Summer at Squee
Published by Kokila Books/Penguin Young Readers
ISBN-13: 978-0593111314 (Hardcover)
March 5, 2024 *Available now*
Cover art by Karyn Lee. Jacket design by Kristie Radwilowicz.
From Newbery Honor–winning author Andrea Wang, a new middle grade novel about a Chinese American tween who attends a Boston-based Chinese cultural overnight camp—and the many ways it transforms her.
Phoenny Fang plans to have the best summer ever. She’s returning to Summertime Chinese Culture, Wellness, and Enrichment Experience (SCCWEE for short and “Squee” to campers in the know), and this year she’s a senior camper. That means she, her best friend, Lyrica Chu, and her whole Squad will have the most influence. It almost doesn’t matter that her brother is a CIT (counselor-in-training) and that her mom and auntie are the camp directors. Time spent at Squee is glorious, free, and sacred.
On the day she arrives, though, Phoenny learns that the Squad has been split up, and there’s an influx of new campers this year. Phoenny is determined to be welcoming and to share all the things she loves about camp with the new campers—who doesn’t love spending hours talking about and engaging in cultural activities? But she quickly learns how out of touch she is with others’ experiences, particularly of the campers who are adoptees. The same things that make her feel connected to her culture and community make some of the other campers feel excluded.
Summer at Squee turns out to be even more transformative than Phoenny could’ve imagined, with new friendships, her first crush, an epic show, and a bigger love for and understanding of her community.
The TODAY SHOW: Read with Jenna Jr. 2024 Summer Reading List
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Horn Book 2024 Summer Reading: Middle School
Listen to an excerpt of the audiobook here!
“Blending moxie and grace, this novel is a worthy guide through cultural expansiveness and summer camp antics and angst.”
~ Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Wang’s tightly woven plotting and lively dialogue paint a rich portrait of the ups and downs of middle-school friendships, social awkwardness, and a desperate desire to belong. Add in a few crushes, lots of hilarious camp hijinks, and an ingenious solution to the troll problem, and you have an excellent companion to Kelly Yang’s Front Desk series and Grace Lin’s Pacy Lin series.”
~The Horn Book
“With light prose and even pacing, Wang relays themes of identity, belonging, and acceptance, deftly communicating the feelings of both the senior campers and Squee’s newest members without minimizing their plights.”
~ Publishers Weekly
“A fun summer camp coming-of-age story for all students, but especially those traversing issues of cross-cultural identity.”
~ School Library Journal
