Moon Madness (Camp Sylvania) by Julie Murphy and Crystal Maldonado. Balzer + Bray, 2024. 9780063347267
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 3
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Supernatural/realistic fiction
What did you like about the book? Best friends Maggie and Nora return to Camp Sylvania for another two-week stay, despite their disastrous encounter with vampires last year. Now that the blood suckers have been dispatched, they’re hoping for a more carefree summer under a new director, the hippy-dippy Luna. I didn’t read the first installment, but apparently Sylvania is a “fat camp” and a theme of the series (a la Murphy’s teen phenomenon, Dumpling) is positive body image. Both girls self-describe as plus-size, value their hard-won acceptance of their appearance, and look forward to having fun together this summer. But their plans run into a few snags: they’re placed in different cabins, all of the campers’ synthetic products and treats are confiscated (in order to comply with Luna’s naturalistic edicts), and weird stuff starts happening right away. Under orders to drink, bathe, and liberally apply magical “moon water”, kids start disappearing, sprouting uncomfortable tufts of fur, and howling at the moon. It’s a Scooby and the gang remix, with Maggie and Nora juggling detective work with new fissures in their friendship. Crushes on boys compete with supernatural but not scary action sequences, while the two girls take turns supplying first person narration. Maggie cues as White while Nora identifies as Latine.
Anything you didn’t like about it? The plot was predictable and entirely unspooky. Although the characters are headed for 8th grade in the fall, the girls seemed much younger, which will make the book accessible to elementary students but less interesting to middle grade readers. I actually would have had trouble distinguishing between the two characters’ voices if not for their names appearing in the alternating chapter headings.
To whom would you recommend this book? While it’s not essential to have read the first installment, those who have enjoyed it would be the natural audience for the second.
Who should buy this book? Elementary school and public libraries
Where would you shelve it? Series fiction
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No
Reviewer: Susan Harari, Keefe Library, Boston Latin School, Boston, MA
Date of review: June 21, 2024
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