Sneha Jaiswal (X | Instagram | GoodReads)
Summer camp is all about crazy kids, ghost stories, running, swimming, sweating, fighting, and, for the lucky few, falling in love. And, just like its title suggests, the graphic novel ‘Camp Spirit’ captures all the shades of spending a long summer outdoors, making new friends or foes, and adds in a dash of fantasy to the proceedings. I am officially a fan of the creator Axelle Lenoir; her storytelling spirit and artwork are an absolute joy to read/watch! This one is so, so different from ‘Secret Passages,’ another graphic novel by Axelle that I had rated a full five out of five stars.
Set in the summer of 1994, “Camp Spirit” is about the young Elodie, who has two months left before she starts college and is forced to become a camp counselor by her mother to earn some extra cash. Elodie isn’t a big fan of sports, nature or kids, and finds herself responsible for the most energetic bunch of redheads. Surprisingly, Elodie is able to handle her mean little monster girls, but something else starts to give her nightmares at camp! Is there an actual mythical monster lurking around the woods or is Elodie just hallucinating?
Axelle Lenoir takes readers for a colorful, crazy ride through this fantastically drawn graphic novel, with the color-palette and mood constantly changing, but the illustrations remain expressive riveting. When I tried reading ‘Camp Spirit’ for the first time on my phone’s kindle app, the first two bright neon pages and the small text felt a little overwhelming. I actually stopped after page two in the first attempt and decided to try it again some other time. After a few days, I gave it another shot and ended up finishing the 200+ pages in one go! The pages are a splash of summer, with plenty of swimming, playing and sitting around the fire at night and swapping spooky stories or just singing songs. While most of the graphic novel is filled with a lot of talking, some panels serve as great visual breaks with no dialogue, yet they carry the story forward. For example, one such page simply shows a character going about their job in the woods, and it features a relaxing palette of greens and nature.
Elodie’s squad of little girls were an absolute riot and it was hilariously heart-warming to see how quickly they all get attached to Elodie. While I have never been to summer camps, I have been in boarding school for a while, which is like a year-long-camp for students, with seniors guiding you through things, pretty much like camp councilors do. So for me, some of the stuff was very relatable, like how the young campers look up to the older kids or trouble them endlessly if they aren’t very likable. Nostalgia enthusiasts would appreciate the 90s setting, music references from back then and of-course – the lack of social media and cell-phones.
The camp chief is the weirdest character in the book, he just goes by “chief” and even claims “my name is chief” when he introduces himself to the camp on first day. Elodie screams like a scared cat every time he appears out of nowhere and wonders if he is just a big old goofy chap or a creepy serial killer out to get all the kids. Don’t worry, there is no serial killer. There are about six camp counselors, all of whom Elodie isn’t very interested in being friends with, but she does eventually warm up to some of them, especially a girl called Catherine, whom she sarcastically describes as ‘little miss perfect’ at the beginning but becomes close buddies with.
“Camp Spirit” is a totally binge-worthy read for those who love young-adult fiction, it packs in a lot of entertaining moments and is all about having letting your hair down, having some fun and letting new people come into your life.
Rating: 5 on 5! “Camp Spirit” is also available on Kindle Unlimited.
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