Camp Creepy Time by Gina Gershon, Dann Gershon

From the Publisher

Einstein P. Fleet is forced to attend camp in the desert despite his best arguments, and man-eating spiders are the least of his problems. The camp is haunted, the campers are turning into monsters, and his counselors are aliens plotting to sell the kids to an intergalactic zoo (once they completely transform into mummies, vampires, and werewolves). He writes home and relays his predicament, but his parents don't believe a word of it—even though it's entirely true.

Einstein may have been able to uncover government plots and survive seventh grade, but will he be able to save himself and his fellow campers from a terrifying fate?

People Magazine

Actress Gershon and her brother's spooky sleep-away-camp cautionary will make your tween happy he's vacationing with you old folks.

Lauralyn PerssonCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information. - School Library Journal

Gr 5-7
Einstein, a 13-year-old Twinkie addict/blogger, is dreading his upcoming stay at Camp Creepy Time, even though the brochure shows gourmet meals, horseback riding, and a sparkling lake. Of course, his clueless parents believe the claims of this glossy leaflet, so they send him off and look forward to a carefree summer alone. For Einstein, though, things get very creepy very quickly, from campers in monster costumes to a godforsaken location (the ramshackle buildings are surrounded by a vast desert full of nocturnal predators) to evil staff members who serve horrible food and dispense mysterious salt tablets, which have hideous consequences for the campers. The authors have a way with words and are on target for the type of sarcastic humor that will amuse some children. But the plot structure just seems to pile events on top of events, with no rhythm or dynamic sense and deteriorates into a hodgepodge of monsters and aliens. Einstein's main emotion seems to be resentment, making it hard for readers to relate to him. Without an emotional core and much focus, the book makes one appreciate those who do this type of story well, such as Bruce Coville and Daniel Pinkwater. Suggest Kate Klise's Letters from Camp (Avon, 1999), whose villains are both subtler and scarier.

Kirkus Reviews

Chubby 13-year-old Einstein Fleet has no desire to go to summer camp-especially a classic-movie-monster-themed camp. He'd rather stay home and work on his conspiracy theory website, The Smoking Peashooter. When he arrives at Camp Creepy Time, he finds weird campers are only the beginning of his problems. The counselors are insane, the food is nonexistent and the Arizona weather is unbearable. All his theories prove true this time: The counselors are aliens and they want to turn the campers into actual classic-movie monsters to be featured in an intergalactic zoo. It's up to Einstein and Roxie (a fellow camper who turns out to be an outer-space FBI agent of sorts) to save the day-which they do, deftly setting up the sequel. Actress Gershon and her older brother have concocted a bizarre brew of sci-fi, humor, horror and pop culture. The fans of the fart jokes might miss the cultural jibes, but this addition to the huge canon of reluctant-camper literature will likely find an audience. (Fiction. 11-14)

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