According to sixteen-year-old Zander Osborne, nowhere is an actual place―and she’s just fine there. But her parents insist that she get out of her head―and her home state―and attend Camp Padua, a summer camp for at-risk teens.
Zander does not fit in―or so she thinks. She has only one word for her fellow campers: crazy. In fact, the whole camp population exists somewhere between disaster and diagnosis. There’s her cabinmate Cassie, a self-described manic-depressive-bipolar-anorexic. Grover Cleveland (yes, like the president), a cute but confrontational boy who expects to be schizophrenic someday, odds being what they are. And Bek, a charmingly confounding pathological liar.
But amid group “share-apy” sessions and forbidden late-night outings, unlikely friendships form, and as the Michigan summer heats up, the four teens begin to reveal their tragic secrets. Zander finds herself inextricably drawn to Grover’s earnest charms, and she begins to wonder if she could be happy. But first she must come completely unraveled to have any hope of putting herself back together again.
Brilliant First off, I am not a young adult. I am over fifty.I truly enjoyed this book. What a wonderful, terrifying story.Life is difficult. Choices aren’t always easy.We must learn to accept and forgive. And love. Always love.
Love that the author acknowledges the healing power that comes from peer groups! A summer camp for troubled teens is about the last place Zander would like to be. In fact, she doesn’t understand why she needs to be there at all. However, the healing power of the peer group is strong, leading to a breakthrough for more than one teen at the camp. I laughed, I cried, and I ultimately really enjoyed this book. As a therapist, I really liked that this book acknowledged the wisdom and healing that comes from interactions with peers. Recommended, and a great Kindle First pick!
Snuggle In Your Sleeping Bag And Start Up the Fire, You’ll Want to Camp Out Instead of Putting This One Down. This review (as always) does NOT contain spoilers, except for some minor characterization, if you count that.