Girl Drama can be hurtful, tiring, and full of misunderstandings. No more so than in CAMP CLIQUE. Full of who is wearing what and details about the often privileged lives the girls in the bunk house have, the drama here centers on family dynamics and friendship. That’s Bea and Maisy on the cover of this first story in The Popularity Pact series.
Told in alternating viewpoints, these former best friends are front and center in their continued struggle to understand each other and what the future holds. The second book, SCHOOL SQUAD, is forthcoming in October. The setup comes on the final page of CAMP CLIQUE.
THE BACK COVER BLURB
In the blink of a summer, Bea goes from having a best friend and a place she belongs to being dropped and invisible, eating lunch alone and only talking to teachers. The end of sixth grade and the start of Camp Amelia can’t come soon enough.
But then the worst part of school, ex-best friend Maisy, shows up in Bea’s safe place and ruins it all. Maisy lands in the same bunk as Bea and summer suddenly seems dire. Never having camped a day in her life, Maisy agrees: it’s hopeless. She should be at home, spending time with her little sister and hanging out with her super popular crew of friends–not at this stupid adventure camp failing everything and being hated by everyone. In a desperate bid to belong, Maisy offers Bea a deal: if Bea helps her fit in at the camp, she will get Bea into the M & M’s, their town’s popular clique, when they enter seventh grade in the fall. The Popularity Pact is born.
BOOK BIRTHDAY: April 14, 2020 PAGE COUNT: 288
FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT
CAMP CLIQUE by Eileen Moskowitz-Palma
1. Dr. Beth is the psychologist at the camp and my favorite character. The perfect personality with a nice balance of thoughtful listening and gentle advice to nudge Maisy into seeing things another way.
2. I doubt I’ll be able to get any 12-year-old boys to pick this one up, but tween and early teen girls will be talking and sharing this one around.
3. Issues of Popularity, Addiction, Divorce, and Parental dating will be topics familiar to many young readers. How they are handled here will hopefully help them in their own lives.
4. The author does a great job of gradually revealing why Maisy dumped Bea in the first place. It had me guessing most of the way.
5. The food offered at the camp is mouth watering. I don’t remember my camp food being that good.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (For more visit Eileen’s website)
When Eileen Moskowitz-Palma double majored in Elementary Education and English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she thought she would have to choose between a career as a writer or a teacher. It wasn’t until she was almost 40 that she realized she could do both.
Now, Eileen divides her time between writing middle grade novels and teaching Beginner Novel Writing and Writing for Children and Young Adults at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College.
Eileen is a fitness enthusiast and lives a vegan-ish lifestyle unless you count the occasional bacon cheeseburger. She lives in Westchester, NY, with her college sweetheart husband Douglas, their daughter Molly, and their Wire Fox Terrier Oscar, who is one snaggle-tooth away from being a doggy model.
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A busy week here at ALWAYS in the MIDDLE: On Wednesday stop by for the blog tour stop of the newest book in the Explorer Academy series. Enter to win a prize package from National Geographic Kids worth over $100. Five winners in all!
On Friday I’ll have a review of another book girls will be lining up to read.
I also love comments! Feel free to leave one below.
Always in the Middle... 
Yes, this does not sound like a good book for boys. Sounds like it has lots of issues that girls will relate to. Thanks for sharing it.
Girls can be so mean. And it begins early as do the cliques. I’m sure this will be a hot read among girls, as there is so much to identify with. I wouldn’t want to relive those days.
I bet my daughter would enjoy this one. Friendship stories are great!
This sounds like a neat spin on classic MG issues (and settings)! Thanks for the great recommendation!
This sounds really intriguing. Girl friendships can be so complicated at that age. I’m sure lots of tweens will relate. And good camp food! I wish I could say that about my camp growing up.😊
Middle-grade girl drama is always interesting. Thanks for the heads up on this one. I will check it out.
I remember the middle school days of trying to figure out where I belong and how to fit in. Definitely not an easy age, especially for girls and their friendships.
I love how the camp has such wonderful food. I don’t remember food at camp being that good either!
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