I wasn’t sure how I was going to enjoy this graphic novel as I’m just dipping my toes very lightly into the supernatural world as typically it’s not something I reach for, however, THIS. BOOK. IS. SUCH. A. GEM!!!

We follow Willow— a Deaf/ hard of hearing character as she and her family move to the strange small town of Nowhere. To get Willow more comfortable with the move, and give her the chance to make friends, her parents send her to a week-long summer camp.
Willow quickly makes friends with 3 girls, but something isn’t quite right on the small island on which the summer camp takes place on. With some curious events taking place and her suspicions deepening, Willow begins to uncover the island’s secrets.
—
The twists and secrets uncovered in this adorable and super fun graphic novel are just delicious and so satisfying! The illustration style is very soft and beautifully done. I loved a majority of the characters, especially Willow— I loved that the author chose to have a Deaf/HOH main character. I don’t think disability is represented enough in books, I was very shocked to see it and enjoyed the (from what I could tell) accurate way it was depicted in the story. I loved that Willow seems accepting of who she is as a Deaf/HOH person, while just living her life and having fun with her friends, she seems to be coping well. And the diversity of supernatural characters (although I would love to see a mermaid in the future) was a surprise, I thought there would only be maybe one or two, but there are quite a few different supernatural characters, all unique and fun. I also loved learning about the history of the island, and of course, seeing Willow and her friends be so brave to protect the magical creatures from dangerous people wanting to exploit them, added a heart-pounding action-packed ending.


Overall, I’m delighted to have found such a wonderfully enjoyable book with such a fun storyline and a great cast of characters.
4.5 stars.
I just loved this so much!!
I will be keeping an eye out for the next volume!

**ARC provided by Oni Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this supernatural graphic novel about Willow, a deaf girl, who does not want to go to camp in Nowhere. It reminded me of Weirn Books by Svetlana Chmakova. Very cute and spooky for upper elementary, lower middle school students. Thanks Netgalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. 3.5 stars

I received a copy of this book on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Secrets of Camp Whatever centers around 11 year old Willow, a deaf, Latinx girl who is being sent to Camp Whatever for the summer against her wishes. Once there however, she finds herself on an island shrouded by mystery and legends.

This was a very fun and enjoyable read! The pace is fast and the twists and turns are engaging, especially for the young audience this is written for. In some parts I found the characters annoying (most likely due to their age) however there were things Willow said or certain things she picked up on that made me laugh. Another character I found quite funny was Toast, in particular a comment he makes about dragons.

While there was disability rep as Willow is hard of hearing, I can't comment on it as I'm not ownvoices, but the fact that it was included at all was a very nice surprise as I rarely see deaf/hoh characters in books. 

The art style, while not very detailed, was attractive to me so that massively increased my enjoyment of this book, and added to the spooky atmosphere present in the book as a whole.

There were some points in this comic where I struggled to fully follow the plot which threw me off a bit but didn't impact my enjoyment too much, and I found it quite predictable (some of the 'twists' and 'reveals' were unsurprising) but I expect that that is because it's a middle grade.

Overall I thought that it was a very fun and spooky read, with definite similarities to Gravity Falls. I would recommend this book primarily to younger readers but I believe it can be enjoyed by people of any age, and anyone who is looking for a fun, spooky comic.

*I received an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

A very cute and lighthearted middle grade graphic novel with supernatural elements. It reminds me a bit of Lumberjanes or Gravity Falls.

I liked the representation of this book with a diverse and unique friend group. The main character Willow is deaf, and she uses hearing aids and sign language to communicate.

Storywise, I think the pacing is right; I liked the development of the story, although it did feel repetitive in certain parts. Still, I think children will love the twists and turns of the story.

The art is quite cartoony and expressive, which is nice. I did find the artstyle not detailed enough for my liking, especially in the backgrounds (often you have just a colour behind a character, instead of an environment).

(Note: I didn't like how Mr. Tooter kept screaming at Willow, especially after she said multiple times this was very unnecessairy. Also, there are dreamcatchers as a part of a fun craft at the camp, which isn't really great, as it is a part of Indigenous culture.)

This week I’m catching up with some reads from NetGalley and today’s pick is Secrets of Whatever Camp Vol 1 by Chris Grine.

I received an ARC copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story opens up with Willow, an eleven year-old complaining to her family to spend a summer at a summer camp, her father went to as a young boy. The fun part is her family is also moving to the town, where the camp is located. Soon after Willow arrives to Camp Whatever, she finds herself in the middle of legendary tales about creatures.

The story evolved on its own and was brilliant in every way, I am sure as a reader that some will find something to relate to in this story even though it is filed with magical creatures. It felt extremely realistic with how each character have developed themselves in a few pages, which is hard to achieve in a short amount of time. We learn early on that Willow is in need of hearing aids to hear as part of the deaf community. It might be even the first time I am reading about a deaf character in a children and young audience targeted book.

Perhaps, the talk about being deaf was what I really appreciated due to not being seen in a lot of books. Willow does not like being treated as if she is a special case and just wants to be a normal child living her adventurous summer.

The character choices were very diverse to include a bit of everything and the character development was the bit I enjoyed the most. Willow and her friends Violet, Emma, and Molly show a strong bond regardless of their differences. What bonds them is the strangeness of this seemingly normal camp but the more they search, the weirder it gets.

The Camp director, Mr Tooter, has a lot of stories about “dangerous monsters” but soon they’ll all discover these monsters are not the monsters they think. The illustrations are beautiful and fits this vibrant story and perfect for the readers of adventure stories like Luberjanes. There is a child in all of us wanting to read monsters and adventure stories.

For the most part, I thought it was fun and loved the supernatural element. I thought the graphic was fantastic. The camp is most definitely strange and creepy. 
I liked it has a representation of characters from different races and disabilities; deaf, Latinx, and Black.
There were times the dialogue left me confused because I could follow the order.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel, it had everything! Drama, love, friendship, adventure and a bit of a spooky vibe. I also really loved the supernatural part of this book.

Willow, Emma, Molly & Violet are the four characters that we get to follow the most and I seriously love their little friend group. They’re not very much alike personality vise  which I enjoyed, it really shows that people doesn’t have to be the same or enjoy the exact same things to be good friend.

I also really liked the fact that the main character Willow or Wil, was hard of hearing. I’ve only read one book before where one of the main characters had hearing loss and I think it’s so important that everyone gets to see themselves in the book they read. More diversity the better. Therefor I found it really great that the author choose to make Wil have hearing loss. She uses a hearing aid and hears with it but also uses sign language. 

The art was really great! The colors were beautiful & the characters were pretty diverse which I enjoyed. I also liked the fact that this graphic novel could be read by both an younger audience (even kids?) and adults! Books that work for all ages always got that little special something. 

I can’t wait to follow Willow and her friends in the upcoming books! 

⭐️ “Secrete of Camp Whatever Vol 1”  by Chris Grine get 5/5 stars from me. 


ARC sent from NetGalley but my opinions are still my own! Thanks for the awesome review copy 😊

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Okay, so can we talk about how great the deaf rep in this is??? Willow, the main character, is deaf, uses a hearing aid and knows and uses sign language. I love this rep because, as it should be, it isn't about Willow's deafness, but it is instead a red thread throughout the story. Also loved how we see signing in the story, and how several of the other characters either know sign language fluently or just a little bit. 

The worldbuilding itself is okay and a little silly, which is perfect for kids. It has just the right level of spooky, while also keeping this graphic novel light and fun! Loved the speculations the gang has about the different people and the island, and hope we get to see more of it later! My only critique is that I wish it held onto moments a bit longer to build the suspense and that we got to see more actual camp activities, but otherwise this was really good!

I can't wait to read more about the gang, and learn more about the city of nowhere!

This book was incredible and I can't wait to re-read it with my daughter. 

Eleven-year-old Willow and her family are moving to a new town and while her parents unpack she is off to the local summer camp that is on a private island. This isn't just any summer camp however it has a lot of peculiar rules, a sinister never ending fog and then there is the case of the missing snacks, big foot and vampires. This is going to be a week of summer camp like you have never seen before and it was so much fun. 

This graphic novel was wonderful hands down. The graphics are fantastic, the storyline is a super fun, fantastic mystery and I just loved the main character Willow.

SO COOL!
I've never liked gravity falls that much, but if you're a fan or like mysterious summer camps on mysterious islands with a lot of weird creatures and a cool gang of kids, this one's perfect for you!
Totally want to see what's coming in the future in Camp Whatever!

3,8/5
Quality of writing: 4
Plot development: 4
Pace: 4
Characters: 3
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of reading: 4

I love stories that are set in camps. Especially if they have horror or paranormal themes. So Secrets of Camp Whatever Vol. 1 is spot on. Not only is it a fun camp story that's a bit creepy, the main character is disabled and in this household we stan an inclusive story.
The art is cute, the story is fun, the characters are a bit annoying (but then again - I'm not the target audience) and I really want to see where the story will go in the next volume.

I received an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review from Oni Press via NetGalley.

Welcome to the town of Nowhere with its Camp Whatever, where strange things happen, where nothing is what it seems to be, and where mythical creatures live in the dense fog. 

Our lovely main character here is Willow and is moving with her family to a big ol' house in Nowhere. She would spend some quality time (or not?) in a nearby summer camp her father used to have fun in, called Whatever. From the moment she arrives in the camp, along with the other kids, strange things start happening - the candies disappear; one of the campers gets sent back home, but he never reaches it; the camp's chef is gone missing too.

Strange things enveloped in fog are taking place with every step Willow makes, as she and her friends decide to investigate the camp and see how real the stories they heard about it and the island are. Determined, brave, and quick-witted, and with a dash of help from Mr Elric and Miss Mim, Willow and her friends manage to find out the truth about this place. 

The mythical and mystical creatures, the secluded island where mysteries happen, and all the spooky stories and legends are what I liked the most while reading this graphic novel. And if you are a little bit like me, you will most certainly enjoy reading this volume too!

I would also like to say a few things about the artwork. The illustrations are perfect; I think its style portrays the characters, the plot, and the overall action very well. I loved Molly's face of betrayal and guilt, but also her facial expression when she decided she needs to help her friends. 

A Side Note: I am super excited about this "Volume 1" in the title. Waiting for Volume 2 to see what new mysteries and adventures the town of Nowhere has for Willow and her friends!

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Willow and her family are moving back to her father's hometown of Nowhere to live in the family home, that the locals say is haunted. She doesn't get to help renovate, however, because she is off to Camp...Whatever. To get there, campers have to get on a creepy boat manned by new director Mr. Tooter. Willow, who wears hearing aids and who knows sign language but usually can hear well with her devices, doesn't care for Mr. Tooter, who yells at her whenever he speaks. She meets Violet and Emma, who are in her cabin, and they join forces when odd things start happening around the camp. Mrs. Nim, the nurse, has hidden depth, as does Mr. Elric, and he introduces the group to some of the odder inhabitants of the area. Mr. Tooter becomes a problem, but is eventually subdued and improved by Mr. Elric, and Willow is ready to go back to her new town armed with the hidden information about the inhabitants. 
Strengths: There are a growing number of creepy fantasy graphic novels, and this is a good addition to ones like Escabasse's Witches of Brooklyn, Siegel's The Sand Warrior, Costa and Parks' Rickety Stitch, Stevenson's Lumberjanes, Steinkeller's The Okay Witch, and Blas and Aguirre's Hotel Dare. This also really reminded me of another graphic novel set in a community nears cliffs where there was a mysterious fog, the title of which I cannot for the life of me remember. (Also had three children on the cover.) Willow's hearing is addressed really well, and I wish there were more characters in middle grade literature shown with realistically depicted hearing loss. I had a cousin who wore a hearing aid much like Cece Bell's in El Deafo when I was growing up.
Weaknesses: My students aren't as fond of the creepy graphic novels as they are of the realistic fiction ones. 
What I really think: Just put in my last order of the year, and will keep this one in mind if there is money in the budget for it.

[eARC provided by NetGalley]

This graphic novel was pretty cute!!

Representation: D/deaf MC, Latinx, Black characters

As mentioned on the cover, it is an uncorrected proof so it was bound to have mistakes and did have a few. However, I felt like the storyline/arch from scene to scene was a little jagged, and even in some spots within a scene. Some of dialogue didn’t move in a coherent way and found myself a little lost in some places; in particular, there was one scene were the main characters were talking about a newly introduced character by name, whom had been briefly introduced previous to that, but was not visible in the panel—it is important to mention that the character could not be seen as the kids were pointing him out (but like where??). 

Some of the plot points could be easily guessed, but unsure if this is an issue as this is aimed at middle grade children. 

The pacing in the first 2 thirds was really slow as well, and it didn’t help that a lot of the jagged transitions happened here. It’s probably also important to mention here that there were a few inconsistencies, which probably added to the jagged feel of the graphic novel.

However, I was basically won over in the end because the goblins were the cutest!!!

The story was easy enough to follow for a tween, as well as captivating enough for an older audience to enjoy. It was a truly enjoyable and whimsical story that I would recommend to everybody!
The cast was diverse enough that we didn’t confuse every character. All of them were well developed and had their own unique personality. I became attached to every character and I'm interested to see more of them in the next installments.
The story ends on a great note, it really makes you want to keep reading the rest of the series. It still has a lot to offer and I can't wait to see what happens next!
I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is such a fun graphic novel! I know it is geared towards those who are younger, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! It was relaxing and fun! The graphics are great, and the story line keeps you on your toes, wondering what will happen next. Willow is being sent to summer camp for the first time, at the age of 11. Needless to say, she is none too pleased about this development. However, the longer she is there, the more interesting things become. Willow and her friends learn lots of interesting things and pick up a few valuable lessons along the way.

This was so cute and whimsy, it reminded me a lot of Lumberjanes which is one of my favorite comic series. The creatures were entertaining and the characters were really lovable. 10/10 would recommend.

Willow and her family move to Nowhere, a slightly spooky small town known for paranormal happenings. Willow, who is Hard of Hearing but wears a hearing aid, decides she would like to attend a summer camp on an island near town. This camp is more than it seems when fairies, Bigfoot, gnomes and even vampires get involved. Overall I found this graphic novel cute with a likeable cast and fun encounters. If anyone is a fan of Lumberjanes, this is a story with a similar idea, so grab it for a read alike.

I thought this was a cute story! When reading MG books, I always seem to think of them in a "would I include this in my classroom library" type of way (I once thought I'd teach elementary LOL). I think I would include it, though I did have a few problems with it. I think it could be a great way for younger readers to be introduced to graphic novels and mystery stories. 

LIKES
First, I'm not able to speak on the representation since I am not OwnVoices, but I did love the inclusion of Willow, who has a hearing disability! I loved seeing her sign in a lot of the illustrations. I loved the illustrations a lot, in general, actually and the art style was very cute (especially the gnomes!). 

I did enjoy the characters in this! I think we got to know Willow pretty well as a character and believe that we'd get to know her friends a lot more in later volumes. Some of the shenanigans they got themselves into did make me laugh sometimes. I also loved the different creatures included.

The plot twists were so cool and I could really see younger readers being SO surprised by a lot of the aspects. 

DISLIKES
I didn't like how Mr. Tooter kept screaming at Willow, but I do understand this could've been used to reinforce his role as a villain. I also did not like the random inclusion of dreamcatchers in the story. It didn't serve a purpose and furthers the idea that they are just a fun craft rather than an important part of Indigenous culture. 

Sometimes the plot did feel a little repetitive, but overall I did like the story.

Thanks to NetGalley, Oni Press, and Chris Grine for this advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.  This one is available 3/2/21!

Rundown: In the first volume of Chris Grine's, Secrets of Camp Whatever, Willow doesn't want to live in her new town of Nowhere, and she really doesn't want go to her dad's old summer camp, Camp...Whatever, for an entire week. However, when she arrives, Willow quickly makes new friends and realizes that things at the camp are not all they seem. Maybe camp won't be so bad after all?

My Thoughts: I really liked this fun middle-grade graphic novel! I'm already planning on purchasing it for my classroom because I know my 7th graders would love it. Willow is 11, deaf/hard of hearing, and is living the lavender hair life of my dreams. While the focus of this story is not on her disability, there are many sweet (and not so sweet) moments surrounded it that I think spark important conversations. This definitely prompted me to do further research into appropriate terms to use when referencing Willow and her disability. It also makes me want to learn sign language! The fantasy element is mysterious and fun (I love the gnomes!) and gives me so many Lumberjanes vibes! I would definitely read the next one.

I recommend for fans of middle-grade/graphic novels/fantasy. If you enjoy Lumberjanes, you would definitely enjoy this one!