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...
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reviews
Jan 08, 2009
Eva
rated it: 
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 More...
In Chiggers, Abby is thrilled to go back to More...
Jan 25, 2012
Liz
rated it: 
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 Inter 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 Inter More...
Jan 22, 2012
David
rated it:
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 More...
Larson portrays realistic tween and early-teen miscommunications about who likes who, and More...
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Sep 29, 2011
Rebecca
rated it: 
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
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Aug 23, 2011
Andrew Shuping
rated it:
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
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Jun 24, 2011
Sarah
rated it: 
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 Heathc 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 Heathc More...
Mar 23, 2011
Brian
rated it:
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 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 More...
Sep 07, 2010
Julie
rated it:
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 oversi 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 oversi More...
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Mar 10, 2010
Morgan
rated it:
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 th 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 th More...
Jan 16, 2010
Erin
rated it:
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 see 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 see More...
Oct 06, 2009
Katie
rated it:
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
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Sep 24, 2009
Bren
rated it:
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 hapl
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Aug 05, 2009
Jody
rated it:
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 ch 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 ch More...
Mar 17, 2011
Stevecrandell
rated it:
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 “ 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 “ More...
Mar 24, 2009
Amy
rated it:
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 fo
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Dec 28, 2008
Barky
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Aug 10, 2011
Oleg
rated it:
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 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 More...
Jul 06, 2011
Asenath
rated it:
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 pla 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 pla More...
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Dec 09, 2008
Kathy
rated it:
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 story l
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Feb 26, 2011
Dana
rated it:
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 cra
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Jun 12, 2010
Joanna
rated it:
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 i 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 i More...
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May 14, 2010
Tricia
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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, More...
I enjoy Larson's style, More...
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Apr 01, 2009
Sarah
rated it:
Ciggers by Hope Larson is another of the grahpic novels to make it to the second round of judging for the Cybils.
Abby goes back to summer camp hoping to spend her time with her old friends Rose and Beth. There's one problem: Rose is too busy becase she's a cabin assistant / camp counselor and Beth is now pierced and has declared herself too cool for the likes of Abby. Chiggers follows Abby's reluctant friendship with Shasta after another girl is sent home early for an infestation of More...
Abby goes back to summer camp hoping to spend her time with her old friends Rose and Beth. There's one problem: Rose is too busy becase she's a cabin assistant / camp counselor and Beth is now pierced and has declared herself too cool for the likes of Abby. Chiggers follows Abby's reluctant friendship with Shasta after another girl is sent home early for an infestation of More...
Dec 29, 2008
Susan
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This appealing graphic novel manages to say a lot about the delicate nature of girls' friendships under the cover of a pretty lighthearted summer camp story. Abby returns to her summer camp expecting tons of quality time with her friend Rose, but this summer Rose's work as an assistant counselor keeps her occupied, and there are new, prickly campers for Abby to deal with that throw off the balance of the existing friendships within the cabin. It's a fast read and definitely high interest for gir
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Oct 26, 2008
Elizabeth
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Let it be known that I never went to summer camp as a kid. Family historians disagree over the root cause of this. I am under the impression that it was never an option. My parents, on the other hand, remember me vociferously protesting any form of outdoorsy socialness of this sort. Regardless of the reasons, I have almost no associations with this common rite of childhood. No particular affection for bunking or lanyards or any of that stuff. So my experience with Chiggers, a camp-based graphic
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Nov 04, 2008
Kirsten
rated it:
What a beautifully drawn, lovingly related book! I enjoyed this graphic novel immensely. Hope Larson's artwork reminds me a bit of Craig Thompson's, but less angular, and I fell in love with the easy lines and bold black and white illustrations.
Abby is back at the camp she goes to every year, but she's feeling a little out of place. One of her former best camp friends is now a junior counselor and doesn't have much time for her, and her other friends seem to be moving out of pre-a More...
Abby is back at the camp she goes to every year, but she's feeling a little out of place. One of her former best camp friends is now a junior counselor and doesn't have much time for her, and her other friends seem to be moving out of pre-a More...
Oct 08, 2008
Fluxbrarian
rated it:
Summer camp is filled with hikes, capture the flag, and the opportunity to forge new friendships. With her old friend Rose preoccupied this summer as a counselor assistant, Abby looks to her fellow bunkmates for camaraderie. Avoiding the stuck-up and whiny girls in the cabin, Abby befriends cool Beth, who has triple pierced ears and an anarchy necklace, and then Zoe, a sweet non-descript girl who becomes closer with Beth. Then new girl Shasta joins the cabin. Shasta has been struck by lightning,
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Oct 30, 2008
Maré
rated it:
Hope's illustration is always great. Her diagrams always make sense. She is an amazing artist.
But yes. All the characters looked the same. I tried to keep track of which annoying teenaged secondary character was which, but in the end, I just gave up and tried to focus on the Abby/Shasta relationship.
I was okay when Abby's friend showed up wearing a shirt that said L337. That was okay. Not really necessary but okay.
I was okay when Shasta said she was struck by More...
But yes. All the characters looked the same. I tried to keep track of which annoying teenaged secondary character was which, but in the end, I just gave up and tried to focus on the Abby/Shasta relationship.
I was okay when Abby's friend showed up wearing a shirt that said L337. That was okay. Not really necessary but okay.
I was okay when Shasta said she was struck by More...
Aug 05, 2008
Abby
rated it:
Too bad this one has such a TERRIBLE title, it was actually quite sweet. Abby is a slightly geeky, somewhat naive tween who is having some difficulty adjusting to social changes at the camp she goes to every summer -- her best friend, who is a few years older, is now a cabin assistant and can't spend much time with her, and the other girls seem more mature and self-assured. Abby isn't sure where she fits in -- and to make matters worse, Shasta, a mysterious and slightly annoying latecomer, has d
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Aug 04, 2008
Jamie
rated it:
Hope Larson's comic book Chiggers is a wonderful tale of a transitional year in the life of her protagonist, when the longstanding tradition of summer camp starts to change from pure frivolity to a place where oncoming adulthood is beginning to seep through the cracks. The realization that friends are not perfect, the first blush of love, and the discovery that different, though not always openly accepted, is good. Adolescence is treated delicately, though it is seen by the younger children as s
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