Emily has never fit in her overachieving family. Instead of getting straight As, she sits in the back row and hides behind her hair. As a result, her parents have enrolled her at Camp Excel—an academic camp for underachievers—for the summer. Emily doesn’t want to go, and not just because she feels it isn’t necessary. She’s been plagued by a recurring nightmare since she was a child. And there’s something about this camp that feels familiar—has she been there before? Why can’t she remember?
With the help of two new friends, Emily discovers that her nightmare is not just in her head. Someone at Camp Excel has a secret—and will do anything, even murder, to keep Emily from uncovering the truth.
From the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Since childhood, 10th-grade Emily has had nightmares about a shadowy, slimy place where she is entangled with vines and sees a body lying in water. She is so petrified by this dream about the open-mouthed and blankly staring corpse that she is unable to confide in anyone. Her parents are upset because she won't let them help her and are frustrated because she doesn't take after her two brilliant sisters. They send her to Camp Excel, an experimental program for underachievers, where Emily has a sense of deja vu, and her true nightmare begins when she realizes her life is in danger. Elements of suspense and mystery are cleverly integrated with the teen's problems resulting from what she witnessed as a child. Readers will once again fall under Nixon's spell as they enjoy this page-turner. Susan Cooley, formerly at Tower Hill School, Wilmington, DE Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Description:
Emily has never fit in her overachieving family. Instead of getting straight As, she sits in the back row and hides behind her hair. As a result, her parents have enrolled her at Camp Excel—an academic camp for underachievers—for the summer. Emily doesn’t want to go, and not just because she feels it isn’t necessary. She’s been plagued by a recurring nightmare since she was a child. And there’s something about this camp that feels familiar—has she been there before? Why can’t she remember?
With the help of two new friends, Emily discovers that her nightmare is not just in her head. Someone at Camp Excel has a secret—and will do anything, even murder, to keep Emily from uncovering the truth.
From the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Since childhood, 10th-grade Emily has had nightmares about a shadowy, slimy place where she is entangled with vines and sees a body lying in water. She is so petrified by this dream about the open-mouthed and blankly staring corpse that she is unable to confide in anyone. Her parents are upset because she won't let them help her and are frustrated because she doesn't take after her two brilliant sisters. They send her to Camp Excel, an experimental program for underachievers, where Emily has a sense of deja vu, and her true nightmare begins when she realizes her life is in danger. Elements of suspense and mystery are cleverly integrated with the teen's problems resulting from what she witnessed as a child. Readers will once again fall under Nixon's spell as they enjoy this page-turner.
Susan Cooley, formerly at Tower Hill School, Wilmington, DE
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 6-10. The nightmare has haunted teenage Emily Wood since she was a child: a crumpled body lying half in and half out of the water; dead eyes in a pale, bloody face; a mouth open in a scream that no one can hear. Did it really happen? Whose body is it? Who was the killer? And who is now stalking Emily at Camp Excel, the summer camp for underachievers that her parents have forced her to attend? There's some heavy coincidence, but the late Nixon was a multiple award winner for her YA mysteries, and this one, published after her death, continues her inimitable blend of horror and whodunit, this time with a touch of shivery mysticism and a lively contemporary cast. Readers will rush with Emily to solve the puzzle, even as they shudder at the occasional terse statements by the killer, who is steadily getting closer to another victim. The climactic confrontation in a creepy cave in the Texan Hills is unforgettable. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved