"Funny and believable, with wonderful expressions and amusing dialogue... There’s a lot readers will enjoy about this coming-of-age camp comedy: romance, a dose of paranormal horror, and laugh-out-loud shenanigans." — School Library Journal
"There’s plenty to delight in... weirdly adorable." — Library Journal
“At first glance, a light and frothy comedy, but little by little it transforms into something wild.” — BDGest
“Axelle Lenoir weaves a sympathetic story around a very endearing heroine. Inside: tons of humor and a beautiful accuracy in human relationships, but also a veil of mystery that makes us even more eager to read to the end!” — Canal BD
“Perfect light reading for the summer, proving that the classic blend of fantasy and teenage comedy still works!” — BoDoi
“Axelle Lenoir is still a teenager at heart… Camp Spirit is a summer read that makes us relive our first emotions of adolescence with a smile.” — Le Journal de Québec
“A bright, enjoyable story, perfect for the intended teenage audience and anyone else who has passion for coming-of-age stories.” — British Fantasy Society
06/05/2020
The woods are wild, the night is full of secrets, the toilets are disgusting, and our heroine is just not having it. So begins this somewhat supernatural story with a bit of self-discovery thrown in. Elodie, textbook sullen teen to her core, begrudgingly begins her camp counselor stint, during which, to her great chagrin, the camp manager has too many teeth and sneaks off to the woods at odd hours, fellow counselors get inexplicably possessed, and her campers are red-headed hellions. Well, that last one seems pretty normal, honestly. Standard scenes of cannonballs, dance parties, and campfire songs are interspersed with looming threats of ancient forest spirits barely kept at bay. If you don't try too hard to make sense of it, there's plenty to delight in—great character sketches, a sweet strange romance, and some pretty fierce-looking monsters keep you turning pages. Lenoir's (What If We Were) energetic, sketchy art style breathes life into moments that might otherwise fall flat, but a clunky translation stymies smooth reading a bit too often. VERDICT Elodie's foray into the wilderness is oddly paced but also oddly endearing, imperfect yet weirdly adorable, appropriate and best for its target audience of teens and nostalgic young adults.—Emilia Packard, Tokyo, Japan
04/01/2020
Gr 9 Up—A dire fate awaits Elodie after she graduates from high school: working at Camp Bear Lake, at the behest of her mother, to earn money to pay for college. From the moment she arrives, she knows she's in for "the summer from hell." On top of gross public restrooms, showers with no doors, and a bizarre camp chief, she's responsible for "the redheads," the six most unruly campers. Things look up when she befriends fellow counselor Catherine. But when Elodie has nightmares and sees blue lights in the forest, she fears that a dark forest spirit is after them all. Full-color saturated artwork captures camp life, from the blossoming romance between Elodie and Catherine to eerie forest legends. Set in 1994, the story is infused with Nineties nostalgia, set to a soundtrack of Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana. The characters are funny and believable, with wonderful expressions and amusing dialogue. Some mild profanity and a bit of suggested nudity during shower and swimming scenes place this one firmly in the older YA camp. However, one page features a jarring visualstereotype of Native American culture—acamper with face paint, feathers in her hair,and a tomahawk. VERDICT There's a lot readers will enjoy about this coming-of-age camp comedy: romance, a doseof paranormal horror, and laugh-out-loud shenanigans. It's unfortunate that it includes a hurtful depiction of Native culture.—Kelley Gile, Cheshire Public Library, CT
2020-03-11
A sullen, rock-music–loving Quebec teen embarks on a tumultuous summer filled with humor and horror.
In the summer of 1994, Elodie reluctantly heads off to work as a camp counselor. Upon arrival, she meets the disheveled, strangely behaving camp chief, whom she finds creepy. Elodie is assigned as the monitor in charge of a group of redheaded girls who are notoriously hard to control. Over time she unexpectedly forms bonds with her lively campers and develops a close friendship with Catherine, another monitor. Things start looking up for Elodie, but confusion ensues as Elodie and Catherine develop feelings for each other that are more than platonic. Their closeness makes them a target for frequent homophobic slurs that are never unpacked. Another major issue is Elodie’s growing suspicion of the camp chief, especially in connection to the legend of the spirit rumored to haunt the campgrounds. Lenoir’s lively language and dialogue combined with eye-catching, detailed, full-color illustrations make for a captivating page-turner. While the fantasy aspect feels underdeveloped with an anticlimactic resolution, the relationships formed and the growth of the campers make up for this. Most characters are white, although there is one black secondary character, camp counselor Magalie. Magalie’s characterization unfortunately evokes negative tropes of the sassy, angry black woman; a scene in which white campers touch and comment on her hair lacks sufficient context.
An entertaining story let down by stereotypical portrayals. (Graphic fantasy. 14-18)
