Unfortunately, this one time when my title for the post hits the nail on the head. Towards the end of May, I opened up one of my book box subscriptions that had this gorgeous book in it and remembered that I had had this book on my May TBR originally but had taken it off at some point during the month so I decided to add it back on. Then, while reading, I let myself get distracted playing the Sims (while listening to the
audiobook) so I remember just bits and pieces along with the fact that I enjoyed the story and Axie Oh’s writing style. I will likely reread this story at some point in the future.
Cue yet another forgettable attempt at a middle grade horror set at summer camp. The main character reluctantly heads off to camp, along with her younger brothers, because her parents need some kid free time to work on their marriage. Once at the camp, things seem just slightly off until one of her cabin-mates goes missing and none of the counselors seem to either notice or care. From there the story unfolds with
unfortunate precision according to well known and quite obvious tropes. Because everything was so glaringly obvious, I struggle to see how any reader would end up surprised or creeped out. I do not recommend this one.
While marginally better than Camp Twisted Pine, my last read of May was a bit of a let down. In this story, the main character travels back to Egypt with her father – the first time he has returned to the country of his birth since his wife died while giving birth to the main character. The narrative also contains a second perspective of a girl, a former servant accused of poisoning her masters who subsequently finds herself on the run with something valuable, something
that turns out to be Aladdin’s lamp. I appreciate the premise but the narrative, in my opinion, took too long to introduce the fantastical, thus making the narrative feel like it had jumped the shark towards the end when it leans into the fantastical full tilt. It’s not a bad book,. just not one that I can recommend without reservations.
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