Review by Frank Plowright

Given the title, it’s no surprise that the great American tradition of summer camp is the destination for Olive and her best friend Willow over the opening pages. Camp Acorn Lake to be precise, and it’s a well appointed location with plenty of facilities, unusually also accommodating children not so keen on the outdoor life.

Olive and Willow were introduced in Click, and as with that graphic novel Kayla Miller takes an extremely naturalistic approach to storytelling. Plot is minimal and reduced to day to day life as at first Olive and Willow learn about the camp facilities and procedure, choose their preferred activities, get to know other campers and begin to enjoy what the camp has to offer. It’s a fair while before the book’s primary issue is introduced.

We’ve seen Willow’s over-protective mother, and Miller is subtle in showing how Willow is fussy, uncertain and not keen to join in. Sometimes this is pointed out, but Miller’s also fond of wordless sequences and the sample art shows how Willow’s not fully participating.

This being the second book in a series, although each can be read individually with no reference to the others, Miller’s repeated touches of individuality are showing. One is use of Olive’s dreams to reflect her feelings or aspirations, which is nicely handled. The theme becomes Willow increasingly wanting Olive to herself, while Olive feels loyal to her friend and doesn’t want to desert her, but is also more open to other friends and activities.

Miller’s art is again simple, but bright and detailed, offering plenty of visual stimulation for young readers, while also ensuring there’s never any doubt as to what’s happening or how someone is feeling. The explanation in the back will be required for readers to understand the concept of a Rube Goldberg machine, but an artistic highlight is a contraption inspired by him finally seen in action, while there’s a lot of life to the band scenes.

Because Olive attempts to please Willow without having a conversation about her neediness, there’s no surprise at an eventual explosion, and the way that becomes worse is elegantly planned.

Camp is once again fine entertainment making a helpful point in a subtle way. Young readers will enjoy events while feeling for both Olive and Willow, understanding their conflicting emotions. Act is the next release, but as noted, all Miller’s books can be read individually.