Counting Scars

July 15, 2022
A 16-year-old is drawn to a mysterious guy when she is packed off to a last-resort reform camp by her social worker. Adele is a good kid who has struggled with little family support, and she just wants to get through the next two weeks at the inanely named Camp Happy after her mother suffers an overdose and goes into an in-patient rehab center. As soon as she arrives Adele encounters fellow camper Fergus, a magnetic loner, and is immediately warned away from him by Andy, who, despite being good-looking and friendly, makes Adele uneasy. Employing accessible vocabulary peppered with realistic teen dialogue and short, fast-paced, plot-driven chapters, the book quickly establishes a connection between Adele and Fergus, who after seeming to appear and disappear at random around camp, helps her find her way in the woods after she reluctantly agrees to attend an illicit bonfire. Adele's attempts to stay on the straight and narrow due to her desperation to be seen in a good light by her long-absent father will make her sympathetic to readers, and romance fans will appreciate the spark between her and Fergus. As his backstory becomes more central to the story, a solid mystery unfolds. Characters all read as White. An engaging, focused romantic thriller that will pull in reluctant readers. (Thriller. 13-18)

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February 1, 2023

Gr 9 Up-Sixteen-year-old Adele arrives for a two-week stretch at Camp Happy, a detention facility for teens, intending to follow the rules. With her mom in rehab, she doesn't want her distant father to be disappointed in her and decline to supervise her probation after release. But she quickly finds herself caught between the attentions of two boys who live in the cabins at the other side of the camp. Dreamy, mysterious Fergus shows up at odd moments to help her, and maybe stalk her, while more talkative Andy warns her in stark terms that Fergus is bad news. After a secret bonfire is discovered by camp staff and Fergus arrives to whisk her away and avoid punishment, they grow closer, filling in some details about their backgrounds and sharing a toe-curling kiss. Later, Adele is attacked and finds herself a prisoner, along with Fergus, with Andy threatening to burn them both alive. Some coarse language and characters' gritty lives won't appeal to every reader. But the story is propulsive, with cliffhangers and burning resentments among secondary characters. The book is written at a second grade reading level. VERDICT Hand to reluctant high school readers looking for a good crime story.

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