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Unplugged

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By Gordon Korman
New York: Balzer + Bray, 2021. Fiction.

12-year-old Jeff Baranov is the most spoiled kid in Silicon Valley -- no really, a magazine article even ranked him that way. While is mother is perpetually away volunteering with Orthodontists without Borders and his father is busy running his tech-empire, Jeff is always playing pranks and getting into trouble. When enough is finally enough, Jeff's father sends him to camp at The Oasis of Mind and Body Wellness retreat in the middle of nowhere in Arkansas. For a spoiled rich kid, The Oasis is pretty intense - there are strict rules that say no meat, no junk food, no pets, and no screens of any time. Still, Jeff refuses to be easily thwarted and bends every camp rule possible -- even convincing some of the other camp kids to care for a strange lizard they find in the woods. Together with goody-two-shoes Grace, hyperallergic Tyrell, and mysterious Brooklynne, Jeff is sneaking out of camp to buy food for the lizard, Needles, when he discovers a mystery connecting The Oasis, Needles, and a mysterious small-town millionaire.

Chapters told in alternating perspectives help move this story along as readers experience The Oasis from the eyes of Jeff, Grace, Tyrell, Brooklynne, and others. This is a classic summer-camp story that is moved along by a fast-moving plot and dry sense of humor. Though none of the kids at The Oasis are particularly likable, most readers will be too caught up in the summer camp adventure to mind. Readers who like books by Carl Hiaasen or other books by Gordon Korman will find a lot to enjoy.
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