Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita

Title: Sleepaway Girls
Author: Jen Calonita
Published: May 2009
Source: Bought
Synopsis from Goodreads:
When Sam's best friend gets her first boyfriend, she's not ready to spend the summer listening to the two of them call each other "pookie." Sick of being a third wheel, Sam applies to be a counselor-in-training at Whispering Pines camp in the New York Catskills. But what she doesn't realize is that it's not going to be all Kumbaya sing-alongs and gooey s'mores. If Ashley, the alpha queen of Whispering Pines, doesn't ruin Sam's summer, then her raging crush on the surfer-blond and flirtatious Hunter just might. At least she has playful Cole, who's always teasing her, but is oh-so-comfortable to hang out with, and the singular gang of girls that become fast friends with Sam-they call themselves the Sleepaway Girls.

Sleepaway Girls is a book about summer camp that's just as fun as actual summer camp! Without all of the bugs, of course. Sam has never been to summer camp before, but decides to be a counseor-in-training at one so that she doesn't have to be the third wheel with her bestfriend and her boyfriend. Sam's a people pleaser, so it's really hard to leave her best friend alone for the summer. When she gets there, she immediately has a crush on the resident hottie of camp, and off limits senior counselor, and is hated by the resident mean girl. A lot of hilarity ensues.

I loved the way that Sams friendship with four of her bunkmates was portrayed. It was very realistic and made me want to hang out with my friends. I also liked the boy troubles that the girls had: it was really funny, but also sweet. I've never been to summer camp, but I thought that all of the activities and duties of a counselor-in-training were realistic. Something that wasn't realistic? ALL of the guys at camp were abercrombie model hot, ALL of them. That is very, very unlikely.

I thought that the book moved a nice pace, though there were times when it was a bit slow and too full of inner dialogue for my tastes. I was always eager to know what Sam would have to do next, and to see when she would run in to one of the guys.  All of the characters had very vibrant personalities. It was a little confusing in the beginning since a lot of the girls had common names and it was hard to tell a few of them apart. That got easier.

Basically, if you're looking for a fun, light summer read that will have you laughing, try this. If you're not a fan of some predictability, then this isn't the books for you.

Characters: 9/1k0
Plot: 8/10
Originality: 9/10
Writing: 8/10
Ending: 8/10
Overall: 42/50 B
Cover/Title Comments: The cover is really cute, I love how the t-shirt has the name of the camp on it. Love the title too!