NNtG: Shivers #27: Camp Fear

It's time once again for another dive into Shivers, the series that continues to impress me in just how bizarre it really is. This time we have a camp book. Stine's camp books are usually really good, so let's see if M.D. Spenser is any better. Let's step into Camp Fear.

COVER STORY

We get one of the tried and true Shivers cover staples with good old skeleton power. This time it's skeleton miners carrying bloody shovels and pickaxes while also carrying a bucket of blood. I guess they hit on a blood mine. It's a cool cover, sticks with a lot of the strong motifs these covers do. My only issue is that this doesn't exactly scream "camp". But it does play into the book somewhat, so it's not a big issue. 

STORY

Our protagonist Jane is super excited. She and the rest of the Laurel Acres sixth grade class are going on a camping trip to the mountains. This is particularly exciting for Jane as it means camping with her best friend Lindsay. But she learns that the two will be bunking with Chelsea Daniels, a snooty girl, and Molly Clark, a nerdy girl that Jane feels bad for. The kids get in the buses and head to Camp Armonk, a patch of land owned by a rich old couple who had no kids of their own. Liking kids so darn much, when they died, they allowed the land to be used for kids to camp on. 

Jane and Lindsay arrive at cabin 8, their bunk, and see that Chelsea is already there and already being a pain. Molly arrives, having pulled a Velma Dinkley and losing her glasses. Jane offers to help and checks under the cabin, only to hear hissing noises and the sight of a snake. She panics and ties to run, but her belt gets caught on a nail. Lindsay saves Jane who also finds Molly's glasses. When they enter the cabin, they learn there was no snake, just Chelsea pulling an elaborate prank on them. 

The kids get their briefing from the teacher, Miss Farlie, about staying safe when exploring the woods and that despite this being a three day camping trip, they have to do some research, as well as chip in on any work that needs to be done at the camp. Of course Chelsea, being the snot she is, doesn't feel as up to the instructions given. Jane, Lindsay, Molly and a really unwilling Chelsea still have to work on a project together. The girls get some revenge by scaring Chelsea for the snake prank earlier. As they travel the woods, they spot a part of the forest that's off limits, containing an old mine, so they don't bother there and keep going forward.

After heading up to the edge of a cliff and a scare with actual snakes, the girls make it back to the trail. They return to the trail and find Chelsea who had bolted on them earlier. She gives them the map and compass, but it's covered in red blood. Or nail polish from Chelsea, that's a possibility. Regardless, the map's so messed that the only path that's visible is the one that was off limits. Since they haven't found anything for their research project elsewhere, maybe that'll provide something. And to ensure that Chelsea doesn't ditch or snitch, they decide to just not tell her about it. Perfect plan, clearly.

That evening at campfire, Lindsay and Jane head to the outhouses to discuss their plan to ensure they can get to the prohibited area. They hear footsteps and panic, only for Molly to show up, not hearing anything. They return the lanterns they use to the stall and see some unfinished message saying "Stay Away From My M-". They panic, but have no idea what that means exactly, only that this one looks freshly carved. They think it may have been Chelsea again, but then suspect maybe it isn't her, but someone warning to stay away from the mine located in the prohibited area. The next day, before they begin their trip, Lindsay mentions that the message has suddenly vanished. Despite this amount of creepy texting, the girls still head out to the mine.

The girls stop to eat, but when they look for their canteens, they notice they've suddenly disappeared. The girls think it's Chelsea with another prank and they press forward. As they finally make it to the mine, suddenly a storm hits, so the girls enter as quickly as possible. They use their flashlights to explore the tunnel. Suddenly, everyone but Jane seem to disappear. However, she sees that Lindsay, Molly and Chelsea had fallen down a hole. They all manage to escape that peril and press on, now with only two flashlights as Jane lost hers. No, wait, they find it a minute later. This book is just a mile a minute excitement so far, huh?

They also manage to find a locked box. Despite using her pocketknife, Jane can't open the box. But when the girls hear a loud crash and panic, they end up dropping the box which breaks open. It was filled with gold and jewelry. After finally admitting to Chelsea that they tricked her, now that they've clearly succeeded in their search, Jane puts everything back in the box. Then she notices a piece of paper on the ground. an old newspaper saying that the rich couple who owned Camp Armonk were murdered in their sleep by robbers and the wife's jewelry collection was stolen. Neither the jewels nor the robbers were found. The girls quickly realize that they're holding the stolen jewels. But they also have another issue as the entrance to the mine is now caved in.

The girls head to the end of the mine, but that too is blocked. They appear to have no way out. They find a tram and head in, but before it crashes into a dead end, the girls manage to grab ropes above them. They then see what appears to be a feint light. Possibly a sign that there's an exit at last. They exit and find themselves on the same cliff the day prior. And the same pit of snakes from earlier as well. They easily escape that and are almost home free when a lightning bolt hits a tree, knocking it down. The girls then hear a voice telling them to return the treasure.

The girls had left the box in the mine, but Chelsea stole a ring from the box. Jane then realizes that they've been haunted by a ghost this whole time. One who was sabotaging their journey by removing markers from their map and causing the cave ins. Unfortunately, to get rid of this ghost, the girls have to take the ring back to the mine. But they slip and fall a few times, but seem to be safe in the end as if the ghost floated them back to the ground safely.. I don't know, these last few pages seem super rushed. They return to camp just in time to head home. The girls realize that the jewelry belongs to the state, but after their ordeal, they're not telling anyone.

CONCLUSION

Well, I've found the candidate for least interesting Shivers book so far. There is a bit of an idea with this story that does work, but everything moves at such a slow pace that it never gets exciting, save for a moment or two in the actual mine. Most of the girls are interchangeable in character aside from Chelsea and really don't have that many unique traits to set them apart. The problem I feel is the story feel really tame. Aside from some of the stuff in the mine, there really isn't much that happens. And even the finale feels super rushed, lacking any oomph to leave you excited. This might have been the most boring book I've read for this blog so far. Which, given some of the Shivers books I have covered, feels like such a letdown. 

Like, at least give me skeleton miners or something. It also at least so far proves that when it comes to camp stories, Spenser didn't offer the quality that Stine often provided. If I were to change much, I'd say make the scarier elements matter more, make the ghost matter more. Either have the ghost be the rich couple, or the thieves instead of an unknown ambiguous figure. It would make this book flow so much better. In the end, I don't think this was the worst book I've read, but definitely the one with no strength to it. And given that cover is a real shame. Camp Fear gets a D.