Just A Boy and a Girl In a Little Canoe by Sarah Mlynowski Book Review

“This summer will be great.

I am not the same person I used to be: I am no longer quiet. I am no longer shy. I am no longer eleven. I have a 3.9 GPA!

I live in freakin’ New York City!

And I am normal, dammit!

Totally, utterly normal!”

(pg 28)

About

Author: Sarah Mlynowski

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Other books by Sarah Mlynowski: I See London, I See London and Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have)

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Synopsis

Sam’s summer isn’t off to a great start. Her boyfriend, Eli, ditched her for a European backpacking trip, and now she’s a counselor at Camp Blue Springs: the summer camp her eleven-year-old self swore never to return to. Sam expects the next seven weeks to be a total disaster.

That is, until she meets Gavin, the camp’s sailing instructor, who turns her expectations upside down. Gavin may have gotten the job just for his abs. Or that smile. Or the way he fills Sam’s free time with thrilling encounters—swimming under a cascade of stars, whispering secrets over s’mores, embarking on one (very precarious) canoe ride after dark.

It’s absurd. After all, Sam loves Eli. But one totally absurd, completely off-the-wall summer may be just what Sam needs. And maybe, just maybe, it will teach her something about what she really wants. 

Review

Spoilers Contained Below

Dear campers,

This was an easy, fast read that I devoured like an ice cream cone on a hot summer day. It had it’s sweet moments and it’s heat-melting-on-the-floor moments, but it really is a fun read! 💙

Where I grew up, going to summer camp wasn’t really a thing. So I always love reading summer books or camping books in general because they are such a good time. I really enjoyed the camping aspect of this book, of course. I loved all the kids and how cute they were, I think my favorite was Fancy because of how sassy she was. She’s a real firecracker. I also loved how all the kids loved to sneakily eat candy or when they came right off the bus, they complained about how hungry they were and they started offering each other all this food and Sam was like, “How much food did they bring?” You gotta love kids! 😂

I also love how messy kids were because kids and messy go together like peanut butter and jelly. I was kind of surprised that the kids didn’t know how to clean up after themselves, yet alone make a bed because even at eight or ten years old, I think that’s a skill parents should have taught their kids by then. But I can’t judge. I really liked how much thought went into the camp in how the camp counselors went beforehand to set up all the kids’ clothes and belongings to make it feel homey for the kids when they came. I thought that was really cool. I also was surprised how much the kids pushed back on wanting to not shower 😅. They must not really like it, but they do love swimming 😂.

Sam was very overwhelmed and flustered as a first time camp counselor and I have to give her beyond a lot of credit for always putting herself out there to do everything she could to help out. On the day where they were rushing around from one activity to the next, she forgot to tell them to wear their hats and shoes with socks, she forgot their water bottles, and she forgot to tell them to bring a swimsuit to their swim class later on. It was her first day and she was learning. But Sam was a real trooper for going back and forth between the cabin and the different buildings to get all their things. I mean, Talia could have offered to help Sam out a bit more, but I didn’t really feel like Talia cared so much about her role as a counselor as much as Sam did. It is kind of like teachers. As an education major who has observed many teachers, you really know who really loves the job and who would go the extra mile. And the majority of teachers I have had over the years are the type of people like Sam who would go beyond the extra miles to do everything for their kids/students to give them the best experience. I just have so much admiration for people who work in education and with kids in general because gosh only knows educators don’t do it for the money. Not with the under appreciated paychecks they get 😕.

Part of the reason Sam was so determined to be a good counselor was to prove that she could also be a teacher one day, which I liked. Because she took this job to gain experience working with kids. So it was giving her valuable skills and it was teaching her how to be patient. It also made her have more leadership skills to speak up and take initiative, which is something that would work well if Sam continues on the path of becoming a teacher. In the beginning of the book it was difficult for Sam to command the girls because she was scared and she didn’t want to overstep, but that meant they were overstepping her. But over the course of the book, the girls really listened to her and I could tell how comfortable and confident Sam became with speaking up and taking leadership. She did all those activities and when Danish had to do something, Sam stepped up for her. I just really admired Sam’s go-get-em’ personality and attitude. However, I didn’t like the part of her that felt like she needed to prove that she was a good counselor to others because of her previous experience at camp last time.

I couldn’t believe kids would actually be so RIDICULOUS to call her Porny?! 😆 The real question was how did Zoe even know what porn was to call her Prony? 🤔 Am I right? Because I didn’t know what that was until high school, and no, I have NOT and WILL NOT watch it, so don’t ask. I found out because people would make all these jokes about guys and . . . ugh I don’t want to get into it 😂. It just seemed so mean to call her Porny because Sam tripped on the steps out of the showers and flashed all her lady bits to people. I’m sorry, what happened to people squeezing their eyes shut when people flash?!! Heck, if I was an awkward ten year old and I saw someone flash, I would close my eyes because that’s what society has taught me. And I don’t know . . . all these girls had the same body parts so I don’t know who they were trying to tease at. It sucked though because Sam mentioned how when she was at that age, her body was already going through puberty a lot sooner than the other girls—she had bigger breasts and all—and that’s BEYOND AWKWARD. I would say I went through puberty a bit earlier than some of my friends. I was in a dance company for years and there were four levels of jazz and I was in junior jazz, which was for 8-12 year olds and then teen jazz for 13-16 year olds. I was 10 or 11, I don’t really remember, but my body was changing. Everyone in my class was younger than me and they weren’t getting curves or boobs, so OF COURSE, I felt AWKWARD. And it didn’t help when the class made it a new rule that we would have sports bra Thursday’s, meaning we would wear our jazz tights, shorts, shoes, and nothing but a sports bra. And I’m a little softer than other girls and with my body changing with boobs and curves, there’s nothing more awkward than being the oldest kid in a room full of pubescent kids when you’re going through it and you’re in nothing but a sports bra that shows your stomach and your growing buds. IT’S FREAKING AWKWARD.

So I can FULLY understand the discomfort and mortification Sam must have felt.

It truly never leaves you because it’s not an experience to have—-it’s traumatizing.

Not saying I was traumatized by my experience—-scarred? maybe—–but I could understand how flashing everyone at camp and then being labeled as Porny could be so.

So Sam was trying everything to put that in the past and to prove that she wasn’t that person who people could tease. When Lis kept bringing up the nickname Porny (because when they were younger Lis was there when Sam was there), I just found it very disrespectful because sure to her it might have meant nothing or it might have been a joke, but couldn’t Lis see how uncomfortable Sam would get whenever she said it? I don’t know. And I didn’t like how Talia would use it too. It wasn’t necessary.

While I’m talking about Lis and Talia, let me just say I wasn’t their biggest fan. They seemed like fake friends 🙈. They seemed like whiners, prunes, and petty. For one, they never did anything unless they were told or they had to. They always sat around, expecting Sam to do everything and after a while Sam picked that up and she realized she couldn’t rely on them to do anything so she would have to do things herself. That’s such a sucky position to be in. It’s like being the only one doing the group project while others sit on the side and get credit for the real person’s work. Been there, don’t like that 😂. And I didn’t like how Talia gave Sam the cold shoulder when they first met. I understand why Tlaia would have been mad at Sam because Sam left her to set up everything when Sam was with her boyfriend, but then afterwards it just felt like Talia used this to guilt Sam the rest of the weeks to do things. Second, they gossiped like no one’s business. I think it says a lot about people when they talk trash about others because they don’t have anything better to talk about. There was something someone said in how if you’re only friends with people and you gossip together, it makes you no better. Something like that. And it just hit home here. Because it just seemed like Talia and Lis had nothing better to do but stew in their prudishness and beachiness. Third, I genuinely didn’t like how Lis and Talia were such PRUNES to Janelle.I’m sorry, how is wearing tube tops and not shaving your armpits weird? 😂

THEY ARE SOOOOOOOO PETTTTTYYTYTYTYYTYT!

MY GOSH.

I don’t wear tube tops because that’s not my style, but there are days I don’t shave my armpits. Am I weird? Gosh, if Janelle doesn’t want to shave her armpits, let her LIVE!

And tube tops?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH TUBE TOPS?

I don’t know 🤪.

Honestly, they were just looking for something to hate about Janelle so they did. I detest people like that. And it was because Janelle was “different.” I detest when people say other people are “weird” or “different” because that person has a good attitude and is positive. Being positive and having a good attitude isn’t weird or different, it means that person hasn’t let the world’s anger, hate, bitterness, and jealousy get to them. I mean, it was obvious that Talia and Lis didn’t like Janelle because she was so bubbly and they weren’t used to people being so nice and positive. They were used to hate and to have their guards up. They even said that. Talia used to get teased by other girls at her old school so her teasing Janelle and finding ways to hate her was her way of putting up her guard because it was easier to stoop so low. But it’s such a sad world where we think positivity and happiness are things to shun a person for because we’re jealous of that.

Janelle was just living her best life and she was such a good person. She had nothing but optimism in every situation and whenever Sam needed someone, she could count on Janelle.

I also didn’t like how Talia spread the hairbrush story near and far because my gosh was that rude and wrong. You know, people masturbate and it’s not something people talk about because it’s uncomfortable, but I don’t think it’s right to shame anyone for what they do. And it sure as heck wasn’t right for everyone to spread that story about Janelle and to shame her for it when they probably do things for pleasure too. I also don’t think it’s right to shame anyone for what they wear i.e. the tube tops. I didn’t like how Sam knew about the story and she didn’t tell Janelle because she was too focused on fitting in and not angering anyone. Sam should have been a loyal friend and told her sooner.

So I really loved it when Sam POPPED OFF on Lis and Talia and told them to stop!! 👏🏼 Honestly, she should have done that WWWWWAAAAYYY sooner. Because Sam knew the way they talked about Janelle and the way they treated her was wrong, but she did nothing. She told them that they were all freaks because Talia sanitized her hands too much and Lis wrote her name everywhere on the walls. They had no right to judge her when they all had things that made them “weird.” I mean, aren’t we all freaks and weirdos? 😄 I am proud.

The romance in this book was messy and just RIDICULOUS 🤪. Not in a bad way, just a what-the-heck kind of way.

In the beginning, it felt very clingy the way Eli and Sam would always talk to each other. LIKE GOODNESS GRACIOUS GET A LIFE!!! 😂 Sam needed to focus on her campers and Eli needed to enjoy being in Europe. Gosh knows I would. Yes, it was sweet that he loved Cath and wanted to talk to her all the time, but the girl was tired each day and she still tried to make the effort to call him and he would get mad. He really needed to cut the attitude. She was working her butt off, she barely had cell service, and she was running around like a headless chicken. She didn’t need his whiny baby voice asking for attention. Eli was on vacation, last time I checked he could have been more understanding. Then after a while, I could feel the tension in their conversation and that they were becoming distant and angry at each other because she wasn’t making the time and he wasn’t understanding her and yada yada yada.

Now let’s cut to Gavin.

I just didn’t feel it 😂. I TRULY felt like the only reason Sam liked Gavin was because she was angry at Eli and she liked Gavins butt and his abs. I mean the majority of the first half of the book, it was like abb central and she codlin not stop describing the dips and curves of Gavin’s abs. I just want to know, why do all males in books need to have abs to be attractive? II kid you not, there was a point where she checked out his butt in jeans and said something about how good his butt filled out the jeans. I WAS LAUGHING!!! SAM!! YOU DON’T LIKE HIM, YOU LUST HIM. It just wasn’t love.

And it just made absolutely no sense to me at the end why she went through all the trouble to cheat on Eli for a relationship she knew was never going to be more than fling? I mean, Sam, what were you doing? Not to judge, but she said she knew she wasn’t going to be with Gavin, yet she did all of it anyway.

It was fun for her, but heck, people got hurt.

I would just like to say, it was unfair of her to be jealous that Eli was traveling with a group of pretty girls when she kissed a guy and did the nasty with a guy. Honey, she didn’t deserve to be jealous when she actually did something—-cheated. After their first kiss, every moment was a kissing moment and it was TOO MUCH!! And she said from the very beginning with Gavin that they would only kiss, but somehow they ended up sleeping together on a freaking whim because she had that conversation with Eli and it didn’t go well! Like girl, I thought we established BOUNDARIES!!! 🤪 And let’s not even talk about Sam cheating, what about Gavin cheating! Because gosh knows he was a hormonal cool guy with abs who probably knew he could get anyyyyy girl and he was looking for a fling. He got a fling, he got EXACTLY what he wanted. He sweet talked her and everything and made sure to give her the wink and the touchy feely’s. Seriously though, HE SCREAMED F BOY!!! 😂 Like my gosh, if he was in a serious relationship with his girlfriend Kat, I don’t think he should be feeling Sam up intentionally. And don’t even get me started on how it’s just not right to touch anyone without consent.

I just COULD NOT.

I mean, if they were both content and happy in their relationships, they wouldn’t have felt the need to cheat. It was kind of like what Botts said about Danish and her girlfriend in how other counselors were crushing on Danish, but Danish only had eyes for her girlfriend. So something was wrong in Gavin and Sam’s relationships that they were looking for love with someone else. And I think it just excited Sam to do something—literally 😂—–rebellious or exciting like having a summer “boyfriend” who’s not her boyfriend. What were the chances that Kat and Eli were traveling Europe together in the first place? GOSH, AKA-AWKWARD! I was waiting for the call or the photo where Eli and Kat kissed or something then that would have been something, am I right? 😆

But Kat did cheat, she kissed a French guy, which I don’t blame her 🙈 and good for her because gosh knows GAVIN WAS OUT HERE GETTING MORE THAN SOME FRENCH KISSES!!!! 😂 I’m just thoroughly curious as to if he’s done this before with multiple women because my gosh Kat deserved better! I mean, what a mature girl to actually call Gavin and to call things off before things crossed a line with the French guy. I liked how she had the guts to call him and say that she cheated and that she didn’t want to do that to him. I mean, Gavin can’t say the same. And yea, I get it, being broken up with sucks, but did he really feel sad about it? 🤪 I don’t think so. Man, he got IT. He wasn’t that broken up about it anyway because if he really REALLY LOVED her, he wouldn’t have felt the need to want to cheat. So no, I don’t think it was fair of him to be all boo-hoo she broke up with me.

I do give a lot of credit to Sam for going to Eli and telling him because that took A LOT OF GUTS. Did you notice it’s the women who have the guts? 😂 OOOOH, MEN *Shakes head* When Eli first came back to visit her though, I thought it was SOOOOO WEIRD and SLEAZY that the first thing he wanted to do was sleep with her and then he got LIVID when she fell asleep 😂. That’s such a hormonal male thing to do. I mean, sex isn’t everything people, couldn’t he just have sat down to dinner with his beautiful girlfriend and talked about his Europe adventures and her camp life rather than putting all this expectations that they had to DO IT?! I just didn’t like that he was SOOOOOO PETULANT about it like a BIG BABY. LIKE KEEP YOUR WEEN IN YOUR GREY SWEATPANTS!!! MY GOSH! 😂 I bet he would have been turned off if he knew his girlfriend slept with another boy before him. Ugh, I felt bad for him.

And it made my heart break when he started to cry when Sam told him she cheated. I mean, it had to be BEYOND hard to do that, but it was the right thing to do given how far in she was with the situation. Eli deserved the truth. I don’t blame him for not taking her back right away and needing time because heck, he was on a Europe vacation and he wasn’t unfaithful for a second and his girlfriend was. He loved her. She broke that when she decided her jealousy and her want for something new was more than her love for Eli. I think she should have broken it off when she knew she had feelings for Gavin because at least then it would have saved all this hurt and maybe Eli would have taken her back one day. But she broke that trust and I don’t blame him for not taking her back ever. He deserved someone who was going to love him and be loyal.

Here’s the thing, did Gavin EVER tell Kat that he cheated on her????!??!?!?!!??!?! 🧐😆

Because THERE IS NNNNNNOOOOOOOO WAAAYAYAYYYAYYYYAYAYAY IN HECK SHE WOULD TAKE HIM BACK IF SHE KNEW HE CHEATED. Or I think there would be no way in heck she would take him back. I bet he didn’t tell her. 😂 He seems like that kind of guy. And if he did, I think they both forgave each other because they both cheated and somehow that’s okay because they’re even. That doesn’t seem right either way. So I’m going with the idea she just doesn’t know and he’s playing the victim card and she took him back.

F BOY AND I KNOW IT 😂. And what DULL PERSON to not go back to camp the next year because he’s going to take a banking job. Not that banking is dull, but for someone who could either choose camp or banking, he should have chosen camp. I think he’s avoiding camp because Sam would be there, which I guess is good if he wants to mend his relationship and be faithful. But let’s be honest, WE ALL KNOW THAT AIN’T GOING TO LAST. I give it like three months or so and it’s O-V-E-R for them 😆. I don’t know, Kat deserves better.

So I realllllly just didn’t like how the whole book Sam and Gavin had this whole summer fling with each other knowing nothing more was going to come of it and in the end the F boy wins and Sam ruined her relationship because she wanted to have fun with an F boy. Just didn’t seem worth it. 😆

I also didn’t really feel like we got to know Gavin as a person. Sure, we know he had abs and a butt and that he loved kids, but I didn’t really feel connected to his character. I liked that he liked kids and that he would help out Sam whenever she needed it. Whether or not he helped her to get her to sleep with him, I don’t know. But there was this whole underlying storyline where his dad was sick and I felt like this could have been expanded on because it would have added more storyline and depth to him. I think having his dad in the hospital would have had more of an effect on Gavin, but it never seemed like it. It also made me wonder if when Gavin had calls with Kat and he seemed upset in Sam’s eyes, were those calls really with this dad? Was he staying close to home and not at camp because of his dad? I’m not sure. But I would have liked to have read that about him.

Sam’s parent relationship was also kind of nonexistent. She said her parents argued all the time and were uninterested in her life, which seemed very sad. She also mentioned how her dad had fallen ill and that he was doing better now, but the mom and him didn’t do anything because it was a hassle. Sam thought her parents would divorce now that she was older because it was obvious they didn’t love each other, so this would have been another storyline that could have been developed in some way. Or at least have the parents try to reach out to her at one point so we knew they existed. I know the family’s not a big part of the book, but family matters.

I did like how Sam grew more confident because like I put in the beginning quote, she was trying so hard to be “normal” and I liked how she really came into her own skin and how proud she was of herself. I knew at one point we would have to see Zoe Buckham, the person who coined the nickname Porny, and it was the closure Sam needed. It’s like people like Zoe to not remember how her words hurt others so badly because they don’t know. I found it hurtful how she didn’t even know why she called Sam Porny. I also respected the way Sam didn’t want to give anyone at camp a nickname because she knew all too well how a nickname could scar a person. So I liked how considerate she was there. Because when they say the kindest people are kind because they know what hurt feels like, it’s true. I admired the way Sam stood up for other campers when they would tease each other, especially with Fancy and her sassy mouth. It goes back to how Sam wanted to create a better experience for them than she had.

When she was at camp this time around she had much more fun and it made her realize how she let one bad experience in her past ruin the image she had of camp and what could have been. Because now she had invaluable leadership skills, fun memories, lifelong friendships, and a new place to call home.

Camp was beyond good for her.

My favorite camp moment would have to be the color war because it was sooo fun to see how into it all the campers were.

“Blue moon!” two of the senior boys from our team yell, and then pull down their sweatpants and moon everyone across from them.”

(pg 196)

You gotta love teenage humor 😂.

I also loved how Sam and Gavin were pushed into the pool to find out they won.

The whole color war gave me the Disney Game vibes, if you remember that! 😄 Do you know what I’m talking about? If you do, comment Disney Games and a team color 💙.

I also enjoyed the moment where Fancy and Sam bonded and Fancy stayed in the infirmary with Fancy. It was a cute scene. Or that moment she had with Slugger when her parents didn’t show up and Sam stayed with her the whole day because Sam’s parents didn’t show up too. I liked how she put herself out there to be there for her kids. It truly showed her love and passion. I also loved it when Sam came back after her first day off and all the girls hugged her because they missed her a lot. And she got them donuts. Because they definitely needed more sugar! I would have liked to see more moments with the olympic games they had because I bet it would have been such a fun scene.

The ending where all the girls were leaving camp, made my heart tear up because it was such a sad thing to see all the girls go. It was cute how much they would miss Sam. It reminded me of the scene before visiting day when they were making the cards about Sam and how they thought she was great. It was super cute! Sam would make a great teacher.

Besides the romance, I really just love the cozy, happy camp vibes and would have loved to see more with that. I would have loved to see more friendships or maybe a more inclusive array of different kids at camp because that would be fun 😊.

But enough about what I thought, what did you think of the book? What was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? Anything I mentioned that you want to discuss more about? Have you ever been to a camp before and what was your experience like?

Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊

And as always, with love,

Rating

4.28 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: Enjoyed Sam’s growth as a character, but there were also some pretty shady things she’s done. But you know what, she tried to be a good person, so I give her props there. 😅 I also loved all the campers and the community of people we see.

Plot: I love the whole summer camp vibes of the book, such a fun time!

Writing: Sarah Mlynowski writes with the ease and tease of a summer romance.

Romance: SCANDALOUS 😂