Camp Sierra Secret by Esther G. Wilkinson (1996)

As part of our morning reads, I woke my kids up this week with chapters from Camp Sierra Secret. Both my kids were able to attend Bible camps this past summer: my daughter (10) for her very first time, and my son (12) with a second week at an all-boys camp. They loved the adventure of it all, so I thought I’d take them back there in story form.

This book is definitely written more for teens than for 10-12 year olds. Despite the title that promises some mystery and the cover that promises some action, it’s more focused on the internal emotional conflicts of a teenage girl than anything. Not really my cup of tea; and although my son didn’t say it, I’m guessing he wasn’t a huge fan either.

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Quick Summary of Camp Sierra Secret

The story follows Lynnette, whose distant father sends her off from Chicago to work at a summer camp in California. She has no clue why she’s being sent away and even less of a clue why she’s got no return ticket in hand—and therein lies the mystery behind the Camp Sierra secret.

Camp Sierra’s a Christian camp, so while there, she meets speakers and counselors, interacts with campers and staff kids, and lives with the kitchen lady and right next door to the nurse. There’s lots of relationship happening, or at least there should be, save for the fact that Lynnette’s your average, moody, the-world-hates-me-type teenage girl.

What Clicked for Me, a Dad Reading to His Kids

The author, Esther G. Wilkinson, definitely drew from her experiences as staff at Christian camps. Having some experience in it myself, I can feel the realism she’s brought to the book’s setting and some of its side-happenings. These elements don’t really have much to do with the mystery of the book, but the mystery’s couched in familiarity which kept us reading.

I really enjoyed the adventure with the sheep in the middle of the book. It was nice finally to see some action, but on a deeper level, it seems like Lynnette’s trying to help this injured lamb the way she hopes someone would help her—even though she kicks that help away whenever it’s offered! Ultimately, she’s a lost and injured lamb needing rescue, needing someone to risk it all to save her. She sort of gets that relationally at the end (and thankfully not from some boy), and the author also hints that she might get it spiritually too, before too long.

This book is pretty honest about a teen’s feelings towards God, that He seems mean and that she doesn’t really like Him or what He does. The publishers wouldn’t have allowed her to remain feeling that way in the end, of course, so you know that growth happens, albeit slowly. It comes through conversations and letters, but it comes.

Conclusion

This wasn’t our favorite book, but mostly because it’s outside my kids’ age range. Soon enough, they’ll become moody teenagers themselves, thinking the whole world’s conspired against them. Whenever I think of that, I think of Andrew Peterson’s songs that he wrote for his kids: “Be Kind to Yourself” for his daughter and “You’ll Find Your Way” for his son.

Anticipate – Navigate – Survive—the three stages of raising teens. I’m working on Stage One of that plan, I guess. We’ll see if I can make it to State Three!

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