What do you think?
Rate this book
Camper Girl
A person's path through life is never clearly marked...
Eighteen-year old Shannon Burke is stuck. Her friends are heading off to college, her job is a complete dead-end, and her mother has just made her part owner of the failing family business. The only bright spot is her upcoming birthday and a visit from her eccentric Aunt Rebecca. But before Shannon can blow out her candles, she receives devastating news: Rebecca is dead.
When she learns that her aunt has gifted her a beat-up camper, Shannon decides to sell it for cold, hard cash. Then she loses her job and finds a mysterious map in the glove box, and in a moment of desperation, she jumps behind the wheel and hits the road.
One map leads to another, and Shannon journeys deep into New York's Adirondack Mountains where she faces her greatest fears and navigates a new reality that is as unpredictable as the wilderness itself. During her scavenger hunt of self-discovery, Shannon uncovers a stunning family secret, experiences the healing power of nature, and learns that a person's path through life is never clearly marked.
** Gold Medal, Eric Hoffer Book Awards
** Bronze Medal, Florida Book Awards
** Bronze Medal, CNY Book Awards
** Bronze Medal, Moonbeam Children's Book Awards
** Bronze Medal, Independent Publishers Book Awards
** Finalist, Next Generation Indie Book Awards
** Finalist, American Fiction Awards
Eighteen-year old Shannon Burke is stuck. Her friends are heading off to college, her job is a complete dead-end, and her mother has just made her part owner of the failing family business. The only bright spot is her upcoming birthday and a visit from her eccentric Aunt Rebecca. But before Shannon can blow out her candles, she receives devastating news: Rebecca is dead.
When she learns that her aunt has gifted her a beat-up camper, Shannon decides to sell it for cold, hard cash. Then she loses her job and finds a mysterious map in the glove box, and in a moment of desperation, she jumps behind the wheel and hits the road.
One map leads to another, and Shannon journeys deep into New York's Adirondack Mountains where she faces her greatest fears and navigates a new reality that is as unpredictable as the wilderness itself. During her scavenger hunt of self-discovery, Shannon uncovers a stunning family secret, experiences the healing power of nature, and learns that a person's path through life is never clearly marked.
** Gold Medal, Eric Hoffer Book Awards
** Bronze Medal, Florida Book Awards
** Bronze Medal, CNY Book Awards
** Bronze Medal, Moonbeam Children's Book Awards
** Bronze Medal, Independent Publishers Book Awards
** Finalist, Next Generation Indie Book Awards
** Finalist, American Fiction Awards
184 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 2020
9 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Glenn Erick Miller
5 books52 followersAuthor of CAMPER GIRL and the forthcoming GOON (YA novels), RED’S FIRST SNOW (picture book) and FLORIDA: POETRY AND PROSE
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 6, 2024
Really slamming all these books all of a sudden! Loved this book. YA friendly with a different unique plot away from other YA novels that still involves a great deal of adventure but relatable story and character. I would recommend for sure!
July 3, 2021
Those who study such things will tell you that getting out there and seeing the world or even just different parts of your country, city, state or whatever will expand your horizons in many different ways. Many non-fiction books focusing on travel make the same case, but I don’t think I’ve read a book of fiction, at least not until this one, where that message seemed to be such a big part of the book. Yes, this book is fiction and the trip (a bit of a scavenger hunt arranged by protagonist Shannon’s now deceased Aunt Rebecca) isn’t real, but she definitely learns from it. Some of the things she’s learns are just what I’d expect a real person to learn from actual travel. Things like expanding your view of the world and those in it, while also driving home that we’re not as different as we sometimes let ourselves think. Or experiencing the beauty that is out there to be found, often just by getting off the beaten track a bit. But Shannon also finds out a lot about herself, her Aunt Rebecca, and her parents which has her reevaluating a lot of things about her life and her future. Having just graduated from high school Shannon is at a point that many young adults are evaluating their life, their future, and where they want to go from here. Camper Girl is a great story of someone at one of life’s crossroads, figuring things out, and taking the reader along on the adventure.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
June 6, 2021
Camper Girl is a fun coming-of-age story about trying to find your path. Shannon's adventure feels both compelling and realistic to what a real-life camper adventure might comprise.
My only real complaint about this book was that it's so short, just because I would've loved to spend more time with Shannon and her camper.
My only real complaint about this book was that it's so short, just because I would've loved to spend more time with Shannon and her camper.
April 7, 2024
Such a cute coming of age novel, I really resonated with the FMC!
December 30, 2020
As soon as I started this book I knew I'd like it; partly because I've spent a lot of time in the Adirondacks, and partly because the main character's journey is what I always longed to do (after reading Travels With Charley: In Search of America at about 14 years old).
The premise for the journey is justifiable (inheriting a camper, a loved one leading you on a journey after they've passed away), and quickly gave way to the plot: Shannon's adventure.
Throughout her journey, she deals with the unexpected challenges and joys of solo travel. Anyone who has traveled by themselves can probably relate!
At an age when most are heading off to college, Shannon's stalled life gives way to the infinite possibilities of the road. Along the way she finds purpose, strength and closure (among other things).
As an adult, I know this is a very romanticized look at road-life, and the reality can be much more difficult or isolating, and yet I am still swept up in the magic of a young woman on a journey of self-discovery, carving out her own path in the world.
I'm an absolute sucker for that trope.
Plus this one has a few bits that really kick you in the heart (in a good way), so it was nice to find some real depth in addition to a fun adventure.
The premise for the journey is justifiable (inheriting a camper, a loved one leading you on a journey after they've passed away), and quickly gave way to the plot: Shannon's adventure.
Throughout her journey, she deals with the unexpected challenges and joys of solo travel. Anyone who has traveled by themselves can probably relate!
At an age when most are heading off to college, Shannon's stalled life gives way to the infinite possibilities of the road. Along the way she finds purpose, strength and closure (among other things).
As an adult, I know this is a very romanticized look at road-life, and the reality can be much more difficult or isolating, and yet I am still swept up in the magic of a young woman on a journey of self-discovery, carving out her own path in the world.
I'm an absolute sucker for that trope.
Plus this one has a few bits that really kick you in the heart (in a good way), so it was nice to find some real depth in addition to a fun adventure.
September 17, 2021
CAMPER GIRL is the book I wish someone had given me for high school graduation! One of the hardest things about being 18 is choosing one's own path, when the options can either seem limited or paralyzing. Shannon Burke embarks on an unconventional journey after finishing high school, choosing to travel in her late aunt's camper van rather than going to college or helping to run her mother's craft store. Her Aunt Rebecca, with whom she was very close, left her a series of maps, clues and treasures to find along the way. As Shannon journey takes her deep into the Adirondacks, it also leads her to some startling realizations, with a plot twist I didn't see coming. This could be a fast read - it's relatively short and very well-paced - but I found myself lingering over it, wanting to savor Shannon's journey and take in the wisdom she found in her encounters with nature and with fellow travelers.
January 24, 2023
Finished my first read of the year! It’s not a very long one but considering I read only in snippets of time around my other interests, work, and adventures it took a while. And speaking of adventures this is a YA coming of age story about a girl who is willed an old decrepit camper and a scavenger hunt of self-discovery.
My camping friends will enjoy it.
My two favorite passages:
“Someone once told me that regrets are just opportunities to make things right.”
“There is no greater friendship than the one with your own self. Because in the end, it’s just YOU and YOU.”
My camping friends will enjoy it.
My two favorite passages:
“Someone once told me that regrets are just opportunities to make things right.”
“There is no greater friendship than the one with your own self. Because in the end, it’s just YOU and YOU.”
June 15, 2023
I loved every page of this slender little novel. Though we only met Aunt Rebecca in person for one scene, I understood immediately why she was Shannon's favorite person, and I also felt connected to Shannon, who is like me in a lot of ways with how reserved and relatively solitary she is.
Even before she took to the road, I loved the portrait of her quiet life in a tiny upstate New York town and the cozy farmhouse her parents built 20 years ago (where they're now they're struggling to make ends meet as work dries up). I kept thinking how impressed I was by the writing style, spare and straightforward but somehow evocative, like something I might write but far more polished. Even the details of her menial gas station job were surprisingly vivid.
But when Shannon does leave...what a fantastic quest. At her age I absolutely would not have had the courage (nor probably the interest) for an adventure like this, but at this age I found it quite exciting and loved vicariously coming along on her spontaneous van life, exploring all the contents of her late aunt's life within and hitting the road by day/discovering cozy campgrounds in which to spend the night. The stuffed moose she finds tucked away, and promptly names "Dog" and props up beside her as a travel mascot, was particularly adorable.
I loved the mix of nature hikes and people that her aunt's maps and letters led to (the roadside diner was a particular delight -- but then, so was Diana and everything about her sweet little house). I loved that she threw herself whole-heartedly into all the hikes and fire tower climbs and what have you despite being quite out of shape. I even loved the tiny smidgen of romance, which could have seemed like a box to tick off for your YA novel, but worked for me because Josh was, what did the kids used to call it, adorkable.
Bonus: you know me and how I love a good Box o' Memorabilia, so I love that both Shannon and Rebecca keep a box of all the letters and mementos they ever sent each other. None of which gets set on fire at the end for catharsis, which I can't believe I have to specifically be grateful about, but you would be surprised.
There is a bit of a twist I did NOT see coming at all, and she reacts to it in sliiiiightly cliche ways at first (), but that was the only time I was ever less than fully enthused and she moved past it in a few pages, so barely a blip on my radar.
Bottom line: I would love to read another volume of her adventures, but it also ends in a very satisfying way as-is, so this is officially getting marked as one of my favorite books of the year.
Even before she took to the road, I loved the portrait of her quiet life in a tiny upstate New York town and the cozy farmhouse her parents built 20 years ago (where they're now they're struggling to make ends meet as work dries up). I kept thinking how impressed I was by the writing style, spare and straightforward but somehow evocative, like something I might write but far more polished. Even the details of her menial gas station job were surprisingly vivid.
But when Shannon does leave...what a fantastic quest. At her age I absolutely would not have had the courage (nor probably the interest) for an adventure like this, but at this age I found it quite exciting and loved vicariously coming along on her spontaneous van life, exploring all the contents of her late aunt's life within and hitting the road by day/discovering cozy campgrounds in which to spend the night. The stuffed moose she finds tucked away, and promptly names "Dog" and props up beside her as a travel mascot, was particularly adorable.
I loved the mix of nature hikes and people that her aunt's maps and letters led to (the roadside diner was a particular delight -- but then, so was Diana and everything about her sweet little house). I loved that she threw herself whole-heartedly into all the hikes and fire tower climbs and what have you despite being quite out of shape. I even loved the tiny smidgen of romance, which could have seemed like a box to tick off for your YA novel, but worked for me because Josh was, what did the kids used to call it, adorkable.
Bonus: you know me and how I love a good Box o' Memorabilia, so I love that both Shannon and Rebecca keep a box of all the letters and mementos they ever sent each other. None of which gets set on fire at the end for catharsis, which I can't believe I have to specifically be grateful about, but you would be surprised.
There is a bit of a twist I did NOT see coming at all, and she reacts to it in sliiiiightly cliche ways at first (), but that was the only time I was ever less than fully enthused and she moved past it in a few pages, so barely a blip on my radar.
Bottom line: I would love to read another volume of her adventures, but it also ends in a very satisfying way as-is, so this is officially getting marked as one of my favorite books of the year.
June 14, 2021
Camper Girl is a touching, emotional, and heartfelt story about Shannon a young woman who wants to inherits a camper from her late aunt and takes a road trip based on the map that was left to her. Shannon struggles with grieving her aunt, but also her friends leaving her to go to college, staying at home in her small town, and is unsure of what she wants to do in life. Readers follow her on her physical and mental journey of trying to heal and sort out life's obstacles.
This was a book that hits the heart and definitely had me tearing up at a few moments. I could really feel Shannon's grief and uncertainty through the strong narrative and appreciated how her character developed over the course of the story. I also thought the story is relatable due because we've all been on journeys of self-discovery in life and struggled to follow the path that we thought was right for us. I liked the story so much and I love how detailed the writing was. It was so immersive and I could picture the natural beauty of the campsites that Shannon visits.
A recommended read!
This was a book that hits the heart and definitely had me tearing up at a few moments. I could really feel Shannon's grief and uncertainty through the strong narrative and appreciated how her character developed over the course of the story. I also thought the story is relatable due because we've all been on journeys of self-discovery in life and struggled to follow the path that we thought was right for us. I liked the story so much and I love how detailed the writing was. It was so immersive and I could picture the natural beauty of the campsites that Shannon visits.
A recommended read!
October 24, 2020
After finishing Camper Girl, I recalled reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn when I was a preteen. It was the first book I where I could relate directly to the protagonist. In his debut novel, the author gives the reader Shannon Burke, whose struggles will be identifiable with many young readers: How to handle a practical mother, a dreamer father, and the death of a close family member.
In the quest to find a direction for her future, Shannon journeys in a camper van, a tiny old Dolphin, left to her by her aunt. The glove box contains the hints that lead the eighteen-year-old on a scavenger hunt of self-discovery.
One of my favorite passages sums up advice given to Shannon:
“The key is balance, and that comes from control. Just relax, keep looking forward, and you’ll be fine.” Good guidance for all of us in these uncertain times.
In the quest to find a direction for her future, Shannon journeys in a camper van, a tiny old Dolphin, left to her by her aunt. The glove box contains the hints that lead the eighteen-year-old on a scavenger hunt of self-discovery.
One of my favorite passages sums up advice given to Shannon:
“The key is balance, and that comes from control. Just relax, keep looking forward, and you’ll be fine.” Good guidance for all of us in these uncertain times.
June 24, 2021
All I can say is I love this book! At its core, it’s a coming-of-age story, but it’s different from your typical story about a young person becoming an adult and trying to figure out their place in the world.
Shannon has just graduated from high school and turned 18. Her friends are going off to college, but her parents simply cannot afford that for her. She works a dead-end job and has the added pressure of being expected to help save her mother’s craft business.
The one bright spot is her eccentric Aunt Rebecca, whom she adores. But on her 18th birthday, they find out Rebecca has died, leaving her RV to Shannon so she can go out and have adventures. Shannon teeters between “doing the right thing” and selling it to share the cash with her parents and going after the adventure Rebecca always wanted her to have.
Did I mention I love this book? Especially the twist!
Shannon has just graduated from high school and turned 18. Her friends are going off to college, but her parents simply cannot afford that for her. She works a dead-end job and has the added pressure of being expected to help save her mother’s craft business.
The one bright spot is her eccentric Aunt Rebecca, whom she adores. But on her 18th birthday, they find out Rebecca has died, leaving her RV to Shannon so she can go out and have adventures. Shannon teeters between “doing the right thing” and selling it to share the cash with her parents and going after the adventure Rebecca always wanted her to have.
Did I mention I love this book? Especially the twist!
November 6, 2020
Camper Girl is the kind of novel you want your whole family to read because it epitomizes the kind of love and kindness that this world needs. A wonderful coming of age story about a young girl who takes a journey-- a journey of the heart -- which is mapped by love and trust and unfolds into the most moving and eloquent story any adult or teen could want to read. The writing is superb and the characters wrap themselves around your own heart in ways that won't be forgotten in a long time. I strongly recommend this book. It would be the dearest Christmas present to almost reader I can think of. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I'll look for more of Miller's work.
June 11, 2021
Glenn Erick Miller did such a terrific job of voicing the young female protagonist and taking us on her journey of self-discovery, replete with several unexpected surprises.
The book felt like a cross between 'Nomadland' and 'Wild', in the best possible way.
There is a reason those stories hold such a powerful place in the zeitgeist, especially for women.
It's a great summer read: zippy and unfussy and poignant and unpretentious and raw and real.
The best part is: it's kinda left open for a sequel....
The book felt like a cross between 'Nomadland' and 'Wild', in the best possible way.
There is a reason those stories hold such a powerful place in the zeitgeist, especially for women.
It's a great summer read: zippy and unfussy and poignant and unpretentious and raw and real.
The best part is: it's kinda left open for a sequel....
February 27, 2024
It was a nice book but it was also extremely forgettable. I don't know what was missing, I just felt like something was. Maybe the story deserved some extra depth, there were great ideas to explore more. Ah well, it was a comfortable read though.
May 22, 2022
Camping
I'm 70 years old and am ready to start an adventure! Have camper will travel, hitting the road next weekend. Great read!!
I'm 70 years old and am ready to start an adventure! Have camper will travel, hitting the road next weekend. Great read!!
March 6, 2023
One of the best books I've ever read. Memorable, adventurous, heart-felt, and fun.
February 6, 2024
Baffled anyone would give this cheesy story more than one star. Predictable, cringy and no depth to any of the characters in the story. Blah!
July 28, 2024
I enjoyed this fast read it has a good storyline
August 26, 2024
A quick, poignant read. The author certainly knows the area between cental and upstate New York. As someone who lives just outside of Utica, this was a delight.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews