Things have been quite hectic in my life so I haven't been blogging lately even though I've been doing a ton of reading. I started a new job that I enjoy but it takes a lot of time. That being said, I'm now committed to re-starting review blogging again. Please enjoy my review below!
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I just finished reading The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu - it's her latest book but not her first, although it is the first book of hers that I have read. This book takes place at an all girls' camp and focuses on the pre-teen girl perspective. All of the voices that you hear and experience are that of girls as they experience the camp and then age. The girls all come from different socio-economic backgrounds and different ethnic backgrounds, which is a great touch. On an overnight kayaking trip to an island, true personalities come out and alliances constantly shift, Survivor style before Survivor was a thing.
The book opens with a narrative setting the girls at the camp and introducing us to them. The book then switches between the girls' experiences at camp and chapters that tell us about the campers themselves - where they are from and where they are going. It's hard to switch between the narratives - to me it was VERY jarring. I enjoyed the chapters about the individual campers the best because Fu gave me perspective as to why the girls acted the way that they did in the situations that they were presented. Fu's character development is NOTHING short of masterful and I found myself enjoying the chapters about the characters much more enjoyable than the chapters that describe camp events.
I enjoyed Fu's style - it was deceptively simple. You have to pay attention to it because she dropped tidbits that were so easy to miss if you weren't paying attention and her wry voice gave rise to many snorts in the privacy of my home (and sometimes other places as well). I found myself really feeling for the characters and empathizing with some of the scenarios that they found themselves in. It is also an adept survey of human nature that you don't find many places.
Get this one out of your library!
******************************************************************
I just finished reading The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu - it's her latest book but not her first, although it is the first book of hers that I have read. This book takes place at an all girls' camp and focuses on the pre-teen girl perspective. All of the voices that you hear and experience are that of girls as they experience the camp and then age. The girls all come from different socio-economic backgrounds and different ethnic backgrounds, which is a great touch. On an overnight kayaking trip to an island, true personalities come out and alliances constantly shift, Survivor style before Survivor was a thing.
The book opens with a narrative setting the girls at the camp and introducing us to them. The book then switches between the girls' experiences at camp and chapters that tell us about the campers themselves - where they are from and where they are going. It's hard to switch between the narratives - to me it was VERY jarring. I enjoyed the chapters about the individual campers the best because Fu gave me perspective as to why the girls acted the way that they did in the situations that they were presented. Fu's character development is NOTHING short of masterful and I found myself enjoying the chapters about the characters much more enjoyable than the chapters that describe camp events.
I enjoyed Fu's style - it was deceptively simple. You have to pay attention to it because she dropped tidbits that were so easy to miss if you weren't paying attention and her wry voice gave rise to many snorts in the privacy of my home (and sometimes other places as well). I found myself really feeling for the characters and empathizing with some of the scenarios that they found themselves in. It is also an adept survey of human nature that you don't find many places.
Get this one out of your library!
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