Cover Image: Camp Club Girls: McKenzie

Camp Club Girls: McKenzie

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Member Reviews

Appropriate and fun book for middle school girls about friendship and being true to oneself! My daughter loved this one.

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McKenzie's Montana Mystery (Camp Club Girls #3)
Good horse themed mystery. I love horses so this was a fun read for me. Young girls who love horses should enjoy this one!

McKenzie's Oregon Operation (Camp Club Girls #11)
Another fun mystery featuring the Camp Club Girls. This on finds McKenzie and Alexis on the case of some missing sea lion pups in Oregon. I enjoyed the location and the mystery in this one. It had some exciting moments and a good ending. Fun read.

McKenzie's Branson Brainteaser (Camp Club Girls #18)
Due to my personal connections to Branson, this will probably be my favorite of the series. I lived in the Branson area for several years, worked at Silver Dollar City and have been to Dixie Stampede multiple times. It was so fun to read about these places in this story! The mystery was a fun one for me as well, trying to reunite members of a family. I loved the scene in the Tintype shop at Silver Dollar City as that is where I worked for most of my time at Silver Dollar City. This book is a good representation of the Branson area in my opinion. Super fun read for me!


McKenzie and the Iowa History Mystery (Camp Club Girls #24)
I enjoyed this mystery with missing treasure set in a historical town setting. McKenzie and Kate worked well together to try to solve the mystery with the help of their friends. The ending was good if a bit implausible but fun nonetheless. A good read.

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This is book 4 of the Camp Club Girls series, and is another book that is an anthology of 4 books that are being republished in 2019 (others I’ve reviewed are linked above). This book covers the adventures of McKenzie, and it was a fun read! The books in this anthology are Books 3, 11, 18, and 24 from the original publishing.

Book 3: McKenzie’s Montana Mystery This one was actually kind of spooky! It was set in a western ghost-ish town, and there are horses, both ghost and real. A tween/early teen horse lover would really enjoy this, but unfortunately I am not, so while it was a fun read for me, it wasn’t my absolute favorite book. 3/5

Book 11: McKenzie’s Oregon Operation This one was really fun! McKenzie and Alexis solve a mystery in an aquarium that involves the kidnapping of some baby sea lions, and it felt like a really big deal! I love baby lions, so that was fun, and the people who committed the crime were actually criminals, rather than somebody that just messed up, which is the vibe of a lot of the other books, so that was fun! 4/5

Book 18: MacKenzie’s Branson Brainteaser This book was a fun read, but it honestly read pretty blandly and was really similar to book 3 (McKenzie’s Montana Mystery). The overall story was pretty sweet, but it was just really slow and reminded me of other books in the series. 3/5

Book 24: McKenzie and the Iowa History Mystery This was a fun read, albeit a bit standard. The story felt familiar and pretty “standard” to the series. It was still really sweet though, and I enjoyed the ending. 3/5

My Rating-
This one wasn’t my favorite; the stories were pretty straightforward, and while there wasn’t anything /bad/ about them, per say, there also wasn’t anything that interesting about them.

While I tended to rate each of the individual stories lower than average, it was simply because it was a series that was not for me: I’m not really in the middle-grade demographic. Overall, I would definitely recommend it to girls that are in the proper age range who would enjoy it, and I would have enjoyed when I was that age.

Overall Rating- 3/5

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review; I was not required to write a positive review.
This review first appeared on: https://losingthebusyness.wordpress.com/2019/04/10/book-review-camp-club-girls-mackenzie-by-shari-barr/

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Shari Barr has done a magnificent job of creating another wonderful addition to the Camp Club Girls series! We are brought to McKenzie's story, and like her friends' stories, hers is filled to overflowing with adventure, and lots of mystery! Reminiscent of Nancy Drew for today's middle graders, there are powerful lessons from God, and lots of page turning happenings. I highly recommend this to all those who have middle graders who love to read! Well done on a 4 star book, Barr! Well done!

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Thanks to #netgalley for allowing me to preview this #campclubgirlsMcKenzie book before my daughter reads it. This is a great 4-in-1 Christian fiction collection about girls seeking out the truth.

Book 1 talks about the recovery of a stolen horse. While how the horse was hidden was a bit predictable, overall it is a good book about honesty and about not being too competitive.

Book 2 This book manages to plant a bit of doubt as to who took the baby sea lions. Overall a great book set in Oregon.

Book 3 is set in Branson and is about a missing family member. The girls are on the case to find a friend's uncle. This book deals with forgiveness and restoration.

Book 4 I liked the fact that this book was set in Iowa. This one is about family heritage and protecting the past.

I am excited to have my daughter read these books!

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If you are looking for a great middle school read for your daughter without edgy or inappropriate content, then you will love Camp Club Girls: McKenzie. McKenzie and her friends tackle age-appropriate challenges with input from trusted adults. Positive friendship and problem resolution is modeled with elements of faith sprinkled in without being preachy.

Wholesome books for middle school girls are very hard to come by so I really appreciate Shari Barr providing a great option for girls in middle school. I enjoyed reading the books myself. The mysteries are entertaining while not being either too predictable or too scary. Just the right amount of suspense and a whole lot of good clean fun.

The member of the Camp Club Girls include McKenzie, Sydney, Bailey, Kate, Elizabeth and Alexis. Together they help solve mysteries. In this volume, readers will track a horse thief in the west, find stolen sea lions in Oregon, track down a long lost uncle in Missouri and get to the bottom of strange happenings in Iowa.

For upper elementary girls looking for a longer book, McKenzie is a great option. It's also a great option for a reluctant older reader. It's really an entertaining option for a variety of ages and could make a great read aloud for some girl time between mom and daughters.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of McKenzie from NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

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Camp Club Girls: McKenzie

by Shari Barr



Barbour Publishing, Inc.


Barbour Books

Children's Fiction , Christian

Pub Date 01 Apr 2019





I am reviewing a copy of Camp Club Girls: McKenzie through Barbour Books and Netgalley:





Join McKenzie and the other Camp Club Girls as they set on a series of club filled adventures and crack the cases in adventurous and fun filled adventures in this four in one book!





Is a horse thief on the loose? The camp club girls are thrown into the throws of a Wild West who dun it mystery! Will the girls be able to solve the mystery?





Where have all the pups of the sea lions gone? McKenzie and Alexis travel to the Oregon Coast so they could finish a report on Stellar Sea Lions. While working on the report they witness a strange series of events! Will the girls find the Sea Lions Pups before its to late?



What can you do when a family member goes missing? McKenzie and Sydney meet up in Branson Missouri, where McKenzie is asked to help in the Dixie Stampede, soon though they find themselves involved in the search for a teens missing uncle. The only clue is a whittled necklace will the Camp Club Girls be able to find the teens missing uncle?





When McKenzie and Kate connect during farm camp at Heritage Farms and village in Iowa, they begin to notice some mysterious events that leave them feeling uneasy. The girls realize they are onto something, but what is it?





If you have a Middle School to Highschool girl looking for books filled with action. Suspense, and that are Inspirational in nature I recommend Camp Club Girls McKenzie!





Five out of five stars!





Happy Reading!

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I got these books for my 11 year old daughter. They are cute and wholesome and she's loving this series!

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Camp Club Girls- McKenzie by Shari Barr is the next in this series and just as exciting as the previous books. These books may be read in any order so even if you have missed the others you will still enjoy this one and won’t feel lost.
The four stories in this book are:
McKenzie’s Montana Mystery is the story of competing in the rodeo. Her friend, Bailey, surprises her with a visit as she practices her barrel racing. Both girls love to ride and explore. When a prize horse comes up missing will the nearby ghost town hold the clue to get her home?
McKenzie’s Oregon Operation includes Alexis as the two girls visit McKenzie’s aunt at a resort where she works. She is a pilot and takes groups on aerial tours of the area. When two seal pups come up missing will the girls be able to solve the mystery? Or is there no mystery?
McKenzie’s Branson Brainteaser finds her and Sydney visiting and working in Branson, MO. They meet an older girl, Shara, who is working there and looking for her missing uncle who is a woodcarver. There was a falling out in the family so he may have changed his name but will his signature carving style lead them to him?
McKenzie and the Iowa History Mystery takes us back in time as McKenzie visits her aunt and uncle who live on and manage a working historical farm attraction. Her friend Kate is also along on this adventure. While walking through the village after hours the girls discover lights on and a window open. Did someone forget when locking up or is someone sneaking around after hours? The girls discover a riddle about a treasure but is it real and does it still exist? You know they will do their best to find out!
This series is wonderful for your pre-teen to teen girls. It showcases girls as being smart and courageous. These stories would be good to read as a parent and child together and discuss or as young readers group; I can imagine myself discussing them with friends when I was that age. As a grandmother, I enjoyed reading these stories also. I give this book 5 of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Camp Club Girls: McKenzie consists of four stories. These stories include:
McKenzie's Montana Mystery
McKenzie's Oregon Operation
McKenzie's Branson Brainteaser
McKenzie and the Iowa History Mystery
I loved every one of these stories. McKenzie and her friends are so fun and great role models for young girls. I highly recommend this book.
Five Stars.

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Ahhh I love this collection of short mysteries!! It was super nostalgic to read because back when I was 7, 8, 9 years old, I was OBSESSED with mysteries- I've probably read all the Boxcar Children, Mandie, and Nancy Drew books in the library. I might've also read some Hardy Boys mysteries, but we'll not get into that now.

I'm normally not a huge fan of collections of stories in one book because I feel like I have to switch mindsets a lot while jumping from story to story, but that definitely wasn't the case here. You have the main character, McKenzie, and then each story also brings in a new member of the Camp Club girls, and it was super fun to see the personalities of each of them. I think Kate was my favorite because of her gadget-collecting habits. xD

Overall, I absolutely loved this collection of stories and would highly recommend it for young girls (8-12 years old). I feel like I'm a bit too past that age range to fully enjoy the series, but I loved it anyway because it really took me back to my childhood mystery-binge-reading habits. I feel like a good way to describe the Camp Club Girls series would be a "Christian Nancy Drew" series, so if you're a fan of the Nancy Drew series but would like to see a lot of faith content, I'd strongly recommend this series.

Anyway, enough with the fangirling. :P 4 stars.

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The Camp Club Girls books are full of adventure, drama and teaches kids to take their problems to God in prayer. These books will hold your girls attention all the way through and teach them a good moral lesson at the same time. Each story is set in a different state and has a different mystery to solve. I highly recommend this book for ages 9 and up. Thank you Barbour Publishing via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. This is my honest opinion of this book.

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A great middle-grade chapter book for girls looking for adventure. The Camp Club girls are back together and are thrust into another mystery surrounding horses and the wild wild west.

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