Julie Murphy (2) (1985–)

Maggie and her best friend Nora have been looking forward to attending Camp Rising Star for years, so Maggie feels utterly betrayed when her parents announce she is going to a "wellness camp" instead. Three weeks at fat camp, without Nora? But her parents won't budge, so Maggie goes, and right away it's....weird. Maggie makes fast friends with her bunkmates, Kit (a Girl Scout from Texas) and Evelyn (Black and British), and the three make some ominous discoveries: campers disappearing, mandatory visits to a Blood Bank, an all-red diet in the dining hall, and most of all, Sylvia herself, who might be....a vampire?

Suspenseful and funny, with a hint of romance (cute Californian Logan, whose brother Hudson goes missing), a lot of body positivity, and even a little musical theater.

See also: Second Chance Summer by Sarah Kapit… (more)

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Friday, 26. January 2024 kalafudra
Ramona Blue (Julie Murphy)

Ramona Blue is a novel by Julie Murphy.
Finished on: 13.7.2023

Plot:
Ramona is almost done with high school but that’s the least of her responsibilities. She also has several jobs and her only slightly older sister Hattie is pregnant and Ramona is sure that she will have to take care of her instead of Hattie’s boyfriend who seems pretty useless. That’s when Ramona’s childhood best friend Freddie returns to town. As they rekindle their friendship, Ramona also rediscovers her love for swimming. And she kind of starts to have feelings for Freddie that go beyond the platonic which is extra confusing since Ramona is into girls and always has been. In short, Ramona has some stuff to figure out.

Ramona Blue gave me exactly what I hoped for from a Julie Murphy novel: a breezy read with engaging characters and nice romance, though the romantic part takes a backseat in the overall coming-of-age story. Absolutely lovely.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2024/01/26/ramona-blue-julie-murphy/… (more)