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Camp Sylvania
Camp Sylvania | Julie Murphy
4 posts | 4 read
From Julie Murphy, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’, comes a hilarious and creepy middle grade summer camp story that takes a bite out of fat camp and diet culture. Perfect for fans of Spooky Stories and Starfish. Magnolia “Maggie” Hagen is determined to be in the spotlight . . . if she can just get over her stage fright. This summer, though, she has big plans to finally attend Camp Rising Star, the famous performing arts camp she’s been dying to go to for three whole summers. But on the last day of school, her parents break the news: Maggie isn’t going to Camp Rising Star. She’s being shipped off to fat camp—and not just any fat camp. She’s going to Camp Sylvania, run by world-famous wellness influencer Sylvia Sylvania, who is known for her soon-to-be-patented Scarlet Diet. When Maggie arrives at camp, things are . . . weird. There are the humiliating weigh-ins and grueling workouts, as expected. But the campers are also encouraged to donate blood—at their age! The cafeteria serves only red foods and the oddly specific rules change every day. There are even rumors of a camp ghost. Despite these horrors, Maggie makes friends and starts to actually enjoy herself. There are even tryouts for a camp production of The Music Man! This place might not be so bad . . . until campers start going missing and other suspicious things begin happening—especially after dark. The camp ghost might be the least scary thing about this place. . . .
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Bookzombie
Camp Sylvania | Julie Murphy
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Pickpick

Overall, I thought this was adorable and fun. I never went to camp, fat or otherwise, but I did relate a lot to some of Maggie‘s feelings. I also enjoyed the friendships developed in the story. I‘m curious to see what book 2 will be about.

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Amie
Camp Sylvania | Julie Murphy
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Pickpick

Maggie's parents send her to "wellness" camp because they think she needs to lose weight. Turns out the camp is run by a vampire.

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GirlNamedJesse
Camp Sylvania | Julie Murphy
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Pickpick

Okay, this was adorable. You‘ve got summer camp, making new friends, parental betrayal, and new experiences, BUT then you add in vampires! What a fun adventure this was! I loved how all the abstract things came together and how Maggie came into her own. Audio narration by Katie Ladner was spot on with several accents represented well. Thanks to Libro.fm and Balzer + Bray for the advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

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MaggieCarr
Camp Sylvania | Julie Murphy
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Leaving unrated until I can rewatch the movie Heavyweights. Yes, it's acknowledged in the quote at the beginning but even without it I felt in my bones the first two thirds of this book was a literal copycat of the movie simply substituting a female protagonist. Even down to the last day of school camp switcheroo, the person waiting underneath the camp sign foreshadowing the summer from hell, the killing of the lake blob, new camp leadership,...

MaggieCarr ... public weigh-ins, and more it simply didn't sit right with me- just felt like a movie novelization swapping the go-cart track for the theatrical stage. However, once the storyline shifted to the daily blood drives, vampires, missing kids, and such I enjoyed it much more. I've just never felt like I've read plagiarism before like how this book started. 😭 1y
JamieArc That‘s really disappointing, especially given this author. I‘m always surprised when authors are allowed to do that. 1y
thebacklistbook That's a shame though it is possible they paid the movie writers to substantially use their work. Happens all the time with romance novels. 1y
MaggieCarr Update: Rewatched Heavyweights the day after finishing Camp Sylvania, I found even more similarities: forgot about a cameraperson following around Sylvia & Tony. Campers snuck into director's space, letters home unsent, a parent who is a lawyer, etc. I just don't know what to do with my rating. If rights were arranged, maybe for a book to screen/movie? A follow-up book has also already been announced for 2024. Guess time will tell. 🤷 1y
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