4/5 stars

i LOVEEEE a summer centered book, especially a summer camp centered book!! it feels like sunshine, when done right, and I think erin baldwin did this right!!

the story centers juliette barrera-wright in her last year at fogridge sleepaway camp, a place that has been her home and safe haven for many many years. her last year doesn’t go exactly as planned because of one miss priya pendley, but is still a life-changing summer!

i thought this story was so sunshine-filled and i loved watching juliette and priya get closer and seeing juliette realize that she did not, in fact, hate priya, but was actually quite obsessed with her (and that priya was too). juliette’s journey into realizing things don’t always go as planned but can still be good was done really well. i do wish the story could’ve delved more into what was briefly mentioned about her and her life with her siblings and parents, but i can understand that it might’ve been a little much for the book.

i also LOVED that juliette and her love interest were not white!!! I am quite tired of the character of colorxwhite love interest trope.

overall, i definitely recommend this book as a small dose of summer for whenever you’re missing being a kid with a summer very full of possibilities <3

I love the relationship between Juliette and her friends<3
I really connected with Juliette.
And i loved the epilogue.
There isn't much to say. It was a quick and easy reading. Lovely and funny. I totally recommend it.

Thank you to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for allowing me to read this book. I wanted this book to be so much more but in the end it fell flat.

I do not like YA romance. I feel like they are super cheesy and I can't relate to them. This book felt super young and I did not really care about the characters.

Wish You Weren't Here is like nostalgia in a book. Summer camp vibes and saying goodbye to events that mark our childhood... Having a special place where you are seen and realizing your role in that space is changing... I cried. A lovely coming of age and sapphic romance.

This was such an enjoyable read, especially given its genre of teen romance. I particularly appreciated the depiction of LGBTQ+ romance during the teenage years – it's just something I wish I had when I was younger. The author's writing style was truly captivating.

However, my only issue is that the romance felt rushed and underdeveloped. While it's clear that Priya had strong feelings for Juliette from the go, I needed a more gradual exploration of their relationship. It seemed to escalate quickly without exploring the nuances of their relationship.

Despite this, I'm so grateful for Priya's character, AN ICON.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the ARC copy of Wish You Weren't Here in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very cute YA book. I loved Priya's character. I also loved all the Survivor references. A fun read that I would recommend.

Wish You Weren’t Here by Erin Baldwin

Frenemies by silent agreement, Juliette and Priya find themselves spending their summer trapped together in the same cabin at Juliette’s annual retreat to summer camp.

The beginning of this book is somewhat encouraging. I always find the enemies-to-lovers trope somewhat suspect. It always feels overdramatic and overblown, and often the MCs have to resort to being petty and immature to keep the rivalry, or the antagonism towards each other is over too soon. But here, it’s made pretty clear that Priya and Juliette just don’t get along and they’ve silently agreed to just be civil with each other. It’s a very reasonable response to not liking someone. MCs are a little judgemental, but in the way you expect 17yo’s to be. All in all, the “enemies” part of this is the most realistic part of this book.

Everything else about this book pushed at and eventually broke my suspension of disbelief. The LI Priya has a level of fame in this small town where people are falling over themselves to get invites to Priya’s birthday parties. Juliette is super judgy about Priya’s wealth but Juliette’s parents are workaholic doctors, so it’s not like Juliette’s family doesn’t have money. Juliette falls and sprains her ankle at summer camp but instead of going to the camp nurse, they call an ambulance for her, and she gets an MRI. I just … can’t buy into it.

On top of that, I could buy this as a “freniemes-to-platonic friends” book but I don’t feel any romantic chemistry between Juliette and Priya. I honestly thought for the 40% of this book that I actually read (spoiler - I didn’t finish this) that this was just a platonic friendship story. When I decided to not finish this, I skipped to the end just to see if maybe that’s what it was. But no, this is supposed to be a romance. And maybe the chemistry comes in the 60% I didn’t read, fair. But idk, I just don’t feel it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sapphic YA frenemies to lovers romance set at camp with a prickly heroine! I enjoyed this quite a lot. Wish You Weren't Here is a frothy summer camp romance between a misunderstood, hard-headed heroine who feels like camp is the only place she can be herself, and the Instagram-famous girl she cordially despises who shows up unannounced as her roommate for the summer. This is for girls who were told they were too much, too intense, not nice enough. Girls who just wanted to be seen and loved for who they are. It's a slow-burn and is almost entirely set at camp with all the requisite camp activities. A great book for heading into the summer! I received a copy of this book for review via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I’m not usually a YA reader, but I’m so glad I made an exception for this sapphic summer camp story!

This is such a perfect summer book. It has all the quintessential camp necessities - color wars, bunkmates, evil counselors, drama performances, and so much more!

The characters in this story were interesting, the plot was engaging, and this was such a fun read.

I can’t believe this is a debut book, and I’m excited to see what the author has in store in the future!

wow wow wow WOW!

Erin just wrote THE camp book of all camp books, I swear!

I was THERE, a camper at Fogridge. So beautifully written, descriptive in the best way. If you asked me if this camp exists somewhere in the world, i’d Color Wars and Senior Twilight exist my answer would be a resounding YES!

I also loved the quick chapters!

UGH LOVE!

This is the perfect YA summer romp. It's cute, it's cozy, it's predictable sure but that's part of the fun about it! This is for the kids who had their gay awakening watching The Parent Trap (you know the scene) and it's such a sweet story that has a cute romance, themes of self-discovery, and is most importantly, a love letter to summer camps. I never really got to go to summer camps or sleepaway camps as a kid due to financial restraints, but I imagine this is what it would have been like if it I did, and I enjoyed getting to experience it and enjoyed the romance that came with it.

I clocked the Trixie Mattel product placement in the scene where Priya helps Juliette with putting on makeup. This story had everything I like queer people, camp experiences, and the last year in the last summer of your 18th year. It’s a shame that I felt the side characters were in the background too much and weren’t as fleshed out as possible so I got them confused or forgot about them. Conflict was kind of weak, but it doesn’t really matter to me because I liked the quick pace of the story. Thank you to the author and net galley for another good e-arc.

I wasn’t able to access this book as it is a pdf and not epub. This is the first time I have encountered that outside of a cookbook, bummed but I’ll be requesting it at my library when it comes out! Looks great.

4.5/5

In the early 2000s a shy girl worked really hard to sell enough girl scout cookies to go with her friend to camp (for free!) for a few weeks. While at camp this girl was included in activities, was accepted into already established friend groups, and also got to learn how to ride a horse. When she went home at the end of camp, she cried.
This book brought back memories of my own time at camp and coming out of my shell. Really enjoyed the stroll down memory lane while reading.

"Wish You Weren't Here" starts as a teenage rivalry novel but it quickly becomes apparent that it's about much more. Juliette has been told all her life that she is "too much" or "too intense". Meanwhile Priya is always "on", being what people expect of her. Juliette has been coming to camp for years and sees them as her found family, the people who truly understand her. So when Priya (her school rival) shows up during Juliette's last summer at camp, she is devastated. As the girls are forced into close proximity they began to learn who the real Juliette and Priya are. Friendship and understanding is within reach, perhaps even something more.

What a delight! This story is just spot on in so many ways. The characters are believable and rounded, even the side characters. The camp is so real you can smell it.

We can see everything that Juliette sees about Priya, but we're also pretty sure that isn't the entire story. I was wishing for a chapter from Priya's point of view, but knew that would mean me losing out on following Juliette as she figures out both herself and Priya.

Yes, we know exactly how this is going to end, but the ride is so good.

I wouldn't change anything about this book. Well, I would like to know why Priya only wears white.

I'm looking forward to more books from Erin Baldwin.

Note on the ARC, part of the letter at the beginning of chapter 29 is misformatted. There is an aside starting with "My head snaps up..." that should be in body font instead of in the letter font.

Super cute and cozy lil summer moment. When Juliette’s nemesis (Priya) becomes her roommate in her final year of camp, she thinks her summer is ruined. Camp is her place, her people, and now Priya is there, making friends with her friends and living her best life. Juliette starts making the best of it when Priya is inescapable, and thru a sprained ankle, Beauty and the Beast stage show, and a night in the woods, they find their common ground and maybe even do a kiss!

This was a sparkling debut. Erin Baldwin took the magic of summer camp and spun it into a moving, passionate sapphic story. It’s classic rivals to lovers, with an honest look at how teenagers think. Juliette was so real, stubborn, and determined. Priya was her perfect balance. I loved how Juliette learned from her summer, her situation, and was able to admit her flaws.

Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin for this advanced copy!

This book was so cute! I really loved the fun, summer vibes. It made me, an indoorsy homebody, want to go to camp. Not enough to actually go (as a counselor now since, you know, time has passed) but still. This was a really fun book to read.

I liked all the characters, including the supporting ones. The friendships were all great and I thought the main relationship was adorable. I enjoyed the girls' banter and the slow burn. I was definitely rooting for them to figure things out. The happy ending felt earned and left me smiling.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Wish You Weren't Here is a light summer read following Juliette during her last year at summer camp. Juliette has always been told she is too intense, but Fogridge Sleepaway Camp is the one place she feels like she can be fully herself... until she shows up to find her roommate is her school rival, Priya. The girls quickly turn from enemies to friends to more. This was such a quick fun read that felt like an ode to youth, summer camp, & home away from home.

Wish You Weren't Here comes out June 4th, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.