It's one thing to return to the summer camp you've always loved, but quite another to be sent there because your mother wants you out of the way for a couple of months. Thirteen-year-old Vic finds her enjoyment of Camp Meadow Wood overshadowed by suspicions that her parents are splitting up and her mother is seeing another man. Still, Vic makes herself useful as a supportive friend to a precocious seven-year-old newbie and as a worker in the camp garden, which unexpectedly leads to her first, tentative romance. Processing new experiences and absorbing bits of wisdom from people she respects, Vic manages to view her family's problems from a different perspective and move forward. Tan offers a number of distinctive characters of different ages within a story that convincingly recreates aspects of the summer camp experience. Vic's engaging first-person narrative lets readers feel her emotional distress as well as her intellect, which actively seeks inspiration, hope, and practical coping strategies. An inviting choice, particularly for readers who enjoyed its companion book, Tan's A Kind of Paradise (2019).

Eleanor Roosevelt and gardening both prove to be unexpected sources of inspiration for 13-year-old Vic, who finds herself reluctantly back at the summer camp she's attended for years after she learns her parents are having marriage difficulties.Despite the friends Vic has made over the years at Meadow Wood, she'd hoped to spend a laid-back summer at home with her bestie, Jamie (whose story is told in A Kind of Paradise, 2019, which is not a prerequisite for this stand-alone), and is furious that she and her brother were shipped off as a matter of convenience for her mom. Slowly, with the help of her curmudgeonly but caring counselor Chieko, who is brooding over her own recent breakup with her girlfriend, and the mentoring of diligent camp co-director Earl, Vic begins to see a way through her struggles. If at times these worthwhile life lessons are a bit heavy-handed, many other elements in this warmhearted novel are likely to charm middle-grade readers, including the quirkily funny, brainy younger camper Vera whom Vic takes under her wing and a kind Latinx boy named Angel, who becomes a sweet first love interest when she meets him at the local farmers market. Vic and Vera are white, and there is some realistic ethnic diversity represented in secondary characters, conveyed both via description and naming convention (Chieko is likely of Japanese heritage, for instance).A gentle novel perfect for middle graders looking for a summer read. (Fiction. 10-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 3--7--Thirteen-year-old Vic is furious that her mother shipped her and her little brother to camp in New Hampshire. Meadow Wood used to be a place Vic looked forward to returning to every summer, but this year is different because Vic knows the real reason she is at camp--her mother needed the kids out of the house to deal with her "big secret," Darrin. Feeling betrayed and confused, Vic begins searching for answers in Meadow Wood and finds them in the least expected places. This title is a true tween read. Vic and her friends are girls on the brink of many teenage moments including crushes, peer pressure, and realizing that parents are far from perfect. Vic looks for guidance in many people at camp. Earl, the camp director's husband, teaches Vic the importance of hard work through gardening; Chieko, the angsty-yet-wise college counselor, teaches Vic about her idol Eleanor Roosevelt and that your first love can crush you but won't break you; and Vera, a seven-year-old first year camper, whose quirky self adores Vic wholeheartedly. VERDICT This exceptional summer read is a true middle school novel--gentle enough for preteens and layered enough for teens through eighth grade. Hand to fans of Rebecca Stead, Jenny Han, and Sarah Dessen.--Anna Taylor, Darien Library, CT