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A review by lawbooks600
Camo Girl by Kekla Magoon
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Representation: Biracial (half Black and half white) and Black characters
Score: Six points out of ten.
Note that I got this book and now I own it.
I am glad to say that the author didn't commit cultural appropriation. It's authentic. I never saw this novel before until I found this one in the library giveaway, so I picked it up. I put it off for a while until I had to get it again after I burned through some other novels and finally read it. When I finished Camo Girl, it was only okay, even though I appreciated some of its strengths. It starts with the first character I see, Emma, whose last name I forgot, living in a predominately white suburb near Las Vegas and goes to a PWI. She's the only biracial girl (scratch that! She's the only biracial person, given the circumstances) at school for the first few pages. Ella's only friend is a person named Zachary who as far as I can tell is neurodivergent, with an implied learning disorder/disability and most prominently, a wild imagination much to his detriment as no one wants him except Ella. Only a few pages in, another person, Bailey, arrives at her school as a new student (making him the only Black person in the institution), and everything is going well for Ella, but soon enough, the cracks surface. Here's where the flaws appear: the characters are likable, but not the most relatable. The only reason Bailey is the antagonist is that he tried to convince Ella to be popular by not being friends with Z. Other than that, he doesn't seem that bad. The central conflict is to listen to Z or not. She chooses the latter, and towards the conclusion, Z gets lost, but fortunately, the other characters find him, finishing the narrative on a high note.
Score: Six points out of ten.
Note that I got this book and now I own it.
I am glad to say that the author didn't commit cultural appropriation. It's authentic. I never saw this novel before until I found this one in the library giveaway, so I picked it up. I put it off for a while until I had to get it again after I burned through some other novels and finally read it. When I finished Camo Girl, it was only okay, even though I appreciated some of its strengths. It starts with the first character I see, Emma, whose last name I forgot, living in a predominately white suburb near Las Vegas and goes to a PWI. She's the only biracial girl (scratch that! She's the only biracial person, given the circumstances) at school for the first few pages. Ella's only friend is a person named Zachary who as far as I can tell is neurodivergent, with an implied learning disorder/disability and most prominently, a wild imagination much to his detriment as no one wants him except Ella. Only a few pages in, another person, Bailey, arrives at her school as a new student (making him the only Black person in the institution), and everything is going well for Ella, but soon enough, the cracks surface. Here's where the flaws appear: the characters are likable, but not the most relatable. The only reason Bailey is the antagonist is that he tried to convince Ella to be popular by not being friends with Z. Other than that, he doesn't seem that bad. The central conflict is to listen to Z or not. She chooses the latter, and towards the conclusion, Z gets lost, but fortunately, the other characters find him, finishing the narrative on a high note.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent and Death
Full trigger warnings: Disappearance of a child, death of a father in the past