Highly Readable YA Books Set at Summer Camp
by Dena McMurdie
For many teens, sleepaway camp is their first time away from home and the watchful eyes of their parents — which is why novels set at summer camp are filled with coming-of-age themes. Spending time away from home, connecting with friends, and experiencing new things are excellent reasons why sleepaway camp is a rite of passage for many young people. From spooky stories to adorable rom-coms, these titles will make an excellent addition to your overnight bag.
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Wish You Weren’t Here
Available from:Juliette can’t wait to escape to her safe haven at sleepaway camp. However, her care-free summer comes to a screeching halt with the arrival of her school rival and a series of disastrous events. As the girls spend more time together, their relationship progresses from enemies to friends to more than friends.
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The Lake
Available from:Get your fill of thrills and chills with this horror novel set at summer camp! Esme and Kayla head to their childhood sleepaway camp to work as counselors for the summer. The girls are apprehensive about returning to the place where they buried their darkest secret, with good reason. The lake has not forgotten what they did, and when someone leaves them threatening messages, the girls realize the past is catching up to them.
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Give Me a Sign
Available from:When Lilah takes a job at a summer camp for the deaf and blind, she is not looking for romance. But when she meets the kind and handsome Isaac, who offers to help her brush up on her signing, she eagerly accepts. This award-winning YA romance is perfect for fans of feel-good stories and first love.
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The Counselors
Available from:An elite summer camp turns deadly when a body shows up in the lake one morning. Suddenly, camp counselor Goldie Easton finds herself at the center of a murder investigation. Goldie has secrets, but so does her best friend, Ava, who refuses to talk about why she was at the lake the night of the murder. Betrayal, secrets, and friendship make this a must-read summer thriller!
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The Matchbreaker Summer
Available from:When her mom announces she’s getting married and shutting down their family’s summer camp, 16-year-old Paisley does everything she can to break up her mom’s engagement. She recruits her rule-breaking but cute co-counselor, Hayden, to help carry out her plan. But as the teens work on destroying Paisley’s mom’s romance, they discover one growing between themselves.
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Sunkissed
Available from:Budding songwriter Avery’s summer goes from bad to worse when her parents take their family to a remote summer camp in the woods. However, when she meets a cute staff member named Brookes, things start looking up. Campers are not allowed to date staff members, but that doesn’t stop Avery from accepting Brookes’s life-changing offer to perform her music.
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The Wild
Available from:After a series of bad decisions, Dawn’s parents pack her up and send her off to a wilderness camp for troubled teens. But this camp is much different than Dawn or her parents expect, and soon, Dawn finds herself fighting to stay alive. Keep a flashlight close by because this spooky, action-packed thriller will keep you up all night.
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The Lightning Circle
Available from:To escape her broken heart, Nora accepts a job as a counselor at an arts and crafts camp. There, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and female friendship. Told through journal entries, drawings, and poetry, this novel-in-verse is a beautiful coming-of-age story Judy Blume fans will appreciate.
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Camp Spirit
Available from:Budding romance and supernatural monsters collide in this YA graphic novel set at a sleepaway camp in the mountains. The summer before college, Elodie grudgingly takes a job as a camp counselor, where she wrangles kids, crushes on another counselor, and has horrifying dreams every night. With her young campers in tow, Elodie launches an investigation into the spooky mystery haunting the woods around the camp.
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