"Summer Camp Secrets" _ Katy Grant

“Summer Camp Secrets” is a series of three books written by Katy Grant.

“Acting Out” is all about a girl, Judith, who always tried to hide her real self since she thought her personality was pretty boring. At the start of the camp, she decided to make herself cooler by copying some fancy actions that she had noticed from one of her friends in school. Judith even made up a new nickname for people to call her which she supposed to sound much better. As the time went by, she got along very well however, the problem was whoever she was, whatever she did… she was making affected manners!!! Judith made a point of picking activities that she would never choose, finding friends that she would never talk to and saying things that she would never come up with. Towards the end of the book, she got tired of the “play” that she had been acting and didn’t know how long she could actually continue keeping it up.

“Pranked” is about Kelly who initially didn’t want to attend the summer camp and her first week there was awful. She couldn’t stand the harsh conditions like having outdoor showers, staying in a rickety cabin and being friend with Melissa who Kelly found super boring. She again confronted the “evil twins” and that was when a real “disaster” began. They were playing pranks which were apparently awkward (e.g: hiding each other’s towels while they were taking shower or stealing each other’s stuff…) and out of control…

“Friends Fornever” is about Darey who was looking forward to going on the summer camp and seeing her best friend, Nicole again. The more she expected, the more she was disappointed. Nicole seemed not to be glad when Darey’s family life was getting so much better than a year before when they first met. Nicole was kind of jealous!?! At the same time, Sarah and Whitney were having major friendship issue as well; therefore, as Darey attempted to give advices, she also figured out the way to heal her relationship with her own best friend.

The three different stories have diverse matters however as people unscrambled the problems, we can see clearly the meaning and importance of friendships. I highly recommend this series of books because it highlights the surprising and spontaneous situations in life while teenagers are trying to discover their real characters and making lifelong friends. I know it’s a little childish for some people but I do find it interesting so yeah… :)