Frenzy by Robert Lettrick (review)

Oh, Camp Harmony, could your name be any less suitable? Once the animals there all turn into slavering attack beasts desperate for human flesh, Heath and his little gang of close camper friends forget all about the usual camp activities and begin a harrowing journey out of the woods and toward a nearby town that, they hope, will represent safety. While the kids quickly learn that water is immediately fatal to the critters, this knowledge doesn’t provide as much security as they would like: even as they wade down the river they hit shallow spots, massive hordes of bats, and beavers who are the only infected mammals not killed by water. The backstory on how the animals got infected doesn’t actually add much—this book is all about a group of memorable young kids trying to cope with a series of events that is completely outside the scope of their barely formed social, survival, and ethical toolkits. The death count is slightly startling for a book aimed at this age range, but it makes sense given the ferocity of the animals and the boys’ understandablelack of preparation for maddened woodland creatures. Offer this to adventure fans and budding horror buffs, sure, but realistic fiction fans may also find the effective character development and thoughtful pacing as worthwhile as the monstrous foaming-mouthed squirrels.