Note from Jen: Sleepaway Girls is my first non-Secrets novel. I was a counselor at a day camp as a teen. (where I had the uncool position of Computer Counselor -- it was the only job open!) Summer, boys, being away from home -- it just had to be written about! I hope you guys will like it.

When Sam's best friend gets her first boyfriend, she's not ready to spend the summer listening to the two of them call each other "pookie." Sick of being a third wheel, Sam applies to be a counselor-in-training at Whispering Pines camp in the New York Catskills. But what she doesn't realize is that it's not going to be all Kumbaya sing-alongs and gooey s'mores. If Ashley, the alpha queen of Whispering Pines, doesn't ruin Sam's summer, then her raging crush on the surfer-blond and flirtatious Hunter just might. At least she has playful Cole, who's always teasing her, but is oh-so-comfortable to hang out with, and the singular gang of girls that become fast friends with Sam -- they call themselves the Sleepaway Girls.

Read an excerpt!

Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita
Published by Little, Brown Young Readers

Hardcover released May 5th, 2009
ISBN-10: 0316017175
ISBN-13: 978-0316017176
Buy it from Amazon ~ B&N ~ IndieBound

Audio book released April 16th, 2009
Narrated by Eileen Stevens
Buy it from Audible

Paperback released May 1st, 2010
ISBN-10: 0316017183
ISBN-13: 978-0316017183
Buy it from Amazon ~ B&N ~ IndieBound

Reviews

"After her best friend attaches herself to Samantha's first boyfriend, Sam is determined to spend her summer elsewhere. She ends up as a counselor-in-training at Whispering Pines, where she gets to participate in all camp activities while assisting the counselors with the younger campers. By the end of the summer, Sam acquires an arch-enemy, as well as three best buds (the Sleepaway Girls) and a gorgeous boyfriend. Calonita offers a quintessential feel-good read, from Sam's earliest crush on the camp's gorgeous bad boy to her gradual realization that good men are the best boyfriends; from her initial jealous encounter with the camp director's daughter to their forced, uneasy truce; and from her early video postcards back home to her ultimate Sleepaway Girls testament to the camp season. The picture-perfect setting, the sweet little kids, the seductive freedom from parents, and the lure of adult-like responsibility make this the perfect read-alike to suggest to fans of Ann Brashares' Traveling Pants series." -- Frances Bradburn for Booklist