Camp Boyfriend By J. K Rock

The summer of her dreams is about to get a reality check.

They said it couldn't be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school halfway across the country. Amazing what losing her braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren's nerves and she can't wait to return to summer camp where she's valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all, her long time camp only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year round status once she's broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn't even begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.

But Matt isn't giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isn't really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she's more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren's friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she's changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?


Lauren is about to commit social suicide. She wants to break up with boyfriend Matt, star quarterback, handsome, popular and the key to having a social status at Jefferson Davis High School. But it isn't enough. Lauren wasn't always popular, infect, far from it. Moving across the country to Texas, with a motherly makeover, dating Matt and becoming a cheerleader, did wonders for her social life. But it's too superficial for Lauren.

Each summer, Lauren spends eight weeks at Camp Juniper Point in the Smoky Mountains, with Seth. Seth is Lauren's summer camp boyfriend, with going their separate ways at the end of each summer, but with this being Seth's last year at camp, Lauren wants more than just a summer romance. Seth is everything that Matt isn't, sensitive, gentle and he's Lauren's first love. He brings out the best in Lauren, who is leaving for camp with the hope that she'll be accepted into the NASA Aerospace Scholars program. But Lauren has changed. Gone is the shy intelligent girl with braces and glasses, but now a girl who appears to be self confident and ready to take on the world, when she's anything but.

Matt is hurting, but not by Lauren's admission. His father is leaving to play house with another woman and the pressure of always being an all round sportsman, popular jock and trendsetter has taken it's toll on Matt. Summer has just became more interesting, when Matt announces that he's attending Camp Juniper Point. He can't stay home and referee two feuding parents and football camp doesn't begin for another four weeks. What will she tell Seth? Her stylish makeover, her designer gear and a hot boyfriend on her arm, Lauren has just been elevated to prima donna status, and Seth and her camp friends definitely won't approve.

Lauren doesn't love Matt, not the way she cares for Seth, the two boys at opposite ends of the scale. Matt is the sportsman, the prankster and the popular one, while Seth is a quiet achiever, enjoys time alone with Lauren and knows the side of her that Matt doesn't know existed... Until now. Word travels fast around Camp that Lauren has brought Matt along, before she has the chance to tell Seth, the mean girls of the Diva's Den will ensure they ruin Lauren's summer. Luckily Lauren has her friends and fellow bunkmates of Munchies Manor for support... Hasn't she?

When Seth leaves camp to take time for himself, Lauren finds a side of Matt she never thought existed, and agrees  to spend the next four weeks with him, without interruption, and then she can make her decision. Just when Lauren begins to fall for the sensitive side of Matt, the gentle and affectionate boy who doesn't want sport to define him, and for the first time, begins to share himself with Lauren, Seth returns, but when starts spending time with another female camper, Lauren realises getting over Seth won't be as easy as she thinks.

Befriending the mean girls, while her regular friends are the target of cruel pranks, Lauren finds herself with no one standing in her corner, when she decides to see neither boy and take the time to find out who she really is, the vain cheerleader on the arm of the popular jock, or the quiet girl who pines all year for her summer romance under the stars. Just maybe... Lauren is a little bit of both.

Camp Boyfriend was a fun read for the teen audience, about love, life and finding your own identity. Lauren is a fickle girl, who I just didn't connect with. Understandably, she can't make a decision and tries to be everyone's friend, with disastrous results, almost ending up with no one. The reader won't know who to hope ends up with Lauren, but it wasn't who I was expecting. I don't know how she came to that decision either. Regardless, it's fun, flirty and lighthearted. A perfect beach read for those who want something that doesn't require your undivided attention.

Goodreads  
Camp Boyfriend
(Camp Boyfriend: Book One)
Written By J. K Rock
Published 02 / 07 / 2013
324 Pages

2 comments

  1. Oh well, sounds like a great summer read or light fluffy contemporary I guess. Thanks for your review!

    Jeann @ Happy Indulgence

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hay Jeann. It isn't bad, but doesn't have much to offer mature young adult readers either. It's entertaining, but there is no real substance. It really is light and fluffy.

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