08 Dec / Brain Camp by Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan, art by Faith Erin Hicks, color by Hilary Sycamore
Checking my inbox yesterday, I received quite a flurry of emails highlighting the latest announcement that Chinese students are outscoring all other students in international standardized testing, with their U.S. counterparts ranked 23 or 24 “in most subjects,” and average math scores “below 30 other countries.” Here’s the link to the New York Times article: “Top Test Scores From Shanghai Stun Educators.” I even had couple of emails with links to livetime announcements, webinars, and seminars to ‘deal’ with this news.
Given such a reaction, I thought a little Brain Camp reminder might make an appropriate day-after antidote … or, at the very least, provide a moment or two of subversive comic relief …! Then we can all go ‘deal’ …
While the target audience for this seemingly goofy graphic adventure is middle school and maybe younger high school kids, today’s overstressed parents of the … shall we say … hovering variety … would do well to take a few minutes and peruse this title.
Jenna Chun, stuck in a New Jersey suburb surrounded by overachievers (even in her own family), and Lucas Meyer, who lives in a Queens hovel with his alcoholic mother, have nothing to do over the summer break … mainly because they were rejected by just about every available program.
One dark night, a mysterious stranger appears at each of their houses, offering the desperate parents an auspicious option at Camp Fielding for their less-than-motivated children. Dr. and Dr. Chun are thrilled when they realize Camp Fielding is where Stella Park got transformed into the smart kid now at Yale; Mrs. Meyer recognizes the place as “that camp that was on Oprah.” What a lucky honor that Jenna and Lucas are unexpectedly being offered spots there … and camp starts tomorrow!
At first meeting, Jenna is convinced Lucas is a “thug,” while Lucas dismisses Jenna as a “freak.” But strange circumstances bring them (closely) together … and the dynamic duo quickly realize they have a lot more to worry about than Camp Fielding’s promise to drastically improve their SAT scores.
For all its silliness, Brain Camp is an undeniable nudge (resounding smack?) at all the preposterous things parents are willing to do to give their children any small step up on the ever-ridiculous road to so-called achievement. Authors Kim and Klavan (with the help of Hicks’ art) throw in dead chicken-lookalikes, new-age mazes, vaccines with mere temporary side effects, and even an “Egg head” Secretary of Education, to both entertain and remind readers of just what happens when someone else’s definition of achievement becomes more important than creativity and childhood.
Laugh at first, yes … but then make sure you don’t make the same mistakes …
Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult
Published: 2010