Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Camp Sylvania by Julie Murphy

5 reviews

jilljemmett's review against another edition

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5.0

Maggie Hagen is excited to be in the spotlight at her drama summer camp with her best friend Nora. However, on the last day of school, her parents break the news to her that she won’t be going to Camp Rising Star. Instead, she’ll be going to Camp Sylvania, which is a new fat camp run by her mother’s childhood camp friend, Sylvia. Things are strange at the camp right from the beginning. They have weigh-ins and workouts, but the kids also have to donate blood. The cafeteria only serves red foods, and the rules at the camp change daily. Maggie begins to suspect something dark is going on when kids disappear and strange things happen at night. She must work with her new friends to figure out what’s happening at the camp before she disappears forever too. 

This story dealt with some tough body image issues that some kids have to face every day. Maggie knew she was bigger than most kids in her class, but it became a harsh reality when her parents decided to send her to fat camp. It made her feel like her weight was a part of her that needed to be changed. I found myself cringing at the scene when Maggie’s parents told her about fat camp, but it was also realistic. I can remember hearing people talk about my weight as a kid, and it isn’t a good memory. I liked that this body image subplot wasn’t as serious at the camp because there were other things going on. I thought it was obvious that there were vampires at the camp right from the beginning, but I’m not the target audience, so kids may not catch on as quickly as I did. 

Camp Sylvania is a spooky middle grade camp story!

Content warnings: fatphobia, dieting, blood mentions

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thekatreturns's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

The weight loss industry really does want to suck you dry, huh? 

Fat kids deserve the world, and they definitely deserve stories of resilience and adventure like this. I’ll  be recommending this to kids in my life (precocious 3rd grade-8th grade, I’d say)
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karcitis's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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imstephtacular's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes

3.5

This was fun, but I was also disappointed. The plot had a few too many things going on and the adult characters were cartoonishly evil, which I personally dislike in MG books. I liked the setting and the fierce friendships and the self realization about weight and body, but overall this felt predictable as an adult reader so this is a Me problem and partially an issue with the book, too, I think 
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xangemthelibrarian's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was so good! It was just a little on the nose for me. But I absolutely adored the campy (pun intended) feel of this twist on a classic camp slasher movie.
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