Camp
Elaine Wolf, 2012
Sky Pony Express
259 pp.
9781632204226
Summary
Amy Becker’s mother holds a dark secret. In fact, her whole past is a secret.
All Amy knows is that her mother came from Germany—and that her mother doesn’t love her. That icy voice. Those rigid rules of how to eat, dress, walk, talk, and think. No matter what Amy does, no matter how much she follows the rules, she just can’t earn her mother’s love.
But everything changes that summer of 1963, when fourteen-year-old Amy is sent to Camp Takawanda for Girls. Takawanda, where all the rules get broken. Takawanda, where mean girls practice bullying as if it were a sport. Takawanda, where Amy’s cousin unveils the truth about Amy’s mother, setting in motion a tragic event that changes Amy and her family forever.
Author Bio
• Birth—1948
• Raised—Great Neck, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., M.A., New York University
• Currently—lives in Los Angeles, California
Known as “the anti-bullying novelist,” Elaine Wolf writes about what really goes on behind the closed gates and doors of our camps and schools. The issues she explores in her novels are those she is passionate about and knows well.
She was a camper and camp counselor for many summers. When she entered “the real world,” she taught in public schools in California and New York. In her most recent teaching position, she served as a high school reading specialist, and then she became the district language arts chairperson. In that position, Wolf designed and supervised reading and writing programs for students at all grade levels, facilitated reading groups and writers’ workshops, and selected books for classroom libraries as well as for ancillary and summer reading lists.
One of the author’s greatest joys was getting wonderful books into the hands of students, teachers, and parents. In the time before Kindles and iPads, she spent countless hours stocking shelves with “good reads.” And she dreamed of seeing her books on those shelves. Now she is thrilled that Camp and Danny’s Mom are there.
Although critics call her novels “mesmerizing” and "must-reads," what pleases Wolf more than great reviews is the fact that Camp and Danny’s Mom have given her a literal bully pulpit—a platform from which to carry on the anti-bullying conversation so that, in concert with professionals, we will make our camps and schools kinder, more embracing communities for everyone. Wolf is committed to keeping this conversation going until the bullying epidemic ends.
The author and her husband raised their children in Roslyn, New York, where she was a co-facilitator of an adult writers’ workshop. Then they moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, a community brimming with readers, writers, artists, and musicians. Shortly after settling there, Wolf won a prize for short fiction (the perfect welcome for her). Currently, she and her husband live in Los Angeles, California. (From the author.)
Visit the author's website.
Follow Elaine on Facebook.
Book Reviews
Tough to stop reading…rings sadly true.
Booklist
A must-read for teenage girls struggling to enter the adult world.
Children’s Literature
A perfect ten!
VOYA
A beautifully written and important story about bullying and the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship that is a must read!
mompopculture.com
A fascinating, emotional tale. A perfect addition to any reading list.
examiner.com
This book grabs you and shakes you down to your core. It’s rare, unique, and to be treasured. Elaine Wolf deserves tremendous praise for her amazing talent.
UniquelyMoiBooks.com
I refused to stop reading until I had finished Camp.
Nerdy Book Club
There’s something in Camp that will resonate with every reader. This is a story about the horrors of bullying, the bonds of family, the power of memory, and the strength that one can find in the most unlikely places. Get it now.
TheWriteTeachers
An excellent book for mothers and daughters to read together. I would definitely read Elaine Wolf again!
I’dSoRatherBeReading.com
Impossible to put down until you reach the final word.
ratherbereadingblog.com
I loved this book and think it’s suitable for all ages. It should be required reading in schools.
I’d Rather Be Reading At The Beach
Camp is definitely a book that should be read and discussed. It’s intense, surprising, and chock full of emotion.
YAloveblog.com
Discussion Questions
1. The most realistic characters in novels evoke our sympathy at times and our lack of sympathy at other times. When and why do you have sympathy for Amy? And when, if ever, don’t you have sympathy for her? Using this framework, discuss Amy’s mother, her father, and Rory as characters for whom you feel sympathy at some times and a lack of sympathy at others.
2. There are many interesting relationships in Camp. Discuss the relationship between Amy and her mother; the relationship between Amy and her brother, Charlie; Amy and her cousin, Robin; Amy’s father and his brother, Uncle Ed; and Amy’s mother and Uncle Ed.
3. Another interesting relationship is the one between Amy’s mother and father. Why do you think Amy’s father doesn’t stand up to her mother? Is Amy’s father a good father? Why or why not?
4. Why does Amy say she hates her mother? Why does her mother’s accent bother Amy so much? Do you think children of immigrants often feel embarrassed by their parents? If so, why?
5. Even though Amy says she hates her mother, she still seeks her mother’s approval. She wants her mother to think she’s popular, smart, and pretty. Why?
6. Early in the novel, Amy wonders why her mother needs everything to be done in a particular way. “But why this requirement of perfection,” Amy asks herself, “those stupid rules that governed our lives?” Why do you think Amy’s mother imposes this requirement of perfection? What function do her rules serve for her? And why is Amy’s mother obsessed with appearances?
7. The characters in Camp make many choices. What motivates the choices that Amy, her mother, her father, Rory, Erin, Uncle Ed, and Patsy make? While reading, how did you feel about their choices? After reading, do you have new insights about the choices they make?
8. Why does Amy lie in her letters? Why doesn’t she tell anyone what’s really happening at Camp Takawanda? What do you think could have or would have happened had Amy told the truth?
9. At the beginning of the camp season, when Rory threatens Amy with “a special introduction” to the kitchen boys, Amy can’t find her voice. Why can’t she talk back to Rory? What do you think you might have done if you were Amy? What might you have done if you were one of the other campers?
10. Critics call Camp a multi-layered story with many themes. Some say it’s a novel about trying to fit in; others say it’s about secrets; still others write that it’s mainly about bullying. What do you think are the main themes of Camp?
11. Camp has been described as “a story about the collateral damage of secrets.” Which characters hold secrets? What purposes do secrets serve for these characters? What harm is caused by the secrets in this novel?
12. Who are the bullies in Camp? How do they elicit fear and compliance? How do they maintain their power?
13. Why does Rory choose a new target after visiting day? What does that tell us about bullies? Why do you think Amy’s cousin, Robin, sides with Rory?
14. Could Nancy, the head counselor, have stopped the bullying? Should Clarence, who is in charge of the kitchen, have intervened? Is Uncle Ed also to blame? Why doesn’t he take action?
15. Do you think Erin is a good friend to Amy? Why or why not? What are the characteristics of a good friend?
16. There are several recurring sayings or expressions in this story—“everything in its place, and a place for every think,” for example. What are some other repeated sayings? How do they add to your reading of Camp?
17. Discuss the symbolism of Amy’s mother’s metal box, of her perfectly fluffed pillows, and of Amy’s Russian nesting dolls.
18. Camp is often called a coming-of-age novel. By the time Amy leaves camp, she is quite different from how she is when she arrives. What lessons does Amy learn at camp? What does Amy want at the beginning of the summer? What does she want at the end? Does she get what she wants? If so, what price does she pay to attain it?
19. At the end of Camp, we learn about Amy’s mother’s history. Does her background justify the way in which she treats her children? Do you feel differently about Amy’s mother after you know her story? Toward the beginning of Camp, Amy wonders: “Why couldn’t my mother just love us?” What is the answer to that question? And how does Amy come to forgive her mother?
20. There are two epigraphs at the beginning of the novel. One is attributed to William Faulkner: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” The other is from Anne Michaels: “My parents' past is mine molecularly.” Discuss these quotes as they relate to Camp.
(Questions courtesy of the author.)