The 9 Best Camp Books That Will Make You Nostalgic for Summer
Camp stories are all about romance, friendship, and occasionally murder. (Yes, murder.) 🏕️
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The weather is heating up, it’s almost stone fruit season, and the hot dogs are sizzling on the BBQ, which means it’s finally time for summer—and to many, that signals the start of camp, where there are no parents around, just teenage counselors trying to get as lit as possible. As a former camp kid who lived 10 months for 2 (IYKYK), I’ve always looked back on my summers living in cabins and telling secrets under the beam of a flashlight as some of my happiest memories, where I developed crushes, won color wars, and cried when it was time to say goodbye.
That’s why I decided to set my next young adult novel, The Counselors, at an elite summer camp. While, thankfully, my real-life experience differs from the ones of my characters (spoiler: it’s a thriller…there’s murder!), but writing about camp transported me back to those days that felt like weeks and the weeks that felt like years. If you, like me, are feeling all the summertime nostalgia, here are nine books about sleepaway camp that will send you straight back to that bonfire, surrounded by your best friends and a big ol’ stack of s’mores.
My latest thriller follows 18-year-old Goldie, who’s just experienced the worst year of her life and is so excited to return to camp as a counselor with her two best friends, Ava and Imogen. Except when the summer starts, she realizes there’s more distance between them than ever, especially since Goldie’s been keeping a massive secret. When a local teen is found dead in the lake, Goldie can’t help but think the death isn’t an accident, and as she uncovers the truth about what’s really happened at her beloved Camp Alpine Lake, she must question those closest to her, including her best friends.
Six ambitious and carefree teenagers meet at a performing-arts camp and develop a tight-knit bond based on their shared creative spirit. But throughout this sparkling epic, Wolitzer shows how time and luck can warp even the most bright-eyed of ingenues. Some of these friends will make their dreams come true and become wildly successful and famous, while others, including the protagonist Jules Jacobson, will find themselves leading depressingly average lives. What results is an all-encompassing novel about how greed, envy, and desire can affect even the closest of friendships.
Amanda Brooks is your classic New York City gal about town, complete with a swanky Tribeca apartment and a devoted boyfriend. But she’s also keeping a dark secret about what really happened when she was at Camp Catalpa with her two friends, Catherine and Meg. Although they haven’t talked about it since, the past starts poking its head through her new lovely life, and Amanda has to reunite with Catherine and Meg to finally put their ugly childhood behind them. It’s a sizzling thriller that will have you rushing toward the end.
Abby signs up for a DNA test only to learn that she actually has a secret sister, a legit Instagram star named Savvy. She has no idea why her parents gave Savvy up for adoption, so Abby finds herself at a summer camp with Savvy, her longtime crush Leo, and a whole bunch of questions she’d really like answers to. Sweet, tender, and full of heart-pounding coming-of-age moments, You Have a Match is as sweet as a s’more.
Back when Emma was a kid at Camp Nightingale, three of her friends disappeared while playing the classic game of Two Truths and a Lie. Now, making waves in the art world, Emma’s invited back to camp to be the new painting instructor and she uses the position to find out what really happened to her friends all those years ago. But since this is a book by thriller star Riley Sager, readers can expect scares and danger lurking in every corner.
Summer camp turns horrific when Mars awakens to find that his sister has run all the way home from a prestigious summer camp called Aspen—and that he’s actually killed her in self-defense after everyone suggests she’s gone crazy. But Mars can’t believe what’s happened and returns to Aspen to find answers about his sister. There, he finds a group of girls known as the Honeys, who will reveal the truth—if he makes it out alive.
Teenager Randy has always come to Camp Outland, a camp for queer kids. But when he returns this summer, he’s going by “Del” and has transformed into what he thinks is a totally masculine dude, giving up things he loves including show tunes, in order to entice his crush, Hudson. Randy embarks on a journey of self-discovery as he tries to figure out who he really is and what masculinity means to him. Camp is totally sweet and tender, with a heavy dose of self-acceptance.
Longtime fans of the iconic series won’t forget that in the first Sisterhood, many of Bridget’s chapters take place while she attends soccer camp in Baja, California. There she falls for dreamy coach Eric. Heart-wrenching, Sisterhood is a classic for a reason thanks to the realistic, devoted friendships between the girls.
Graphic novel Flamer follows Aiden Navarro through the summer between middle school and high school where everything feels new and different, like his whole world is changing. As Aiden tries to dodge bullies and fights, he also bonds with Elias and starts questioning his sexuality with raw feelings and compassion.
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