ARC Review: Camp Boyfriend

The summer of her dreams is about to get a reality check.

They said it couldn't be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school halfway across the country. Amazing what losing her braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren's nerves and she can't wait to return to summer camp where she's valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all, her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she's broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn't even begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.

But Matt isn't giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isn't really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she's more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren's friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she's changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?

  I was given an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

After reading the first 20% of this book, I was prepared to give it a very low rating. It just seemed very juvenile to me and I thought it was a pointless story, but by the time I closed the book, I already liked it more and saw that it was not the pointless story after all.

There were lots of things I didn't like about this book. How Lauren kept going back and forth between Matt and Seth, not only in her thoughts but also in her actions. She would go kissing both of them, and she didn't feel guilty, only confused. And she didn't only do this with those two boys, but also her sets of friends - the Munchkins and the Divas.

But, I also realized that there are lots of things that I liked about this book. I realized that the reason Lauren went back and forth between the boys and the set of friends was because she was meant to have an immense character growth in the story. The reason that she was finding the right boy and friends was because she was trying to find herself, and I couldn't find it in myself to fault her for that.

Overall, this is not a book that I loved nor hated, but I like it a little bit more than I didn't like it.

3.5 stars

Labels: 3.5 Stars, ARC Review, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult