Review by Frank Plowright

At first the title Long Distance seems to refer to the new status of Vega and Halley’s friendship after Vega’s father moves from Portland to Seattle for a new job, but Whitney Gardner actually has a far longer distance in mind.

Vega is established as studious, smart and solitary, and that’s partly why her fathers are sending her to summer camp where the focus is that children like Vega can make new friends and broaden their horizons. Even before going, though, she’s concerned that Halley’s not responding to her texts. It’s a mystery Gardner perpetuates to keep reader interest to the end.

The children Vega meets at the camp each have their obsessions or quirks, and readers will pick up that there’s something fake about the camp staff.

Gardner’s cartooning captures character well, but it’s otherwise stiff and basic, with little drawing other than figures and minimal backgrounds except for a few panels showing equipment. Very few panels are used on pages larger than the usual pocketbook size for young adult graphic novels, which means Long Distance appears a thick book, but is actually a very quick read for three hundred pages.

As is the case with all summer camp fiction for young adults, things are not what they’re supposed to be, and the four kids on whom Gardner is focusing start investigating why that is. Astute readers will have figured out who’s responsible, and why, and once that discovery is made, there’s a massive and imaginative change of mood and location. Underlying the camp story is the message that everyone is different, and that’s okay. If you accept people for what they are, then chances are you’ll get along with them, and sometimes you have to move beyond your comfort zone to experience that.

Gardner keeps even the threats to a generally cheery level, so there’ll be no nightmares after reading Long Distance, and the messages transmit, but it lacks sparkle.