The Quick Cut: A girl suffering from the loss of her sister finds compatriots when sent to a camp for at risk teens.
A Real Review:
When you're a teen, all those emotions you feel are heightened and overwhelming. So when you lose a family member, how do you deal with that without losing yourself in the process? For Zander, you get sent to Camp Padua - a place for at risk youth.
Zander is absolutely annoyed at her parents for sending her to camp states away. Going from Arizona to Michigan, she spends her summer there after nearly drowning after her sister died. Her fellow campers are seemingly insane and have nothing in common with her. Or do they? Maybe she belongs more than she's willing to admit.
This book has a great premise with intriguing characters. Zander starts bitter and jaded, but ends up softening as time goes onward. The other campers have their own dynamic personalities that stand out from one another and add their unique flair to the story. One is a compulsive liar, another is scared he'll become schizophrenic, and another is self diagnosed.
The only issue with this book is how late some of the side storylines come into play. By the time they enter the conversation, it feels like a rush to wrap up the new angles. The timing ends up taking away from an otherwise beautiful book.
Wonderful characters but poorly timed plot points distract from the story.
My rating: 3.5 out of 5