10 Books about Summer Camp Only Milennials Will Remember
I have a special place in my heart for teen fiction from the 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s. I think it’s because my Mom used to take us to this used book sale every year to stock up for books on Summer reading. I would scour through the kid’s section picking out books from my favorite series. Since it’s currently Summer and I’m having fun reminiscing, today I’ll be discussing 10 books about summer camp that only milennials will remember.
That might be an exaggeration. I’m sure other people remember them too. But since I’m a milennial and we’re known for our love of nostalgia, I figured that’s how I would title this blog post.
So anyway… let’s continue on to the reading list!
Books Mentioned in Today’s Blog Post:
- Bummer Summer
- There’s a Bat in Bunk Five
- Love & Betrayal & Hold the Mayo
- Ghost Camp
- Patiently Alice
- Babysitters’ Summer Vacation!
- Camp Girl-Meets-Boy
- Camp Killer
- Welcome to Camp Nightmare
- The Big Camp Secret
10 Books about Summer Camp Only Milennials Will Remember
Bummer Summer by Ann M. Martin
As you can probably imagine, I loved Ann M Martin when I was a kid. I loved the babysitter’s club, but I was a fan of her other books as well. At least the ones I could get my hands on at the local library. Bummer Summer is about Kammy Whitlock, who is sent away to Summer cam against her wishes. Her family is in a bit of an adjustment period because she has a stepmother and some younger siblings. It’s your traditional coming of age story. Haha.
There’s a Bat in Bunk Five by Paula Danziger
Marcy Lewis is excited when she’s asked to be a camp counselor at a creative arts camp. But she soon realizes that handling twelve campers is going to be a lot of work. Her summer is filled with camp activities, and she even has a budding romance with one of the boys cousenlors. In true Paula Danziger fashion, it’s silly and fun and a great read for young adults.
Love and Betrayal and Hold the Mayo by Francine Pascal
This book is about two best friends. There’s Victoria Martin and her best friend Steffi. They have summer jobs being waitresses at Camp Mohaph. But camp life is a little more rustic and a lot more work than they thought. When Victoria starts falling for her best friend’s boyfriend (and suspects that he feels the same way) she realizes that this Summer is going to be a lot more than she bargained for.
Ghost Camp by R.L. Stine
Ghost Camp is book #45 in the Goosebumps series. And I feel like as a kid this one scared me. But looking back it’s actually pretty comical.
It’s about two brothers named Harry and Alex who are attending Camp Spirit Moon. But things aren’t quite what they expected. When weird things start happening, the campers start acting strange in turn. Why do the other campers seem to be playing such weird jokes?
Patiently Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
I was a huge fan of the Alice series when I was growing up. In fact, I still am. Alice McKinley is a character I loved to read about. In Patiently Alice, it’s the Summer after they finish ninth grade. Alice and her friends are preparing to be assistant camp counselors for the Summer. Meanwhile, there’s a lot going home with Alice’s family. Her friend Pamela’s family. In basically everyone’s family!
Baby-sitters’ Summer Vacation by Ann M. Martin
Words cannot describe how much I loved the babysitter’s club super specials when I was a kid. I liked them because they were about the characters that I loved, doing something different. In this one, the babysitters go to summer camp to be counselors in training. I believe that some of their babysitting charges attent the camp as well. It’s a whole book of fun camp hijinx. Lol.
Camp Girl-Meets-Boy by Caroline B Cooney
This is a young adult novel by Caroline B Cooney that was released in 1988. It’s a coming of age novel about a summer camp. It’s about a group of girls who attend Camp Menunchekogue (Also known as “Camp Men”) and their adventures at Summer camp. There’s also a follow up called Camp Reunion.
Camp Killer by Francine Pascal
I loved the Sweet Valley High series as a kid, and that includes Camp Killer.
This is one of the later books in the series. In this book, Elizabeth is a junior counselor at Camp Echo Mountain. She and her fellow junior counselor Nicole are on opposing teams for the color war. But it’s a little hard to focus on the color war, when there’s a camp legend that a maniac named Crazy Freddy is lurking around the edges of camp. When Elizabeth sees a man running through camp one night, she a Nicole have to join forces to help save the camp.
Welcome to Camp Nightmare by R. L. Stine
Let’s be real. We all enjoyed a scary story as kids, and R. L. Stine knew just how to scare us.
This book is part of the classic Goosebumps series. It’s about a boy named Billy who goes away to Summer camp. But things are a little odd. The food is not good, and the staff are bizarre. He writes home, but his parents don’t response. When his fellow campers start disappearing, it’s up to Billy to figure out what is really going on.
The Big Camp Secret by Francine Pascal
The Big Camp Secret by Francine Pascal is part of the Sweet Valley Twins series. This is the series when they’re in middle school, if I remember correctly. Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield are excited to be heading to sleep-away camp. Elizabeth enjoys horseback riding, while Jessica enjoys goofing off (which is kind of what she does best, tbh). When they realize that Elizabeth’s friend Grace has run away and showed up at camp, they have to make a decision about what to do next.
In Conclusion
Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope you enjoyed looking into the past, with this nostalgic list of books about Summer camp. I just got my library card for my new town (It took me long enough, didn’t it) so I think I’ll look for some of these at the library for a re-read.
First on my list is Bummer Summer, and then I think I’ll move on to Patiently Alice.
