Camp QUILTBAG

Nicole Melleby, A. J. Sass — 2023

From the acclaimed authors of Hurricane Season and Ana on the Edge, an unforgettable story about the importance of and joy in finding a community, for fans of Alex Gino and Ashley Herring-Blake. Twelve-year-old Abigail (she/her/hers) is so excited to spend her summer at Camp QUILTBAG, an inclusive retreat for queer and trans kids. She can’t wait to find a community where she can be herself—and, she hopes, admit her crush on Laura Dern to kids who will understand. Thirteen-year-old Kai (e/em/eir) is not as excited. E just wants to hang out with eir best friend and eir parkour team. And e definitely does not want to think about the incident that left eir arm in a sling—the incident that also made Kai’s parents determined to send em somewhere e can feel like emself. After a bit of a rocky start at camp, Abigail and Kai make a pact to help each other find their footing, all while navigating crushes, their queer identities, and a competition pitting cabin against cabin.

Reviews

Paige Green@popthebutterfly

Mar 29, 2023

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Camp QUILTBAG

Author: Nicole Melleby & A.J. Sass

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: Lesbian MC, Non-binary Jewish MC who uses neopronouns, POC characters, Black Lesbian character, Jewish gay character, Black Trans Pansexual character with Autism, Trans character, Character who doesn’t use pronouns, Gender Fluid character

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, queer, LGBT, contemporary, camp book

Publication Date: March 21, 2023

Genre: MG Contemporary

Age Relevance: 12+ (homophobia, body dysphoria, religion, bullying, deadnaming)

Explanation of Above: There is some homophobia mentioned in the book, along with a deadnaming event mentioned but not shown. There is some discussion about body dysphoria. There is some small mentions of bullying. Judaism is shown and mentioned in the book, including some insight into practices and celebrations/customs and there are some mentions of Catholicism as well.

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Pages: 352

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Abigail (she/her/hers) is so excited to spend her summer at Camp QUILTBAG, an inclusive retreat for queer and trans kids. She can’t wait to find a community where she can be herself—and, she hopes, admit her crush on Laura Dern to kids who will understand.

Thirteen-year-old Kai (e/em/eir) is not as excited. E just wants to hang out with eir best friend and eir parkour team. And e definitely does not want to think about the incident that left eir arm in a sling—the incident that also made Kai’s parents determined to send em somewhere e can feel like emself.

After a bit of a rocky start at camp, Abigail and Kai make a pact to help each other find their footing, all while navigating crushes, their queer identities, and a competition pitting cabin against cabin.

Review: I really liked this book overall! I thought the concept of a queer camp for young children is amazing and I loved how much diversity there was in this book. The book is about two characters who are either outted or come out during the school year and, because they’re having a hard time at school with that, they are sent to a Queer Camp to help them get friends and make good memories. The course of the events see these two main characters make a pact to help each other during a competition and the turn of events that happens by the end of the camp season. The book had a main character that uses neopornouns and I loved seeing and exploring that in this book. The book did well with the duel POV and the voices felt distinct. The gender inclusivity and understanding in this book really made it a special read and one I’ll frequently recommend from now one.

The only issue I had with the book is that it was a little hard to get into in the beginning and there was A LOT of characters to remember, but I loved it regardless.

Verdict: I highly recommend this one!