Litsy

pick

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.

40 likes

Amie

Camp Sylvania | Julie Murphy

pick

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.

27 likes

GirlNamedJesse

Camp Sylvania | Julie Murphy

pick

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!

14 likes

MaggieCarr

Camp Sylvania | Julie Murphy

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

22 likes4 comments