I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.
Camp Club Girls: McKenzie by Shari Barr Series: Camp Club Girls #3
Published by BARBOUR PUB Incorporated on April 1, 2019
Genres: Clean & Wholesome, Fiction, Fiction / General, Friendship, Juvenile Fiction / Mysteries & Detective Stories, Middle Grade
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley
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GET A CLUE WITH THE CAMP CLUB GIRLS!
Join McKenzie and the Camp Club Girls as they embark on a series of clue-filled adventures and crack the case in this entertaining and action-packed 4-in-1 mystery collection.Is there a horse thief on the loose? The Camp Club Girls are thrust into the throes of a Wild West who-dun-it. Can the girls combine their skills to solve this mystery and save the ranch—and rodeo—for Sunshine Stables? Where have all the sea lion pups gone? McKenzie and Alexis travel to the Oregon Coast to complete a video report on Stellar Sea Lions where they witness a strange string of events. Will the Camp Club Girls discover the pups’ whereabouts before it’s too late? What do you do when a family member goes missing? McKenzie and Sydney meet in Branson, Missouri, where McKenzie has been recruited to help at the Dixie Stampede, and they soon become involved in the search for a teen girl's long lost uncle.With no clue other than a whittled necklace, will the Camp Club Girls ever reunite this family? What's happening at Heritage Farms & Village? When McKenzie and Kate connect during farm camp at Heritage Farms and Village in Iowa, they begin to notice mysterious events that leave them both feeling uneasy. The Camp Club Girls realize they’re onto something. . .but what? The girls are on a mission to find out!
Halfway through the series McKenzie is so far my favorite girl. Not that there’s not something to adore about each one but Elizabeth is so mature beyond her years and while the voice of reason also comes across as formal. Sydney seems to have a lot of spirit and she was fun to get to know. McKenzie feels real. She is somewhere between growing maturity and being childlike. She reminds me more of of the minions than the others, so far. She seems more appropriately flawed if that resonates to anyone else. And flaws are what make us real.
While, as a not the target audience reader, I still find the mysteries the girls solve a bit far fetched I also know I’m a farm girl from the Missouri Ozarks. I’ve never been on a ranch in Montana or to the Oregon Coast but I do resonate with her way of life. The story centered in Branson was fun for me. The Missouri Ozarks have always been my home and during my college career I did work a summer at Silver Dollar City. While I recognized the literary liberties taken for the story (random girls just helping out in costume didn’t really strike reality) they didn’t really bother me or detract for me. Honestly, that specific mystery is by far the favorite of all I’ve read so far. There was more emotional connection in general that really drew me in and forgave the idea of young teen girls running the strip unattended during the tourist season. Why can’t I get over that lack of supervision? My ancient heart.
Overall I really did enjoy reading about McKenzie and her adventures with her friends. It’s refreshing to watch then desire and grow in their faith. There are too few books that really address faith in this age group so I can overlook (sometimes) the implausibility of some adventures as I know that the girls and their mysteries will resonate to the target audience.
About Shari Barr
Shari Barr lives on a farm in southwest Iowa with her husband and spoiled mutt, Hank, and they have an adult son and daughter. Besides writing inspirational fiction for children, she has also published two non-fiction books and numerous articles and devotionals. She loves reading, walking the country roads of home, and bacon.
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