Camp Creepy Time [Hardcover]

Gina Gershon (Author), Dann Gershon (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Einstein P. Fleet, a thirteen-year old computer whiz, is shipped off to camp in the middle of the Mojave Desert for a summer of fun and fresh air. The food sucks, the facilities are rotting, the camp is haunted, his fellow campers are turning into monsters, and his counselor are actually aliens that intend to abduct the kids and sell them to an intergalactic zoo. Einstein tries to relay his dire situation to his parents, but they don't believe a word of it. The only problem is that it's all true. leaving Einstein to save himself and the others. A hilarious blend of sci-fi and pop culture, which was optioned by DreamWorks for an upcoming motion picture.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–7—Einstein, a 13-year-old Twinkie addict/blogger, is dreading his upcoming stay at Camp Creepy Time, even though the brochure shows gourmet meals, horseback riding, and a sparkling lake. Of course, his clueless parents believe the claims of this glossy leaflet, so they send him off and look forward to a carefree summer alone. For Einstein, though, things get very creepy very quickly, from campers in monster costumes to a godforsaken location (the ramshackle buildings are surrounded by a vast desert full of nocturnal predators) to evil staff members who serve horrible food and dispense mysterious salt tablets, which have hideous consequences for the campers. The authors have a way with words and are on target for the type of sarcastic humor that will amuse some children. But the plot structure just seems to pile events on top of events, with no rhythm or dynamic sense and deteriorates into a hodgepodge of monsters and aliens. Einstein's main emotion seems to be resentment, making it hard for readers to relate to him. Without an emotional core and much focus, the book makes one appreciate those who do this type of story well, such as Bruce Coville and Daniel Pinkwater. Suggest Kate Klise's Letters from Camp (Avon, 1999), whose villains are both subtler and scarier.—Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
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From Booklist

Much to his horror, 13-year-old computer nerd and Twinkie aficionado Einstein P. Fleet finds himself bused off to spend eight weeks at Camp Creepy Time, in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Einstein is definitely not an eager camper, but clearly other things are also amiss: everyone arrives wearing monster costumes; the adults in charge are sadistic; and Einstein's only real friends turn out to be a ghost and an alien. The three join forces to try and outwit the counselors before all the campers are shipped to an intergalactic zoo. The Gershon siblings' first novel should appeal to young readers in search of the wacky and ridiculous. Characters are exaggerated and mostly one-dimensional; much of the humor revolves around bodily dysfunctions; and a few stray plot points (such as the Valley Girl twins who get lost in the desert) seem to go nowhere. Still, this is an entertaining, quick read. A Web site is promised. Weisman, Kay

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (May 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399247378
• ISBN-13: 978-0399247378
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,214,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for your summer reading list!, May 13, 2007

By 

Sharron Korybut (Coconut Grove, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Camp Creepy Time (Hardcover)

Original, intelligent, out of this world.... Summer camp in the Mojave Desert? Aliens, monsters, werewolfs, ghosts, strange experiments? Einstein P. Fleet, the protagonist, is an original - likeable, endearing, pathetic and heroic all at the same time. At times, I literally laughed out loud! A great read to share with the kids or an opportunity for you to revisit your days at sleep away camp.

I highly recommend this quirky and cleverly written novel. Cudos to the Gershons!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly fun., November 1, 2007

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Camp Creepy Time (Hardcover)

Gina and Dann Gershon, Camp Creepy Time: The Adventures of Einstein P. Fleet (Putnam, 2007)

So Gina Gershon's film career has been limited to the indie scene and TV appearances for a while now, neither of which pays the bills, so why not turn to a writing career? (We can't all be Jennifer Tilly and become professional poker players, I guess.) The first output of said writing career: Camp Creepy Time, a young adult horror-comedy. Now, I'll be the first to admit I picked this up thinking "okay, let's see if we can toss Gina Gershon into the Paris-and-Nicole Book Dumpster." More fool me-- this thing is good. Really good.

Einstein P. Fleet is your typical middle-school geek, messing with computers all the time, having no friends that aren't at the other end of a keyboard, getting out in the sun once a year, maybe. His parents decide it's high time for him to get out into the fresh air, and enroll him at Camp Creepy Time, a theme camp in the desert for monster-movie aficionados. Things seem off from the time Einstein gets to the camp, but when campers start disappearing, Einstein decides he, along with a rebellious girl who doesn't seem to be a camper and the camp ghost, needs to try and figure out what's going on before he's the next to go on an unscheduled walkabout.

This is definitely fluff reading, juvenile style, but don't let that throw you off. Camp Creepy Time is a well-plotted, readable story with amusing (if somewhat shallow) characters, a fun mystery, and some original ideas. Definitely one for the monster movie fan on your Christmas list. *** ½

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY CREEPY (and funny)!!!, February 22, 2008

By 

S. Fishell (Nashville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Camp Creepy Time (Hardcover)

You simply can't go wrong with this wacky zany summer send-up. Einstein P. Fleet, a loner-nerd trapped at a hellish summer camp in the Mojave Desert, leads us through a wild storyline of escape, with monster costumes, vampires, werewolves and aliens all in the mix.

This fast-paced, well-written farce is a quick, irreverent, hilarious read for kids and adult-kids. Highly recommended. It's no surprise that Dreamworks has this story in script development....Can't wait for the movie!