Member Reviews
I absolutely loved this book! It’s smart and funny and the art is great. I would definite recommend this book to friends.
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. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.
For fans of Gravity Falls (like myself) who are missing those strange, paranormal adventures, the Secrets of Camp Whatever is perfect!
I had so much fun reading this graphic novel! The atmosphere was so spooky and magical and I was drawn into the story by the first few pages! Witches, gnomes, vampires... it has it all! The mystery is intriguing, and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of plot twists I didn't see coming!
I adored the art style! The color palette was wonderful, and there's no issues to be had here with "same face syndrome". So many details had me lingering on pages just to take it all in!
Representation is so important, especially in YA stories, so I was delighted to find that the main character, Willow, is hard of hearing! As a result, sign language is present through the entire story. I find that many stories featuring character who are HOH, legally blind, etc. like to highlight their characters as successful "despite" - but SoCW doesn't do that. Willow simply IS HOH, and that's that!
Each character has a super distinct personality that is apparent both in dialogue and in visuals! I adored all of them and was attached from the get-go. I also enjoyed that romance didn't have a place in this volume, but also... I would not be mad about some queer representation in the future!
I highly suggest this graphic novel if you're looking for some spooky summer camp vibes, and I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for the next volume!
This was so much fun! A perfect story for all ages, not too spooky for kids, but just spooky enough to create a wonderful atmosphere. All of the kids were wonderfully written, and so endearing to follow. Overall, a very enjoyable read filled with fantastical adventure and heartwarming friendship. Can't wait for volume 2!
Secrets of Camp Whatever follows Willow an 11-year old that is attending her dad’s weird old summer camp that is located on an island but when Willow arrives she realizes that not everything is what it seems…
I absolutely loved this comic and the storyline was amazing having the perfect twists and turns to have the reader engaged all throughout. I also really appreciated the diversity within the characters especially Willow who is HoH, it is probably the first time I encounter HoH representation and sign language in a comic/book. It’s the perfect creepy middle grade that is filled with mystery, magic, and friendship, I cannot wait for this Volume to be outa swell as its future volumes!
What a fun graphic novel!
I loved the various magical creatures! It was exciting to see which one would pop up next. I also enjoyed that Willow was partially deaf and ended up being able to communicate with Thatch.
This was really enjoyable to read and I’m looking forward to the next installment. I have my suspicions about Willow and Emma!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this Arc in exchange for a honest review...
Willow, who is a deaf teenager and her family move to a small town called 'Nowhere' where her fathers family originally lived. While her parents fix up their old family home she's been sent to camp... whatever. Willow isn't too happy about the move to the town or going to camp, but she quickly starts to like it when she meets some new friends!
During their fun activity filled week, the young teens start to notice strange and weird things about the island the camp is on...
I absolutely love the representation of a lead deaf female character, who you can't help but love. Willow is a strong lead who doesn't let anything frighten or discourage her from being headstrong.
The artwork is fantastic, and the supernatural element of this was enjoyable. It would be great for young people 8+, and I cannot wait to read Vol.2!
This was really fun and light to read. Willow was an interesting character and i really liked the friends she made both human and animal. Plus, the gnomes and the old lady were sort of adorable!
This book was a ton of fun and I'm certain that many middle schoolers will love it. I'm a huge fan of the use of sign langue , such a perfect fit for a graphic novel. I found Willow and the rest of the cast really likable. I see so much possibility for more stories in this series. The art is adorable and fits the tone of the story so well.
I cringed so hard when the councilor announced Willow to the camp as their first deaf camper. As someone with a disability the moment really resonated.
Would have loved to have seen some motivation for why Kurt the bully was so awful. Also, I do think the story could have benefited from some more humor.
Overall though, this is wonderful book that I'm so happy will be out in the world.
I received an ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.
Secrets of Camp Whatever Vol. 1 is a graphic novel that has mystery and mythical creatures at a creepy camp. It has a diverse cast of interesting characters. The artwork is fantastic. The story is interesting and can be enjoyed by kids and adults. If you like Goosebumps, you will also like this graphic novel.
Oni Press publishes some great graphic novels and they continue to deliver with this one.
It's a very enjoyable graphic novel and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes spooky stories.
A spooky and adventurous graphic novel about a not-so-normal summer camp.
This was really enjoyable. I liked the deafness representation, and how it showed people's reactions to the MC being deaf. Especially Tooter misunderstanding her hearing aids. Since it is middle grade, I am glad it explained how the MC can hear with her hearing aids. That's something I didn't know when I was in middle grade. The MC's deafness making her able to communicate with Thatch because she knows sign language was great.
The character style of some of the creatures was not my cup of tea, but that's a personal preference.
Something I've noticed a lot in graphic novels is that the action tends to go too fast, so the plot jumps forward without the reader being able to follow along, which creates confusion. That was not a big issue in this graphic novel, but there were a few times where it happened.
The friendship element mixed with the supernatural element was great and is just my cup of tea, especially considering I grew up on Scoopy-Doo movies, which has the same elements. I hope to see the friends grow a stronger bond throughout the next volumes, and I would like to know more about the individual characters, since some of them felt flat.
There was always something interesting going on, that made me want to continue reading and find out what was going to happen to the characters.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an ebook version of Secrets of Camp Whatever Vol. 1 in exchange for an honest review!
Secrets of Camp Whatever follows Willow and her family, who have just moved to the fog shrouded town of Nowhere after inheriting their grandmother's house following her death. Unfortunately for Willow, they've arrived in town just in time for her to be sent to the local summer camp, Camp Whatever, so she is shipped off the the strange island in the middle of the local lake whilst her family settle into their new home.
Not only is Willow down about having to move to a whole new town, but she's even more unhappy about going to the camp, despite encouragement from her father, who went to it when he was a kid. On the way to the camp Willow learns that there are a lot of local legends about the island it's on, claiming that it's home to a host of unusual creatures from myth and legend. Despite not believing this, once she arrives on the island Willow has to admit it's pretty strange, and that there are some weird things going on it the foggy forest.
Secrets of Camp Nowhere is one of those great books that's clearly aimed at a younger audience, but doesn't treat the readers as stupid, talking down to them or being overly silly, so adults will get a lot of enjoyment out of reading it too. I found it to be instantly memorable of books from my childhood, like Goosebumps, and I was quickly put at ease that this was going to be an enjoyable read. I was also hugely impressed that its lead character was deaf, and that the book didn't use this as something to try and make people feel sympathy or pity towards Willow. In fact, there's only really one person who treats her as any different, and it's obviously made to make him look like a fool for doing it.
Willow is never held back by her disability, and even refuses to see it as such. One of my favourite moments with her in regard to her deafness was when she gets into a confrontation with a bit of a bully, who then lets her go stating 'I don't hit disabled kids', causing her to respond with 'I'm not disabled. I'll disable your face'. This was the moment I fell in love with Willow as a character. She's strong, confident, and doesn't let her disability define her or hold her back. More representation like this!
The book has a ton of other great characters in it too, and Willow is quickly surrounded by a core group of friends each of which are distinct and different enough from the other to be bringing something great into the mix themselves, and could easily be leads in their own series. This really shows that Chris Grine is great at establishing characters, and can make each of them feel fun and unique in a relatively short period.
These aren't the only characters in the book, however, as there are a number of interesting and unique characters inhabiting the island that Willow gets to meet, though I won't say much about who or what they are so as not to spoil, only that I loved seeing them and hope to spend more time with them again.
The plot is pretty standard middle-grade horror mystery stuff, with the characters trying to find out what's going on and trying not to get caught by authority figures or monsters whilst doing it, but it never once felt like it was just retreading old ground. It was constantly engaging and entertaining, and genuinely one of the most enjoyable graphic novels I've read this year.
The art is bold and clear, with distinct and easy to identify characters, and it always looked great. The way the book drains some of the definition from panels to show off the foggy nature of the town and island was really good too, and it really felt like I was looking at things through a layer of fog and mist. Monsters and creatures were also presented in some cool new ways, with some great takes on things that I've seen in other books, but done so in a way that felt unique to this book.
I loved reading Secrets of Camp Nowhere, and the larger pager count went by so fast because of how much I enjoyed the experience. I'm sad that the book came to an end, because of how great it was, but I'm equally happy that it's a first volume, because that means that there's going to be more from these characters and this world; and I can't wait.
We follow the story of Willow and how she finds herself neck-deep in a confounding mystery involving stolen snacks, suspected vampires, and missing campers, all shrouded in the sinister fog that hides a generation of secrets at Camp ... Whatever it's called.
That is so cute, love the story and illustrations and I had no trouble following and getting to know the characters. The target of the audience are middle grade but me, a 23 year old, was hooked for this story. Love the twins, just wish they have more pranks. Wil is curious as a cat, and I hate mingling with someone like that, but in this book I let it pass because I’m curious too on what the camp holds. I can’t wait to explore the new house of Willow, and if they are really ghosts in the cellar.
Thank you so much NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. #SecretsofCampWhateverVol1 #NetGalley
I received this as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for giving me access.
I love Oni Press and the titles they release! They are very inclusive to disorders and the LGBTQ community. This one follow a deaf girl going to camp, but not everything is what it seems. Much like the Lumberjanes this follows a few campers that find out the camp has mysterious creatures.
The artwork was amazing and just the style that I like. I can't wait to find out more....like the ghosts! BOO!
I would like to thank you for the eARC of this book which was kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This graphic novel starts with 11 years girl named Willow and her parents with her brother moving to a new place to 'Nowhere'. Her parents do not want to have two children fighting during their first week in a new house, so they decide to send Willow to a 'Whatever' summer camp. I think the names says it all that this summer camp is not what children usually expect to have in a summer camp, as it involves lots of secrets and mysterious creatures.
First of all, I want to say straight away that I loved this graphic novel. The characters, the narrative and the art! It was a perfect read for Halloween month. I loved Willow character and the way she was represented. It was nice to find a character with a hearing aid and who used sign language. I can not wait for vol 2 to come out!
Secrets of Camp Whatever is the story of a group of girls and boys in a summer camp where nothing is what it first seems. Just moved to Nowhere, Willow's parents send her to Camp... Whatever, a place where his own dad once went. She is not thrilled about this, and even less after hearing some quite disturbing allegations from the townfolks when having breakfast.
Once at Camp Whatever, Willow makes new friends, Violet, Molly, and also meets the adults: Mr. Tooter, a camp director who does not like children at all; Miss Mim, the nurse, who seems to know more than she lets on; and Mr. Elric, a strange man that can be keeping a bigger secret than first imagined.
It is really difficult to talk about this story without entering slippery spoiler land, so I will just say that it really reminded me of Gravity Falls, that fans of Lumberjanes are really going to enjoy it, that the story unfolds beautifully and the rhythm does not feel abrupt at all and all the secrets fall in the perfect moment.
I was waiting for a horror-adventure story I could recommend to a young audience and I think this is the perfect fit.
***I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review***
this is my new favourite graphic novel. It was so sweet and whimsical! I LOVED it there was one error tho when Elric was talking to the girls he mentioned that there was only 3 but there were actually 4 but that's the only issue I noticed! cannot wait to read more of this universe!!
4 stars
Highly recommend for those who love spooky reads!
This is suitable for children above 9 years old. This is a story about Willow who has an disability aid but could understand sign language.
She was asked to go for a sumer camp in some island abroad while her parents were shifting to "NOWHERE" town. There were some eerie feels to the island like missing children and monsters. Don't think that it is right. Willow and her group of friends tried to resolve the secret to as why there are so many incident happening on this campsite.
I enjoy the story line and it was easy to read. The illustrations were beautifully done.
*Received an ARC by Netgalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review*
First time reading a graphic novel & I really enjoyed it. Creepy enough for me & a fab storyline. The graphics were amazing. Looking forward to reading more of this series now.
This was OK. At the beginning it was a little confusing and I wasn't really hooked, but after fifty pages or so I couldn't stop reading.
The art was gorgeous, weirdly cool, and I liked that a lot. And, when it comes to representation, it was great.
But the characters felt a little flat, I didn't get most of their motivations, specially the Wil's. Really, I didn't get her, I didn't hate her but I also didn't like her. She's sometimes brave, sometimes doesn't care, it's never clear why she does anything at all!
But it was enjoyable and had all the spooky vibes. A perfect Halloween read for not-fans of scary stuff, and young readers could totally enjoy it