Camp People by Liz Vidulich

Camp People by Liz Vidulich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Prism for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
----------
Most 27-year-olds don't live full-time at summer camp, but in the years since tragedy left Paige Schilsky alone in the world, Mirror Lake has become her home, from the climbing tower she can scale blindfolded to the renovated boathouse she's decorated as most would their first apartment. When her boss tells her she's overstayed her welcome, Paige resolves to make the most of her last season as camp director-until the arrival of an old colleague threatens to ruin her summer before it begins.

Handsome and cocky, Oliver Trevenen earned Paige's ire from their first meeting, and nothing in the five years they worked together as counselors convinced her he was more than a loud mouth and pretty face. Now that he's back-cute as ever and living in the spare room of her boathouse-Paige is determined to keep her distance, but it's easier said than done in the bubble of summer camp. As they bring old camp traditions to a new generation and share late nights musing over the past, Paige discovers a sensitive person healing beneath Oliver's irreverent facade-and reveals a side of her heart she's long kept hidden.

But September is just around the corner, and with it the perils of adult life Paige has been avoiding. When camp ends, Paige must figure out whether a relationship nurtured by summer and nostalgia-and a life defined by it-can make it in the real world.
----------
This book called to me because I am a Camp Person. Some of my best days were spent in the great outdoors, having the same kind of experiences that campers go back to Mirror Lake for year after year. My camp was a Girl Scout camp, so it wasn't quite the same, but anyone who is a Camp Person knows the unique joy of spending a summer with all your belongings packed in a foot locker, working with coworkers who become family, leading kids on great adventures, and challenging yourself in ways that make your adult self sometimes wonder just what you were thinking. It's clear that the author of this book is also a Camp Person because she captured the magic of summer camp in this novel perfectly.

Beyond the memories that reading this brought up for me, this book contained within it a sweet frenemies-to-lovers romance that I really enjoyed. It also explores themes of grief, growing up and moving on, and making a brave leap into the unknown of adulthood outside the safety of camp. There were plenty of moments that were little emotional landmines for me, and I found myself shedding a tear or two more than once. And at the end of the book, I felt like I always did after a good summer at camp...a little sad that it was over but loving the experience. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has fond memories of their summer camp days, but it is also perfect for those who are looking for a romance novel with some emotional depth and a beautiful setting that is perfect for these late summer days.

View all my reviews