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51st out of 88 books
—
24 voters
Chiggers
by
Hope Larson
Abby is back at the same old camp she goes to every summer -- except for the fact that this summer, nothing is the same. Her friend Rose is a cabin assistant, her friend Beth is pierced, and now the only person who doesn't seem too cool for Abby is Shasta, the new girl.Shasta:
1. who is one-eighth Cherokee.
2. who was struck by lightning.
3. whose Internet boyfriend is a seni...more
1. who is one-eighth Cherokee.
2. who was struck by lightning.
3. whose Internet boyfriend is a seni...more
Hardcover, 176 pages
Published
June 17th 2008
by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
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Like boarding school, summer camp is an experience I never had as a child and so it seems exotic, thrilling, and a bit scary to me. Summer camp is perfect fodder for children’s and YA books – kids from all over are thrown together in cabins for a finite period. Some know each other, some are strangers, and somehow they must survive until their parents pick them up several weeks later – at which time they all go back to their “real” lives.
In Chiggers, Abby is thrilled to go back to summer camp wh...more
In Chiggers, Abby is thrilled to go back to summer camp wh...more
This is a sweet-ish, sad-ish, kind of aimless little book about a girl attending summer camp. It captures the feel of summer camp exceptionally well, and is a welcome slice-of-life into the teenage experience outside the typical confines of school. The individual set pieces are well executed and Hope Larson's art is beautiful, but I struggled to find a narrative thread running through the whole thing. I also felt the elements of "camp love" were glossed over, focusing more on a kind of homage to...more
This book really didn’t do much for me, but maybe it’s because it reminded me too much of summer camp. Which, let’s be honest, doesn’t lend itself very well to Plot.
Camp is such a weird, shifty time. It creates unique, cannot-be-replicated-in-the-real-world friendships, and it compresses all of the usual middle school and high school drama into TINY AMOUNTS OF TIME which means it’s seven thousand times as good and seven thousand times as bad. And everything is so urgent but also you forget abou...more
Camp is such a weird, shifty time. It creates unique, cannot-be-replicated-in-the-real-world friendships, and it compresses all of the usual middle school and high school drama into TINY AMOUNTS OF TIME which means it’s seven thousand times as good and seven thousand times as bad. And everything is so urgent but also you forget abou...more
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While I am not the target audience for this graphic novel, I once was, and I even remember some of my young teenage times. The times in this book are those uncomfortable ones, with your girl friends talking about you behind your back, or even in front of you. The awkwardness of first crushes. The weirdness of not fitting in when that's what you desperately want to do. Confusion, drama and more, all with a summer camp setting.
These sorts of situations may make tween/teenage girls feel better abou...more
These sorts of situations may make tween/teenage girls feel better abou...more
Chiggers is a tale that takes place at a summer camp. Abby, the focus of the story, is a naive, dorky kind of girl who secretly reads fantasy novels and likes to pretend that she's an elf. Not that she would tell her friends that. That would be uncool.
Things change when a new girl, Shasta, arrives at the summer camp. The main thing that attracts Abby to Shasta is their shared love of fantasy books. In addition to this, Shasta is pretty darn neat! She's one eighth Cherokee, has an Internet boyfri...more
Things change when a new girl, Shasta, arrives at the summer camp. The main thing that attracts Abby to Shasta is their shared love of fantasy books. In addition to this, Shasta is pretty darn neat! She's one eighth Cherokee, has an Internet boyfri...more
Chiggers is a great book for tween girls and boys, for different reasons. This graphic novel is about girls at a North Carolina summer camp and deals with near and close friendships, boy/girl crushes, puberty body issues, and slightly supernatural lightning-based occurrences. The lightning-based occurrences come from a new camper who's been struck by lightning and has an eerie electric charge about her.
Larson portrays realistic tween and early-teen miscommunications about who likes who, and the...more
Larson portrays realistic tween and early-teen miscommunications about who likes who, and the...more
I love camp stories, but this one left me cold. It doesn't really have a throughline other than attending a session of camp start to end, and I think maybe the author stuck too close to what it's really like to go to camp. When you're there, things happen that may have no bearing on what happens later at camp, such as the character Deni in this book who looms large at the start then leaves abruptly not long after the start and never reappears. Or the shifting allegiances of your friends, who are...more
Abby's come back for yet another summer at camp and looking forward to spending time with her friend Rose...who unfortunately is now a cabin assistant so doesn't have much time for Abby. So...Abby looks for new friends within her cabin and discovers her new bunkmate Shasta. Shasta is everything Abby isn't. Pretty, intelligent, talkative, and...oh yeah she was late to camp because she was struck by lightning! Abby, Shasta, and the other cabin girls experience boys, camp food, camp fights, and mor...more
Jun 24, 2011
Sarah
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Sarah by:
laaaaames
Shelves:
read-in-2011,
young-adult
Just. Yeah.
From my blog:
I'm a little embarrassed to admit I haven't read many graphic novels. I mean, I've read the ones everyone reads (Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, Art Spiegelman's Maus, and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home...) but otherwise my repertoire is sadly limited.
Which is strange, because I used to love comics. When I visited my grandma in England as a kid during the 1980s*, I'd devour Asterix and Obelix stories, and I had monthly subscriptions to Heathcliff and The Get-Along Gang comics (...more
From my blog:
I'm a little embarrassed to admit I haven't read many graphic novels. I mean, I've read the ones everyone reads (Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, Art Spiegelman's Maus, and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home...) but otherwise my repertoire is sadly limited.
Which is strange, because I used to love comics. When I visited my grandma in England as a kid during the 1980s*, I'd devour Asterix and Obelix stories, and I had monthly subscriptions to Heathcliff and The Get-Along Gang comics (...more
CHIGGERS
by, Hope Larson
Published by, Simon & Schuster
I read this after a few hours at the gym sitting on our balcony resting on a nice sunny day. I read it without putting it down once; which is always pretty weird for me since I'm constantly jumping from one book to another.
I have been a fan of Hope Larson's artwork for a while but this is the first time I've actually read a whole book by her and I'm really glade I checked this out at the library.
If you haven't noticed from past reviews I...more
by, Hope Larson
Published by, Simon & Schuster
I read this after a few hours at the gym sitting on our balcony resting on a nice sunny day. I read it without putting it down once; which is always pretty weird for me since I'm constantly jumping from one book to another.
I have been a fan of Hope Larson's artwork for a while but this is the first time I've actually read a whole book by her and I'm really glade I checked this out at the library.
If you haven't noticed from past reviews I...more
If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all.
So let me say something good first. The main character has geeky tendencies.
Of course she also tends to repress them because of b---y cabinmates.
The point of this graphic novel is that going to camp is pointless. Maybe? The main character goes to camp. She plays card games and capture the flag. She makes a friendship bracelet and listens to a ghost story. They seem to have very little counselor oversight. She makes friends, except...more
So let me say something good first. The main character has geeky tendencies.
Of course she also tends to repress them because of b---y cabinmates.
The point of this graphic novel is that going to camp is pointless. Maybe? The main character goes to camp. She plays card games and capture the flag. She makes a friendship bracelet and listens to a ghost story. They seem to have very little counselor oversight. She makes friends, except...more
Larson, Hope. Chiggers. 171 pp. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2008. $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-3584-1.
Ages 10-14. For anyone who has ever been to summer camp, stayed up telling stories huddled in bunk beds, or had a crush on the boy in the cabin next door, Chiggers will either bring back memories or help you to imagine what it would be like to attend summer camp. In this endearing graphic novel, Abby, our geeky adolescent protagonist, attends the same camp every summer, but this year things hav...more
Ages 10-14. For anyone who has ever been to summer camp, stayed up telling stories huddled in bunk beds, or had a crush on the boy in the cabin next door, Chiggers will either bring back memories or help you to imagine what it would be like to attend summer camp. In this endearing graphic novel, Abby, our geeky adolescent protagonist, attends the same camp every summer, but this year things hav...more
A cute graphic novel about a girl who goes to camp and has to deal with an old friend who's turned into a mean girl by befriending a new girl. The story is kind of cute, but it doesn't really go anywhere. Also, I had trouble telling the characters apart, which made me keep re-reading it to figure out what was going on.
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PSC Review
Abby is back at her camp she goes to every summer, except that all her friends have changed—Rose is a busy cabin assistant who never seems to have enough time fo...more
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PSC Review
Abby is back at her camp she goes to every summer, except that all her friends have changed—Rose is a busy cabin assistant who never seems to have enough time fo...more
I enjoyed this quick but good little read. I was able to get through it in 30-45 minutes, and I am not a particularly fast reader. This book tells about a girl named Abby who returns to camp and finds that things are different from her previous years. She has to make new friends and of course experiences plenty of the girl drama that goes along with that. Amongst all of the drama between friends and crushes there is a little bit of mystery thrown in as well. This is a great fun story about being...more
Chiggers are a genus of mite found in North America, locally abhorred even more than the mosquito. Unlike mosquitoes, a chigger is extremely difficult to see with the naked eye, and frequents places where people sometimes must pass through (grassy areas, forested regions, or even alongside bushes), thriving indiscriminately upon the skin cells of living beings. And not only do these bites itch and become inflamed, but sometimes the chiggers themselves remain just beneath the skin of their haples...more
2 likes · like · see review
Chiggers by Hope Larson is a book that many tween girls will relate to since the themes seem to dominate—and often overwhelm—their lives at this age. Each character is slightly different, with Abby representing the awkward, somewhat naïve girl who hasn’t quite bridged into a teenage mindset yet. Beth, in contrast, is more mature with piercings and an attitude to match. The various characters lend insight into how vastly different girls are at this age developmentally, how vulnerable they are to...more
I like this graphic novel. The cover was very misleading for me. I coined this book to be more for children and had no idea it was a graphic novel. It is a cute, quick read.
Abby, the main character, goes to summer camp like she always does. She assumes she will be spending most of her time with a friend from previous year at camp, but is surprised when that friend is too busy with her job. She finds meets two other girls and, when her bunkmate came down with a bad case of the chiggers, she becom...more
Abby, the main character, goes to summer camp like she always does. She assumes she will be spending most of her time with a friend from previous year at camp, but is surprised when that friend is too busy with her job. She finds meets two other girls and, when her bunkmate came down with a bad case of the chiggers, she becom...more
This is at times a sweet story. But it’s not an especially interesting story. Abby is off to summer camp, where she solidifies a set of near-friends, and nearly accepts a new friend. There’s a sameness to the drawing style that makes it hard to keep track of who’s who. This makes it even tougher to follow how the girls feel about each other at any moment.
Abby says “I’m sorry” a lot, but the words primarily serve as a space filler. Her various relationships seem to spin on a cycle of “Why don’t...more
Abby says “I’m sorry” a lot, but the words primarily serve as a space filler. Her various relationships seem to spin on a cycle of “Why don’t...more
I could have written this little story about my own childhood. The author gets everything down pat about being an awkward, nerdy late bloomer. The continuous ebb and flow of the fragile relationships between young women could have been directly lifted from my life. I remember the silent crushes on boys & the petty rivalries it inspired among us girls. And how they would hardly ever last more than a day. Loyalty would shift from one girlfriend to the next and it all felt SO IMPORTANT at the t...more
As my pickings in the graphic novel library section have gone slim, Chiggers came home in the pile of selected reads. Being the complete opposite of a non-target audience, I found Hope Larson's attempts to capture the growing pains of summer camp to be what one expects from Young Adult literature. Abby is excited to be heading back to the camp; what she finds is that life has dumped a helping of growing up in her way. Former friends are now older, pierced, and locked in to life beyond the high s...more
I liked this book, but I felt like it should have been longer. I thought there was the potential for a lot more stuff to happen. It felt to me like none of the plot elements really got off the ground or were developed/explained sufficiently. I still don't really understand what the "will o'the wisp" thing was or what it was supposed to represent. And did Shasta really get struck by lightening? What was the medication for? I don't feel like I need every little thing spelled out for me, but I need...more
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A comic about summer camp and all the cattiness that exists in female friendships.
When Abby's first bunkmate goes home with a bad case of chiggers, she cautiously befriends her new bunkmate, Shasta, who has been struck by lightening (before the story begins) and who the other girls shun.
Navigating summer camp is a bit like school where you worry about what people may or may not be saying about you, where you will sit at lunch, if the cute boy you like likes you back etc.
A great summer read in...more
When Abby's first bunkmate goes home with a bad case of chiggers, she cautiously befriends her new bunkmate, Shasta, who has been struck by lightening (before the story begins) and who the other girls shun.
Navigating summer camp is a bit like school where you worry about what people may or may not be saying about you, where you will sit at lunch, if the cute boy you like likes you back etc.
A great summer read in...more
A coming-of-age summer camp graphic novel primarily geared towards girls, Chiggers had all the requisite drama necessary for a fulfilling plot that neatly ties up in the end.
More than the story, I enjoyed the layout of the frames. Transitions to different time periods were creative and perfectly timed and the panels that veered away from reality to show how characters were feeling, tone, and highlight elements of the scene took advantage of the form to good effect.
Though I usually don't pick up...more
More than the story, I enjoyed the layout of the frames. Transitions to different time periods were creative and perfectly timed and the panels that veered away from reality to show how characters were feeling, tone, and highlight elements of the scene took advantage of the form to good effect.
Though I usually don't pick up...more
Umm, what? What was the point of this book? I thought it was going to be some sort of coming of age story, but it wasn't.
I liked how the character's emotions were drawn, but I got confused with the amount of characters (there are 2 who look exactly the same except for hair length). I liked the supernatural element that *almost* became a plot line.
The story didn't connect to itself. Why have a girl get sent home with Chiggers (why have that be the TITLE) if they don't play a vital role in the st...more
I liked how the character's emotions were drawn, but I got confused with the amount of characters (there are 2 who look exactly the same except for hair length). I liked the supernatural element that *almost* became a plot line.
The story didn't connect to itself. Why have a girl get sent home with Chiggers (why have that be the TITLE) if they don't play a vital role in the st...more
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I would love more time to get to know these characters, but I guess that's not what summer camp is about. Summer camp is about a moment in time that's removed from your every day life, & Chiggers captures that wonderfully. The ink work in this book is expressive & beautifully done. The story captures the mix-up intensity of the tween years in a sweet sympathetic way. Each time one of the campers was being a snot I wanted to kick them, but then not having those moments would make this sto...more
Cute, though it didn't have much substance. It was a very fast read. Go through it in about a half hour. For a while, the story doesn't seem to go anywhere at all. A bunch of girls go away to summer camp, and Abby's first bunk mate comes down with a case of "Chiggers", which is really a small tick-like insect that causes you to itch like crazy. She gets a new bunk mate named Shasta, a girl from Florida who apparently was struck by lightning. The other girls at camp aren't too crazy about her but...more
i liked this! there is some good exploration of adolescent girl drama and how it's played out in a summer camp setting, and it rings true.
this didn't affect my overall feelings about the book, but i will say that i was sad that the book contained the same misinformation about chiggers that FREAKED ME OUT when i heard it as a child. chiggers do not in fact burrow and then die in your skin. they inject an enzyme into your skin, feed on you, and then drop off, and it's the enzyme that itches so mad...more
this didn't affect my overall feelings about the book, but i will say that i was sad that the book contained the same misinformation about chiggers that FREAKED ME OUT when i heard it as a child. chiggers do not in fact burrow and then die in your skin. they inject an enzyme into your skin, feed on you, and then drop off, and it's the enzyme that itches so mad...more
This is a book about the ins and outs of short-term (summer camp) relationships, the meaning of friendship, standing up for what you believe in. But it's also kind of shallow - I wish a couple of the relationship issues would have been treated in more depth, rather than packing in so many short interactions. On the other hands, it's been decades since I was a young teen girl - maybe any given week was full of constant drama like this and I just don't remember!
I enjoy Larson's style, but as some...more
I enjoy Larson's style, but as some...more
Amber Wortz
Graphic Novel
Chiggers is a graphic novel about life in a girls' cabin at summer camp. It primarily focuses on the main characters emotions as she tries to sort through old and new friends, betrayal, boys and growing up.
I have never read a graphic novel and honestly, I didn't know there were any out there for girls. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I am not really into comics, but Chiggers kept me interested and I read it all the way through in one setting as it was not predic...more
Graphic Novel
Chiggers is a graphic novel about life in a girls' cabin at summer camp. It primarily focuses on the main characters emotions as she tries to sort through old and new friends, betrayal, boys and growing up.
I have never read a graphic novel and honestly, I didn't know there were any out there for girls. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I am not really into comics, but Chiggers kept me interested and I read it all the way through in one setting as it was not predic...more
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Hope Larson is an American illustrator and comics artist. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
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