How to (Almost) Ruin Your Summer

Sweet, funny, and simplistic. Those are the words that quickly sum up How to (Almost) Ruin Your Summer. When Chole is sent to Camp Minnehaha for two weeks, she's not at all certain that this going to be a summer she'll enjoy. She has to deal with mean girls, a crazy goat, and all she really wants to do is learn a skill that will help her earn money for a new bike. If you have a younger aged MG reader who is looking for a summer read, I think they'll enjoy this one.

I'd definitely recommend this to the more junior set of MG readers, as it has a lot of repetition and doesn't quite have the same substance as a lot of books that fall into this age group. That being said, it's a pretty darn adorable read. I had many a flashback to my own summer camp experiences. The food, the friends, the crazy amounts of bugs that were everywhere, I totally understood where Chloe was coming from. I see a lot of kids enjoying Chloe's wild camp adventure, especially if they've been on camp adventures of their own.

This is a true case of a summer that starts out rocky, but ends up working out in the end. I could have done without the typically over the top mean girl character, but it was a nice way to show that sometimes bullies are just insecure. There are so cute moments, and even some deeper moments of actually lesson learning. It's a nice balance.

If you're looking for a quick summer read for your young reader, with a lot of silliness to spare, look no further. How to (Almost) Ruin Your Summer is your winner.