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Anyone who spent time at camp as a kid knows all about the campfires and the songs and the archery and the canoeing and all of the other typical camp activities. But for the girls in Camp So-and-So by author Mary McCoy, their camp experience is anything but a week of fun and games.
The story goes on a creepy summer camp adventure with the 25 teenage girls who were chosen to attend Camp So-and-So. At first, the lakeside camp in the mountains seems like the perfect place to spend the week—even if the cabins are a little shabby. But it soon becomes clear that the camp isn’t what the girls expected. One by one, each of the five cabins is sent out on a strange mission. And while all of the missions are daunting, some are just plain deadly.
Camp So-and-So wastes no time in turning from a cute summer camp story to a dark and mysterious supernatural adventure. The cabins’ stories range from the slightly eerie (a competition with some creepy campers at So-and-So’s sister camp) to the truly haunting (stories of a rumored killer on the loose—who starts with the campers’ counselor). And they continue to escalate from there.
Unfortunately, the five individual stories—and the stories that connect them together—aren’t entirely solid. In fact, they all seem a little haphazard, with magical beasts and mythical creatures showing up at random—and the explanation behind them feels weak and underdeveloped (not to mention far-fetched—even for a fantasy).
Meanwhile, the action skips from one cabin to another, cycling through five very different scenarios. Readers are expected to keep track of all of the stories—which can be especially tricky when you have to remember where a story left off four chapters earlier. There are also 25 different campers and a handful of other characters—some with names, some (for some unexplained reason) merely given descriptions. And as the stories skip around, it’s difficult to remember which characters are which—and which stories they fit into. In fact, there’s so much going on here that the book should come with a map—because, without it, you may find yourself horribly lost in a sometimes spine-chilling yet utterly complicated adventure.
Camp So-and-So does have some intriguing touches—some likable characters and interesting storylines. But there are so many characters and so many storylines that, sadly, none of them really get a chance to develop into something truly captivating.
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