Saturday, January 28, 2023

"Camp Creepy" by Kiersten White

Camp Creepy (Jan. 3, 2023) by Kiersten White.
*This is the third novel in a series.*
From the Sanguine Spa, the Sinister-Winterbottoms and their friend from Fathoms of Fun, Edgar, find themselves at Camp Creek, a mysterious summer camp where everything is fun and good and normal, normal, normal! There’s a zip line, a climbing wall and archery! There are rope swings and canoeing, boondoggle-making and buffet-style eating! Swimming in the lake and so many kinds of cereal, one could really go wild and mix them in the same bowl! Where the counselors are enthusiastic and tie-dyed everything is the theme and everything is an exclamation! Normal! Except it’s not, especially when Theo witnesses Alexander rope-swing himself into the lake. From worrying about making a fool of himself by rope-swinging wrong to brain-eating amoeba getting to him if he gets lake water up his nose, that is not Alexander’s normal. He even tells Theo it’s okay to call him Alex, something that’s not okay. And Wil! Wil hasn’t just become a camp counselor in glaring tie-dye, but she’s given up Rodrigo, her most prized ... phone! She should be going through some horrible withdrawal but is as smiley and exuberant as every other tie-dyed counselor. The counselors and campers are braindyed, all but Theo and a sulking boy named Henry Hyde. She must un-braindye Alexander, Wil, Edgar and even Quincy, former lasso-wielding friend who might still come through as a friend once things are able to be talked out. Without so many exclamation points!
            To be fair, I tend to love everything I read by Kiersten White, but I honestly love the books in her Sinister Summer series the most! Far from scary (think more like the hijinks of Scooby-Doo), her stories read at a fast clip and they are so genius that I’m using an excessive amount of exclamations, even in my head as I type this! I can’t stop! Only kidding. I totally can. The adventures of the Sinister-Winterbottoms are slightly outrageous, but completely clean and fun. White’s writing is clever and is easy to follow, even as characters from the previous books converge and new characters are added. “Camp Creepy” is another satisfyingly sinister, wonderfully weird, middle-grade installment that contains positive messages about the acceptance of oneself and others just the way they are, quirks and anxieties and all.
            Book 1: Wretched Waterpark
            Book 2: Vampiric Vacation

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