Field notes" and the score thing is super funny (also maybe a bit over creepy at times but eh), overall tho it was a funny book. The characters could get annoying but (thankfully) they all learned some things. Good young/ middle grade book.

[Em (Makenna) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Earc from netgalley.

Okay there seem to be a lot of camp books lately, and this hasn't been one of my favorites. Abigail wasn't very likeable in my opinion, and the drama just never stopped. Just not for me, I guess, but younger girls who like camp and drama might enjoy this one.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welcome back to our camp marathon thing, 2. As I said before, I'm doing this week's book a day early cuz I got a thing tomorrow and wanted to just play it safe by reading it today when I knew I can finish. It's a longer book so yeah, had to play it safe there.

With that said, this one takes us to the long ago times of 2020. This is the debut work for Jennifer Orr, who has only done a couple non-fiction books since then. It revolves around Abigail, a very smart and scientific minded girl who has actually skipped some grades. She hasn't had many friends, mostly since she can't find many her own age and older teens aren't quite as into her science talk as much as you'd think.

This year she's going to Camp Hollyhock, an all girls camp where she hopes to learn about friendship and finally get some friends. As part of her "field" notes, she rates her bunkmates, as the title suggests, Things are rocky with the girls in her cabin, which includes friendly Gabby, not so friendly Racheal Lin, Quinn, Sofia, and Meg.

Things got worse than Rachael's phone is stolen and Abigail becomes the main suspect. Now she must clear her name and hopefully lean friendship can't be calculated. I wasn't sure about this when it started but it ended up being pretty good. Abby is the type of protagonist that could easily become annoying. There are a couple bits that can make her a bit selfish here and there, nothing horrible but she could be toned down in a few spots.

But overall she shakes up fine. With her upbringing and such, we clearly see that her brain just works differently and she struggles with social cues. Things that seem off at first become understandable. She ends up being fairly likable as we explore her feelings more. It's easy to see why she is like this and while the moral is obvious, it is a good one.

It does a good job exploring this group as she tries to make friends. We see different things they do and the ups and downs. Some friendly ones have their ups and downs and Racheal turns out to be not so bad as we more with her. The mystery element is solid as the reveal did surprise me at least a bit, and it made enough sense. Although it does go on a bit too long, as it does the "wait there's more" thing after the reveal and that was a bit much.

They at least try to make every kid important, there's a couple that feel a bit pointless and they kind of force a role for them by the end which still works alright. Racheal and Gabby are the main important ones. Gabby has this air-head nature that is weirdly charming.

I like it uses the camp setting to explore these social situations., While it's not as activity focused as I may have liked, it still uses the camp setting well in that way. The over 200 page length is a bit much for how simple it is, but it's not the worst case I've seen as it at least feels breezy.

It's not anything great but I found it to be pretty appealing. Abigail ends up being likable with her POV being understandable and her nature is mostly in the charming side. There's nice friendship stuff and a decent mystery in here. It's not the deepest take on any of this stuff (I feel like Abby could be neurodivergent and they could have more directly explored that, it's a modern book after all), it is done well.

Given the audience and all that, I enjoyed this a fair bit. It's a solid read that had enough to keep me into it, not too much more to say. Next time, we go back to the 90's for a series I know very little about.

See ya then.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friendships are complicated, especially when you are in your tween years. Add to that being someone who is an academic genius who has skipped a couple of grades, and you really have your work cut out for you. Abigail has always struggled to have friends in her life. She knows what she is supposed to do on paper, but has a great deal of difficulty applying those concepts in real life. She also is extremely literal, which means she is often confused by her interactions with her peers. Honestly, she reminded me of someone on the autism spectrum.

Abigail is determined to make friends at summer camp this year. She goes about doing so in a methodical, scientific manner, attributing scores to her bunkmates via a matrix she has created to determine their worth as a friend. As expected, this does not go over too well, especially when the other girls find out what is going on. And add in a mystery as to who stole the forbidden phone brought in by one of the other girls, as well as some other shady happenings, and you get some interesting results.

From the friendship standpoint, I think a lot of kids will be able to relate to the difficulties of finding true friends during this trying years. Most of them are not going to go about it in the same way that Abigail does, but I think they will understand some of her confusion. I think they may also learn to be more tolerant of those kids whom they peg as "different" because of their intelligence or poorer social skills. Maybe they will learn how to communicate with some of those kids and find the value in befriending all kinds of people. The other girls at the camp learn how to do this. It's my favorite part of the whole book.

The mystery part is also a lot of fun, and definitely would have been right up my alley in my younger days. I admit that I didn't quite figure out who the culprit was until the end.

Overall, it was quite an enjoyable read. I gave it 4.5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for my review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an elementary student, one of the books I remember enjoying was Harriet the Spy. Harriet spies on her friends and jots things down in a notebook which is later discovered by those friends, causing her to face the consequences. While there are distinct personality differences between Harriet and Abigail (the main character in Rating Your Bunkmates and Other Camp Crimes), there are similarities in the storyline that made me excited to jump into the story!

The structure of Jennifer Orr's book (the field notes of socially awkward Abigail interspersed with real-time conversation and summer camp activities) makes for interesting reading. Extensive research as a budding anthropologist has shown her that summer camp may be her best chance to finally find a friend, and she makes a science out of determining who in her cabin would be the best match. Using research methods she's honed over time, she sets up the experiment of her life and I enjoyed sitting in on her scientific process.

Abigail herself is a total delight! She is a genius who has skipped a few grades, making her an awkward match for kids her chronological age as well as a mismatch with those her intellectual age. Humor infuses her search for true friendship, and her gaffes are full of heart. The more you read through Abigail's eyes, the more you will wish you could jump into the book and befriend her yourself.

Rating Your Bunkmates and Other Camp Crimes has a Lexile measure of 670 and is recommended for readers in grades 3-7. This story scores a full five out of five stars on my reading scale!
Rating Your Bunkmates and Other Camp Crimes

[Anjana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute middle-grade story of friendships. Although I found it hard to believe Abby could think the way she did, I do not know many geniuses or prodigies so I cannot precisely comment on that exact aspect.

Abby has skipped a grade (or two) and has had minimal social interactions with the people her own age or even generally other children. Her understanding of 'cool' comes from internet searches and from watching french movies and a French Anthropologist. If all of these facts are taken into consideration, and we take the way she prepares herself as evidence, the rest of the storyline falls into place. She is in camp for the first time and has decided on a matrix to find the ideal sidekick. This does not bode well, primarily since she writes all this down in her journal. Things do not go well for her as she is terrible at reading social cues. Some events slowly spiral out of Abby's control.

It was fast-moving, had a dose of emotions and things smoothen themselves out as the story progresses. It was a nice change of pace from my other reading.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience as an adult with only memories of being the age of the protagonists.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

*ARC was provided by Capstone through NetGalley.

This was a super cute middle grade read about what friendship looks like and what being a friend really means. The summer camp setting is a classic, and I was invested in the mystery all the way through. This took a little while to grow on me, but there's a sweet lesson about understanding and being patient with others.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there's one thing this book taught me, it's that friendship shouldn't be measured or rated. People don't need to have spy skills to be your friend. A friend is a person who will stick by your side. Friendship a two way relationship that depends on both people who have to depend on each other. Thanks for one amazingly spectacular book Jennifer Orr!

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. Despite my efforts to enjoy this book, I couldn't make it past page 70. There was too much stupid drama, and Abigial (along with all the other characters) was extremely annoying. It was disappointing because I really thought I was going to enjoy this book. I'm going to camp in a month or so, and the title&cover of this book are adorable.
1.5-2/10
Might recommend to an 7 year old.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for the beginning of summer! Felt like I was back at summer camp...learning how to make new friends while being true to my self.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Main character Abigail appears to have the stereotypical characteristics of someone with autism.

She has gone to summer camp to try & make a friend and carefully rates her potential friends (or ‘subjects’ as she calls them).

The week revolves around a missing then broken phone and a snarky, sarcastic group of girls all blaming each other and throwing around nasty comments.

I didn’t really like any of the characters very much but I’m not the target audience so I appreciate that I might just be showing my age!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like Abigail was a female Sheldon Cooper. I really liked her and the rest of the characters were a lot of fun, too. I liked the field notes and Abigail's observations. I would like to see this be a series with more of Abigail's adventures.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Sheldon Cooper took the form of a sensitive twelve-year-old girl who went to summer camp as an “experiment” to try to make friends, you’d have Abigail, the endearingly uptight main character in Jennifer Orr’s contemporary middle grade, RATING YOUR BUNKMATES AND OTHER CAMP CRIMES.

In this brilliantly-plotted mystery lite with a satisfyingly-surprising ending, Orr nails the obnoxious camaraderie that is preteen friendships and almost nails the sleep away camp experience (No food fight? No eating candy at 3 AM? Come on.)

In the age of “push all girls into STEM” mania, Abigail’s interest in a social science (anthropology, coupled with field notes) is a breath of fresh air.

[Kristen Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Making friends is hard. That is especially true if you are a socially-awkward, super intelligent girl who loves speaking French and wants to be an anthropologist when she grows up. Abigail is such a girl. In Rating Your Bunk Mates and Other Camp Crimes, Abigail is an Amy Farrah Fowler (Big Bang Theory) type character who has a little trouble making friends. Correction: A lot of trouble making friends. In fact, she’s never had a friend. Skipping three grades has made her an outcast among her classmates, and all she wants to do at summer camp is find a friend. She devises a matrix to rate three qualities of her five roommates to figure out who is the most compatible. But then a roommate’s phone is stolen, and they all believe Abigail is guilty. Abigail has to prove her innocence by finding the real guilty party, all while trying to make a friend as they all hike, craft, and campfire their way through summer camp.

I really enjoyed this book. Abigail is equal parts sympathetic in her social awkwardness and heroic in her confidence and smarts. The other girls in the cabin also work through character flaws, and seeing them all come together to make each other better people is super fun. This is my first book by this author, and I look forward to more from her.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Elke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much NetGalley, Capstone and Jennifer Orr for this arc in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts expressed in this review are solely my own.

To be honest, I am not a big fan of this book. It started really confusing, in the beginning I didn't even realise the book started already and was just swiping to get to the first chapter, which I had entirely missed. I think that I'm rather intelligent, so that was a big no for me. It has to be clear when a book starts and if it starts like it's a notebook and has lines all over the place, that just doesn't work for me.

However, the real problem I had with this book, was that I didn't like the main character (Abigail) at all. She seems a bit rude and acts as if it is everybody elses problem that she doesn't have friends. I don't think that is the message you should send to children. Of course making friends depends on the other person as well, but children should be responsible if they want to make friend. They should at least try. To me, Abigail is not the right role model for them.

I will give this book three stars, because the style of writing was really pleasant and I do think that it could be a good story, it just wasn't for me.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abigail is a genius at facts, but not so much at making friends. When your brain is as big as hers, it can be tough to relate to anyone. Summer camp always offers the chance to make life-long friends, so it seems like the perfect place for Abigail to go and make friends her own age. So she goes into summer camp like it is a scientific observation and attempts to make friends.

Unfortunately for Abigail, she is a hard character to like or relate to, not just for her fictitious bunk mates, but for me as a reader. The writing style is fun and getting to see into Abigail's notebook is a great way to keep the story moving and get to know this difficult character better.

Abigail may start out as tough to love, but as she figures out how to relate to others, she begins to grow on you. Not everyone can make friends easily. For some, like Abigail, it takes a little extra effort and time.

Quirky and entertaining, this book is a fun read!

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Dontreadlikethem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many people go to camp for adventure through outdoor activities. Our main character Abigail is going to camp for one reason, to find a friend. She is going to do this through a scientific lens with data, observation, and scores. The book goes back and forth between the events happening at camp and Abigail's Field Note journal. Though they never say Abigail is autistic you can tell by her mannerisms that she maybe on the spectrum. As she tries to figure out how to fit in her bunkmates a cellphone goes missing. Abigail has to figure out this mystery to clear her own name. Looking at the way teen girls interact through Abigail's critical lens may give young girls new insight into their own friendships. Children ages 9 - 14 will enjoy this book.

[Nanette Heffernan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Camp Book Ever… and it’s a mystery! I grew up on the West Coast. People on the West Coast don’t traditionally send their kids away to camp. Or if they do, it’s usually just a week, not a month. I’ve heard this is an East Coast thing. As a kid, I was jealous of that. Not anymore! I feel like I finally got to go to camp! I got to hang out with all the girls in Clovis Cabin and I loved them all, especially the quirky main character, “Abiologist.” All the drama over the stolen phone, kissing a banana slug, the cliques, and finger pointing were so spot on I was laughing out loud and couldn’t wait to turn the page. This is the perfect read for any 9 year old and up.

[C.j. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. Abigail is twelve year old girl with a different view of things. She is very hopeful about her adventure at Camp and the chance to make friends. I enjoyed reading things from Abigail's perspective as she had a different take on the interactions of her bunkmates and the events that happened at camp. Abigail is a very book smart character but really uses the opportunity at camp to learn about social interaction and friendship.

[Sabinomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5