[I received an electronic review copy of this from Netgalley and Aladdin in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Archie Drake has been attending Camp Shady Brook for three years. It’s probably the WORST camp in Vermont. The camp director is abrasive and hyper-strict. The cabins are rundown and falling apart. Art supplies are locked away so no one can actually use them. And the grounds look nothing like the flashy brochure that lures families in.
Archie loves Camp Shady Brook. But that’s because Archie has developed a system – a series of cons he can play on the weekly kids that leaves him richer when his six weeks of camp are over. But Archie has never had Vivian at camp before.
Vivian is only at Camp Shady Brook because of some trouble at school last year. Her parents don’t think they can trust her, so she’s stuck at camp for six weeks. She has some ideas to make her summer more pleasant, maybe scam some treats from fellow campers. That sort of thing. But Archie, sensing a rival con artist, tries to psych her out. Now the battle of wills – and cons – has begun.
Review
For me, a heist/con story only works when I feel the characters have a compelling reason for the scheming. Otherwise it’s just dishonest and wrong. The real world has so much of that already. Early on, it was hard for me to like Archie or Vivian. Neither had a good reason for conning. They pretty much did things because they could get away with it and because they wanted to.
When the rivalry blows up in their faces – as it inevitably does – Archie and Vivian are forced to take a closer look at their behavior. They have to decide what kind of people they want to be.
And that’s where the story becomes magic. By the end, I wanted to stand up and cheer. I loved how Archie and Vivian grew up over the summer. And I loved how they decided to use their “powers” for the greater good!
I think this would work for a class read aloud or a book group. There’s a lot to unpack in this story about what it means to be a friend and what you have to do to make and keep friends. Check out this fun summer-themed story!