Camp Confidential, Hide and Shriek, by Melissa J. Morgan

Reviewed By: Shannon M.

 

They heard rustling in the leaves.  The dog barked.  Someone is coming…  The book, Camp Confidential, Hide and Shriek, is an unbelievable read.  It is about eleven bunkmates at a camp on Shadow Lake in Pennsylvania, which is the setting of the story.  The girls’ names are Brynn, Alyssa, Natalie, Chelsea, Gaby, Valerie, Tori, Alex, Candace, Jenna, and Priya.  They are the protagonists of the story.  The problem is that the girls don’t get along very well, and they are constantly fighting.  As a result, they are sent on a special camping trip to try to work out their issues.  Unfortunately, on this camping trip, one of the girls goes missing, after a huge fight.  They look for her in the woods, but they are frightened because of an old camp story about a one-armed maniac named Cropsy, who lives in the woods near the lake, and comes out every six years to get revenge for the arm that he lost.  This is year number six. 

I liked this book for many reasons.  Throughout the story, there was never a dull moment.  Whenever it would start to get boring, the author would throw in another twist, and it was exciting again.  I also liked it because the author, Melissa J. Morgan, used rich vocabulary.  This helped me imagine the story much better.  The theme or idea that this book helped me understand better is the value of friendship.  Despite all of their troubles, the girls still become great friends.  They may have started their camping trip as enemies, but when one of their roommates goes missing, they join together and try to look for her.  They do this because they realize no matter how much they don’t want to admit it, they truly are friends. 

Honorable Mention of Other Books:

·       The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

·       Deep Down Popular

·       13 Little Blue Envelopes