The third and final installment of this summer camp series is out now. I’ll share the same warning after reviewing the second book (CAMP AVERAGE DOUBLE FOUL): Start with book one (CAMP AVERAGE). The number of camp characters to keep track of will have your head spinning if you don’t start at the top.

Here’s what the campers are up to in Away Games:

It’s another summer at Camp Avalon―also known as Camp Average to its campers―only this year, things are anything but normal. Mack and Andre are spending the summer at rival Camp Killington, where the competitive campers seem intent on making them suffer.
Meanwhile, at Camp Average, Miles is trying to keep the peace―which is not easy, due to obnoxious newcomer Garth and his pranks. On top of that, Miles has another impossible task on his plate: getting Mack and Andre back on home turf.
Things come to a head when Mack and Andre are forced apart, and Cassie challenges Garth to a do-or-die ball hockey showdown. Will the Camp Average crew find their way back together and come out on top? In this third and final addition to the series, the campers rally to support each other and discover once more how teamwork and cooperation win.

The author made some great choices with the sports played in Book 3 as they rarely get mentioned in MG lit. There’s croquet and also ball hockey—who even knew this was a sport? It was interesting to visualize how this was played though each game. It’s a lot like hockey without the skates.

No matter whether you’re male or female, a favorite camper will for sure come forth. Nice to see the girl characters equal or better in their skills than the boys. Kids will also enjoy that the adults are rarely mentioned and the counselors are fairly laid back in their approach to dealing with problems and interactions. The story always stays close to the 13-year-olds in every scene.

Summer camp, sports, and a few laughs. The perfect combination and the series provides all three.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Craig Battle is the author of five books for young readers, including Camp Average. He is the former editor of OWL magazine and is currently an editor at Sportsnet. Originally from Lantzville, B.C., he now lives in Toronto with his wife, Angela, and son, Reggie.

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I received a copy of the book from the publisher to write this review.

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