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If You Like... Summer Camp Stories

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Growing up, I only really went to sleepaway summer camp one time and I didn't really like it. The food was weird, I missed my family, there were bugs, etc. But that didn't stop me from wanting to go to summer camp -- the movies always made it look so fun! If you've ever had the same problem, here are some great summer camp stories that may or not be better than the real thing.

By Andrea Wang
New York: Kokila, 2024. Fiction. 308 pages.

Phoenny Fang looks forward to Squee, a Chinese heritage summer camp, all year long. But this year, everything is different. There's a group of new girls her age, which means that her squad is split up -- and none of the new girls even seem to want to be there! Things only get worse when Phee finds herself competing against one of the new girls for the attention of a cute boy. This middle grade novel is a cute summer story of friendship, first crushes, and growing up. This book dives into the complicated feelings Asian American children and transracial adoptees have, and balances it out with relatable dialogue and believable characters for a super readable novel.

By Nora Raleigh Baskin & Gae Polisner
New York: Godwin Books, 2022. Fiction. 264 pages.

Jeremy "JB" Barnes is stuck spending his summer studying the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with his mom and a team of scientists aboard a marine research vessel. Meanwhile, ocean-obsessed Sidney Miller is trying to fill her summer with educational opportunities to avoid being sent to summer camp. Sidney, who runs a podcast sharing tips for how to help rid the ocean of plastic, receives an invitation in error to attend a clean ocean summit -- aboard JB's ship. Though she knows that she is not the correct Dr. Sidney Miller, she takes it as a sign and is soon stowed away aboard the ship with the help of JB who is eager to keep her hidden among the SEAmester high school students. This book is filled with madcap hijinks and messages about ocean conservation -- plus an unlikely summer camp setting.

By Josh Berk & Saundra Mitchell
New York: Harper, 2020. Fiction 339 pages.

What's summer camp without a good scary story? In 1983, Corryn and Tez start to notice strange and unexplained things happening at their remote summer camp like ghostly faces in the campfire, an ancient lifeguard, and inanimate objects coming to life with deadly intention. As Corryn and Tez start to investigate the history of Camp Sweetwater, they uncover a century old curse and find out that every time the camp reopens, someone disappears. For readers who like scary stories, this book is a horrifying good time.

By Julie Murphy
New York: Balzer + Bray, 2023. Fiction. 279 pages.

Maggie has been dying to go to Camp Rising Star where she'll finally learn to get out of her comfort zone and become the musical theater star she always longed to be. But just before she leaves, she finds out that her parents have other plans -- they're sending her to Camp Sylvania a "wellness" (re: fat) camp run by wellness celebrity Sylvia Sylvania. But things are not as they seem at camp with a blood bank next to the cafeteria and campers going missing. Maggie and her new friends suspect the obvious - vampires - but now must save their camp. This is a humorous and compassionate story with a good dose of body positivity and some light scares. 

By Violet Chan Karim
New York: Random House Graphic, 2024. Graphic novel. 235 pages.

Maya's boring summer is saved when her dad's girlfriend signs her up for a culinary summer camp -- just what she always wanted. But after accidentally boarding the wrong bus, Maya is on her way to a summer camp for vampires instead. Desperate to keep her secret and avoid having her blood sucked, Maya does all she can to pretend to be a vampire. Of course, her new campmates aren't what she expected and she finds herself making friends in the unlikeliest of places. This is a cute and silly graphic novel to read for summer vacation.

Absolute Zeroes #1
Written by Greg Smith and Michael Tanner
Illustrated by Gabrielle Gomez
New York: Little Brown Ink, 2024. Graphic novel. 214 pages.

Camp Launchpad used to be the premier space camp for summer campers, but those days are long gone. Now, they face fierce competition from the high tech camp called Star-X which is threatening to buy out Camp Launchpad. It's up to three unlikely friends - Mark, the vice president's son; Val, the daughter of an astronaut; and Pete, a scholarship recipient -- to learn to work together and save their camp. This graphic novel is charming and nerdy and perfect for space enthusiasts who want to see scrappy underdogs save the day.

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