Just a Boy and a Girl in a Little Canoe

by Sarah Mlynowski

[Sam@WLABB]

Sam thought she had the perfect boyfriend, and their summer apart would turn out just fine. They would talk every day, he would send postcards. But, as the summer wore on, there were no postcards, and they spoke less and less. She began to analyze their relationship, found some flaws, and wondered if they would still be together at the end of the summer.

I had read the companion of this book, I See London, I See France, and I was interested in learning more about Sam and Gavin after hearing bits and pieces about them. Though it was fun traveling throughout Europe in the last book, I had an even better time at Camp in this book.

Mlynowski did an incredible job immersing me in camp life. I went boating, frog hunting, and even did some arts and crafts. There were pranks, a dance, an overnight, and multiple camp events such as Super Bowl and Color Wars. I really felt like I was living the camp life, and I enjoyed it so much.

I also liked getting to know the campers and the counselors. It was an interesting group, and it was fun, that they shared a history together. In fact, needing a summer job wasn't Sam's only motivation for returning to Camp Blue Springs. She wanted the opportunity to show the others how much she had changed, and to sort of redeem herself from that one summer she had spent there. Sam wobbled a bit, but was determined to become a great counselor, and she did. It was fantastic watching her grow and reclaim confidence in herself.

I know a lot of people took issue with part of this story. Particularly, the relationship that developed between Sam and Gavin. There's no way to sugar coat it. It really comes down to what you deem a dealbreaker. This book is not for people, who consider cheating a dealbreaker. What I will say is that, though I was disappointed, there was fallout, there were consequences, and I was actually ok with the way things played out. And, well, there was a jump ahead epilogue, which sort of made me a bit giddy.

Overall, I had a fantastic time at Camp Blue Springs. I was both disappointed and proud of Sam. She made some poor choices, but she also learned a lot about herself, and I thought the summer was a really important one for her.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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