Camp So-and-So by Mary McCoy (review)

Camp So-and-So is a surprise to the twenty-five campers who arrive there expecting the usual outdoor summer camp (to which they’ve all been granted scholarships). The girls are divided into five cabins, and each cabin has a mystery to solve (involving supernatural elements, weird background stories, and a requirement to work together effectively or face mortal peril). There are very few grownups around and even more oddness than it initially appears, so it’s lucky that the girls have deep reserves of pluck and smarts to draw from that will keep them out of the hands of the soul-sucking beings for whom they are entertainment. Add in some clear references to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a subplot about a missing author (whom readers will likely peg as the omniscient narrator fairly quickly once all the pieces come together), and page time for all twenty-five girls, and it’s a complex, occasionally confusing plot. Happily, McCoy pulls it all off with aplomb, and the resulting novel is enthralling, funny, and surprisingly thoughtful, since the girls are better people for having met one another. A series of mysteries, a diverse and ambitious large cast, satisfying villains, and memorable notes on friendship—there’s a lot to like here.