'Perfect for fans of Lumberjanes and Brain Camp, there’s more than mosquitos at Camp Whatever and Willow will need to face truths about herself and her family as summer camp dread goes head to head with the supernatural.
'Eleven year-old Willow doesn't want to go to her dad's weird old summer camp any more than she wants her family to move to the weird old town where that camp is located. But her family—and fate itself—seem to have plans of their own. Soon Willow finds herself neck-deep in a confounding mystery involving stolen snacks, suspected vampires, and missing campers, all shrouded in the sinister fog that hides a generation of secrets at Camp ... Whatever it's called. '
Secrets of Camp Whatever follows Willow and her family, who have just moved to the fog shrouded town of Nowhere after inheriting their grandmother's house following her death. Unfortunately for Willow, they've arrived in town just in time for her to be sent to the local summer camp, Camp Whatever, so she is shipped off the the strange island in the middle of the local lake whilst her family settle into their new home.
Not only is Willow down about having to move to a whole new town, but she's even more unhappy about going to the camp, despite encouragement from her father, who went to it when he was a kid. On the way to the camp Willow learns that there are a lot of local legends about the island it's on, claiming that it's home to a host of unusual creatures from myth and legend. Despite not believing this, once she arrives on the island Willow has to admit it's pretty strange, and that there are some weird things going on it the foggy forest.
Secrets of Camp Nowhere is one of those great books that's clearly aimed at a younger audience, but doesn't treat the readers as stupid, talking down to them or being overly silly, so adults will get a lot of enjoyment out of reading it too. I found it to be instantly memorable of books from my childhood, like Goosebumps, and I was quickly put at ease that this was going to be an enjoyable read. I was also hugely impressed that its lead character was deaf, and that the book didn't use this as something to try and make people feel sympathy or pity towards Willow. In fact, there's only really one person who treats her as any different, and it's obviously made to make him look like a fool for doing it.
Willow is never held back by her disability, and even refuses to see it as such. One of my favourite moments with her in regard to her deafness was when she gets into a confrontation with a bit of a bully, who then lets her go stating 'I don't hit disabled kids', causing her to respond with 'I'm not disabled. I'll disable your face'. This was the moment I fell in love with Willow as a character. She's strong, confident, and doesn't let her disability define her or hold her back. More representation like this!
The book has a ton of other great characters in it too, and Willow is quickly surrounded by a core group of friends each of which are distinct and different enough from the other to be bringing something great into the mix themselves, and could easily be leads in their own series. This really shows that Chris Grine is great at establishing characters, and can make each of them feel fun and unique in a relatively short period.
These aren't the only characters in the book, however, as there are a number of interesting and unique characters inhabiting the island that Willow gets to meet, though I won't say much about who or what they are so as not to spoil, only that I loved seeing them and hope to spend more time with them again.
The plot is pretty standard middle-grade horror mystery stuff, with the characters trying to find out what's going on and trying not to get caught by authority figures or monsters whilst doing it, but it never once felt like it was just retreading old ground. It was constantly engaging and entertaining, and genuinely one of the most enjoyable graphic novels I've read this year.
The art is bold and clear, with distinct and easy to identify characters, and it always looked great. The way the book drains some of the definition from panels to show off the foggy nature of the town and island was really good too, and it really felt like I was looking at things through a layer of fog and mist. Monsters and creatures were also presented in some cool new ways, with some great takes on things that I've seen in other books, but done so in a way that felt unique to this book.
I loved reading Secrets of Camp Nowhere, and the larger pager count went by so fast because of how much I enjoyed the experience. I'm sad that the book came to an end, because of how great it was, but I'm equally happy that it's a first volume, because that means that there's going to be more from these characters and this world; and I can't wait.
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