Camp

[A quick note: I’ve been holding on to this book for about a year, waiting for the perfect moment to read it. I wanted something specifically for PRIDE month and this was perfect! And not only that, it’s got all the summer vibes for getting into summer. A great double-whammy of awesomeness, no?]

“𝗛𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘂𝗽, 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗛𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲. 𝗛𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁—𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲.”—Lev A.C. Rosen

Summer camp this year will be different. Why? Because this is the year Randy will make Hudson fall in love with him. He’s got a plan, even if it means giving up nail polish and theater. He comes transformed as “Del,” a masculine guy on the market. After years of pining over the cute boy, he’s ready to do something about it.

This queer read was everything I needed to get in the summer spirit. With its summer-camp-theater-kids, the romance, and the snarky humor, I was LOL’ing, I was smiling, and I was having oh-so-much-fun. The summer camp setting transported me. I never got to attend summer camp as a teen, so this was a stand in. I felt like I was there!

While this was a very different read from my usual, I wanted something for Pride Month and this was PERFECT. The characters were so real. The dialogue was GREAT. It felt…authentic. It was so good that I felt like I was friends with all the characters. I loved that. It was also eye-opening. As a straight, cisgendered person, I don’t know first-hand what the struggles of queer people are. Reading about these struggles really help me better see the way the world can be mean, judge mental, and hurtful. My heart hurt for some of the experiences these fictional characters had to put up with.

This was absolutely a character driven story of growth and change. Randy’s character arc was powerful. You should never have to give up a piece of your identity to convince someone to fall in love with you. He learns this the hard way. But it’s such a fulfilling lesson. And Hudson’s character arc is transformative too.

And of course, the romance was adorable! I loved seeing Randy and Hudson fall in love. I really enjoyed watching the way Randy challenged Hudson to be true to himself. Hudson was able to be his best self around Randy.

If you’re looking for something that has perfect summer vibes, romance, and character growth, this one is perfect! You’ll have as much fun as I did. It was wholesome and light-hearted and made me laugh. Definitely recommended. 𝐌𝐘 𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝟒/𝟓⭐️