Reviews - Bummer Camp | The StoryGraph

127 reviews for:

Bummer Camp

Ann Garvin

3.16 AVERAGE

ellmilmumrus's review against another edition

1.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

chlud1as's review against another edition

3.0

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

sueking365's review against another edition

3.0

emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Could have been tightened up a bit - lots of characters and a few unneeded plot points. But pleasant enough.

madae's review against another edition

3.0

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

anasatticbookblog's review against another edition

2.5

inspiring lighthearted

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Bummer Camp by Ann Garvin
Narrated by Andi Arndt
Standalone Women's Fiction with Romance

Books like Bummer Camp by Ann Garvin remind me why I have such a hard time DNFing. I considered it many times during the first half, but something about the characters in Bummer Camp started to get under my skin. By around the 40-50% mark, I realized I was actually starting to enjoy it.

"If you're a square peg, find the people who celebrate quadrilaterals."

As a sleepaway camp girl, I was looking for more camp-related stories after loving Until Next Summer by Ali Brady. That’s how I picked up Bummer Camp. I tend to need a likable FMC to enjoy a book, and Cat McCarthy did not start out that way. She’s uptight, rigid, and burdened with responsibility, even though she’s 7 months pregnant from a one-night stand and hasn’t told the father.

Cat and her sister Ginger grew up at their parents’ theater camp, but Ginger, the ditsy sister, is now running it while Cat stayed away from that life. When Ginger calls with news that the camp is in big trouble and Cat, still on the mortgage, feels compelled to help, she heads up there to fix the mess. But it’s hard not to get sucked back into camp life.

“It was as if she were on one side of a soap bubble, and if she wasn’t careful, it would pop and she’d be inside it all again.”

Just as I was about to give up on Bummer Camp, the quirky cast of characters started to grow on me. The distant third-person narrative felt very removed at the beginning, but by 50%, I was starting to settle in and enjoy the book. I’m glad I stuck with it.

Likes:
•The quirky cast of characters grew on me.
•New romance with a pregnant woman.
•I love anything set at camp.
•It was unique and more memorable than many books I’ve read.

Dislikes:
•Very distant third-person narrative.
•Took a long time to get into.
•The FMC took a while to warm up to.

The Narration:
Andi Arndt was great, but the style of the writing didn’t give her much opportunity to showcase her skills.

The Down & Dirty:
Bummer Camp took a while to hook me, but I really enjoyed the second half. I’m glad I didn’t quit at the 30-40% mark like I was tempted to. The quirky characters won me over by 50%. Would I recommend Bummer Camp? Not really. But if you get to 40% and find yourself on the fence, I say keep going—you might end up enjoying it like I did, and the 4 hours you already spent won't be a waste.

Rating: 2.5 Stars, 1.5 heat, 4 Narration

briacelest's review against another edition

3.0

I had mixed feelings about this book. It sets up an interesting premise and the humor is charming, and there are moments of genuine warmth, but the story feels uneven at times. Some plot points are predictable, the pacing lags, and the protagonist's decisions sometimes don't make sense, making it hard to fully connect with her journey. Overall, it's a light and entertaining read with a good message, though not the most memorable. Would still recommend