3.5 stars. After growing up watching The Parent Trap (both versions, but especially the Lohan version) and wanting so badly to have that camp experience as a kid, I’m drawn to camp stories as an adult. The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore tells the story of a camp experience that goes very badly and then revisits each character in their adult lives to see where they’ve ended up and how that experience affected each of them. Their experience together was truly traumatic and yet, Fu resists drawing easy conclusions when revisiting each story later. I appreciated the nuance she brought to these characters’ stories.
This book is best enjoyed if you’re expecting a character study rather than an adventure plot. Chapters cut back and forth between individual stories and the girls’ time at camp together, but for the most part, there is not a strong plot or set of relationships after each girl goes their own way following their nightmarish experience. If you go in expecting that, you’ll probably enjoy this read for what it is instead of what you may wish it was.
That being said, this book did leave me wanting more. Even taking it for what it is, it felt a bit undercooked. I wish Fu had dug in a little deeper into these characters’ adult lives so that the reader could feel more invested in them as individuals. Reading this was kind of like eating an amazing appetizer and then going home before the main course. Good, but not completely satisfying.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.