Not a fan of the twist. It didn't really make sense. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. Halley

Plot Summary: Halley doesn't want to move away from her best friend but her dad's take her to Seattle, where they encourage her to go to Very Best Friend overnight camp so she can make new friends in her new city. Halley doesn't want to but her last minute effort to make a friend at the library doesn't work, so the van picks her up for camp. There she very reluctantly starts conversations with her roommate, who very quickly announces she doesn't want a new friend either, and Qwerty, who just talks and talks and talks. When the kids figure out that something is really weird about the camp, they work together to investigate. What will they find out? Will they ever make it home?

Setting: moved from Portland, OR to Seattle, WA

Characters:
Halley - loves looking at the night sky
Vega - Halley's best friend, packs presents for Halley in her stuff
George Washington - keeps changing his persona
Qwerty - talks a lot, super smart
Gemma - Halley's bunkmate
Isaac - Gemma's twin

Recurring Themes: moving, friendship, trying new things, camp, space

Controversial Issues: Halley has two dads

Personal Thoughts: I was definitely thrown off by the science fiction aspect of this book! Overall, it's a warm story about friendship and moving. It is a popular book at my school.

Genre: science fiction

Pacing: fast, graphic novel
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )

I was totally charmed and taken off guard by this book -- Vega loves astronomy and living in Portland, and her best friend. When her dads move the family to Seattle, she's worried about finding new friends, so they send her to a friendship camp that is weird and creepy and so very Pacific Northwest. Except not, because it turns out she's not wrong that the camp has a robot vibe and the story unfurls from there. ( )

I was on board with the beginning of this one, a girl who’s into astronomy has to move away from her only friend and her dads send her to camp in hopes that she’ll bond with someone else. Initially this seemed like a straight up contemporary summer camp story focused on friendship that could be fun and heartfelt.

The middle section however is where this took a turn into another genre that just wasn’t for me though I could see other readers, particularly the intended younger audience enjoying that twist. Even more of an issue than the sudden genre switch up, I felt like the middle could have used a little more character development.

Long Distance did wrap up in a satisfying way that circled back to the contemporary feel of the beginning it just unfortunately wasn’t enough to overcome the middle. ( )

This is just too much fun packed into one book. The beginning is a little slow, but it is all worth it in the end. Vega has to move from Portland to Seattle, and she is not happy about it. She is even more annoyed when her dads send her to camp for the soul purpose of making new friends. She doesn’t need new friends because she still has her best friend in Portland, but Dad and Pops insist. Camp is weird. There are some cool kids like Qwerty, Gemma, and Issac, but other things are just not right. Plus George Washington, the kid from the camp brochure, is not only weird but annoying. Follow along as the camp kids figure out what is going on at camp, come to everyone’s rescue and actually make new friends. This book was a really fun romp. It reads quickly and will leave the reader craving more from this author. ( )