VanSickle (How to Decorate a Christmas Tree) paints a portrait of a classic mid-aughts summer camp in this slice-of-life verse novel. It’s summer 2006 and 17-year-old Nora Nichols finds herself employed as a counselor at Camp Cradle Rock, an all-girls outdoors program nestled in the Blue Mountains of West Virginia, where she’s one of six teen girls tasked with wrangling a gaggle of 13-

Gr 9 Up —A realistic story in verse told through a journal-style format from the perspective of Nora, a 17-year-old who has just had her heart broken. Nora attempts to escape these memories and feelings by becoming a counselor at the all-girls Camp Cradle Rock in the mountains of Virginia. This is Nora's first time at a summer camp. She will have to lean on the other counselors for guidance and friendship to become a good counselor. Every night, the counselors gather around the fire to debrief. Through time, their conversations become more intimate and reveal their personal struggles. Their friendship allows them to help one another through their trials and embrace their true selves. VanSickle here writes a delightful coming-of-age story that is easily relatable for even those who have never been to camp or had their hearts broken, via great character development, her ability to describe teen feelings, and an apt use of monochromatic line drawings by illustrator Watson. VERDICT Hand this novel to fans of David Levithan and Elizabeth Acevedo.—Leigh Verburg