Author: Ann Garvin
Publisher: Lake UnionPress
ISBN: 978-1662518560
A woman is called back tosave the children’s summer camp run by her family, despite havingleft years earlier. As she fights corporate America—and hersister—for control, she starts to face the possibility that maybethe camp isn’t the only thing that needs to be rescued. AnnGarvin’s latest novel perfectly captures everything about summer,family, and the complications of both in her new book Bummer Camp.
Cat McCarthy is gettingready to welcome the most important person in the world into herlife: her new baby. Despite the one-night stand that resulted in hergetting pregnant, Cat already loves her child. So what if the baby’sfather was an idiot? Cat has no plans whatsoever of involving him inthe baby’s life, so everything will be fine. Her job is to takecare of herself and the baby, and that’s it.
Until a frantic text fromCat’s flaky sister, Ginger, makes her reconsider who Cat actuallyis responsible for. Ginger and her son, Bard, live year-round at thekids’ theater camp—unironically named Summer Camp—owned by Catand Ginger’s parents. Cat made it clear she wanted nothing to dowith the camp after leaving for college; she even signed off herportion of the mortgage. Camp was fine when they were kids, but Catfinally grew up.
Even though everyone knowsit was a monumentally bad idea, Ginger took over the day-to-dayoperations of Summer Camp. Having Bard steadied Ginger slightly butnot by much. Still, Ginger insisted she could handle everything, andtheir parents said they believed in Ginger, so much so that they wenton vacation while Ginger took the reins.
That was what should havehappened. The texts that land like fireballs in Cat’s phone aresuggesting otherwise. Cat has half a mind to ignore Ginger; hersister has always been melodramatic, which is perfect for working ata kids’ theater camp but doesn’t jive so well with the realworld. Then come the texts from Bard, and Cat starts payingattention. If her nephew is asking for help, it’s gotta besomething big.
Cat drags herself toSummer Camp to find everything has changed. Instead of kids gearingup to play Oompa Loompas, she finds a bunch of adults looking withutter adoration at some random guy named Bob. Worse, Ginger islooking at Bob the same way even as she stammers her way through theexplanation: Bob decided to turn Summer Camp into a vacation getawayfor sad and depressed adults.
Then comes the biggestshock of all: according to Bob, Cat’s name is still on themortgage, and Summer Camp is deep in the red. If the camp goes under,so does Cat’s carefully constructed life as a financiallyindependent, secure woman. The one spark of hope is the swanky galaBob has planned with potential bigwig donors happening in a week.
When Bob suddenlydisappears along with all the financial records, Cat has no choicebut to stay and sort out the mess. Ginger’s mess. Again. Which iswhat she’s done her entire life and exactly why she left SummerCamp in the first place.
Author Ann Garvin hits herstride in what is definitely her best book yet. Cat’s frustrationand inner voice telling her to run for the hills sounds believableand relatable. The interesting twist of Cat’s pregnancy—justclose enough to term to make her uncomfortably large but not so closeas to induce labor—will make readers laugh and (particularly femalereaders) shake their heads in sympathy.
At times readers may findthemselves pausing over certain lines or paragraphs to digest whatthe characters have said or done. Garvin doesn’t mind making herreaders work a little, a sign of respect that they don’t need to bespoon-fed key story elements. The subtleties in the story highlightthe subtleties of real life, another strong point for the novel.
Invoking the nostalgia andtimelessness of summer camps of yesteryear, Garvin’s book displaysa lot of heart—it’s greatest asset and most endearing quality.The plot veers into wacky territory at times, but given the theatercamp setting and the three-dimensional characters, everything makessense within this story world. The special treat at the end of thestory is also a delightful surprise.
Those wanting a book thatmakes them reminisce about their own summer camp days will definitelyenjoy this one. More than anything, the novel is for smart readerswho like to find characters just like themselves facing unbelievable,yet believable, circumstances. I recommend readers Binge Bummer Campby Ann Garvin.