This frenemies to lovers book is the perfect summer read with a heroine that owns who she is. This is the perfect queer summer read.

The perfectly silly enemies to lovers sapphic camp romance you never knew you needed, an absolute treat to read!
Easily one of my favorite books that I've read lately, this was an absolute delight and a romp to read. I could hardly go a few pages without smiling or laughing.
We all know what's going to happen in this book, right off the bat, but Baldwin still manages to keep it fresh and unexpected with how much heart and thought goes into the characters and the story itself. Juliette and Priya are well rounded and painfully human in their interactions with each other. As the book goes on, the longing glances and yearning looks were sprinkled so well amidst the occasional arguments or tension. Long before Juliette realizes it, you the reader will be be like, YOU WANT TO KISS HER FACE GIRL! Please just take a load at this writing, because it just captures that baby gay vibe so well.
"Every atom of my being goes motionless. Her hair brushes my cheek. Her shoulder presses into mine, but she keeps leaning, reaching for something behind me."
I loved the growth the characters go through over the book, and how the "friendship" that Priya and Juliette develop changes each of them for the better.
If you were ever sent off to summer camp as a child, (as I was, for many a year) you know that Baldwin didn't just nail the silliness and comadire of camp. She absolutely captured the essence and feeling of it. The interactions, the not wanting to leave, even the camp nicknames. It made me feel like I was back at camp. One of my favorite parts of reading this was the different counselors, such as Flagstaff, and how they all interacted with the campers. I never felt overburdened by the number of characters, they were all balanced well with the story and I never felt lost.
Not many authors can balance the right amount of world building with how much of it to share. It was clear that there was a lot that could have been delved with in regards to Juliette's family, and how it has shaped her current insecurities and competitive (slightly intense) nature. [ The amount we were shown made it easy to paint the picture of her family being, well not the best. Not abusive per say, but clearly prioritizing winning and being the best. Quite frankly I would argue that they were abusive, any parents who pit their kids against each other and only gives attention and time to those who are going to be a prodigy, are textbook assholes. (Can we get some therapy in aisle three, please?) I do like that it was primarily unresolved, because it was so realistic. The story isn't about. Juliette confronting her family, it's about her growing up just a bit and realizing how wrong her perceptions of Priya were. And of course, their fantastic romance. (hide spoiler)]
I am going to need someone to send the author a fruit basket or something, because we were BLESSED with an epilogue and I was so grateful. It didn't feel unnecessary either, but just made the ending all the sweeter and wrapped up any lingering questions I had. (Dare I say, a perfect ending to a perfect story?)

There were a few times Juliette gave me, well not mean girl vibes per say, but she was so insecure and the way it manifested was being judgemental of others, it was a bit of a bully vibes at times. As in, I could see her being difficult to someone or not so nice or welcoming just because she was jealous. It was obvious where it was all coming from, (read earlier spoiler) but it didn't make it any less true.

Easily one of the best and most enjoyable books I've had the pleasure of reading lately, I ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND THIS! READ THIS! The perfect sapphic book for summer. I will eagerly await Baldwin's next book, with the same anticipation of a child counting down the days till they get to go back to summer camp.
I also adore the cover, it is always a treat when a book with excellent writing is given the cover it deserves and that matches its vibe. Excellent colors, composition, and one that will stand out on any shelf.

Thank you Penguin for this Arc, any quotes are subject to change before publishing

Thoughts and Themes: It took me a while to get into this book because I wasn't sure where it was going with our main character and her friend. It was also frustrating at times as they went back and forth teasing us with a potential romance but then going in the other direction. I kept reading only to see what would happen, but I am glad that I did because of how much I ended up enjoying the story.

Characters: In this book you are introduced to our main character, Juliette and some of the people at her camp, Priya, Gia, and Lucy. Each of the relationships that are depicted throughout the book are great to read and I love how each of them is different.

I really loved the relationship that Juliette had with the other campers as well as some of the professional staff that is at the camp site. I loved getting to see how the professional staff navigated some of the experiences that Juliette was having at camp and how they helped her through the emotions. I really loved Juliette's friends at camp as well and how different they were from her.

Priya and Juliette's relationship made me laugh at times because of how much Juliette seemed to dislike Priya right from the start. I also liked that it seemed that neither really knew much about the other beyond surface level facts, yet they have been friends for years. I enjoyed getting to see each of them learn about the other and see how the relationship developed due to that information.

Writing Style: This book is written in first person and told through Juliette's perspective. I love that we get to see everything through Juliette's perspective because we only know things about others as they reveal them. I love that for the majority of the story Juliette isn't supposed to be a likable or reliable narrator, but you can't but love her. She does read a lot younger than her age so there were moments in which I had to remind myself of how old she actually is.

SUCH A GOOD BOOK! erin has such an amazing voice and is so good at weaving in hilarity and chaos with believable narratives.

I had a lot of hopes for this book, especially because of the setting. But honestly I felt like I could never really latch on or care for the characters, which is my biggest criteria for enjoying a book.

3.5? It was cute, but it never really hooked me in. If this were just a story about friendship and finding yourself at summer camp, it would've held up a lot more. But as a frenemies-to-lovers YA romance? It kinda let down. The initial "rivalry" between them is really one sided and in Juliette's head, and honestly Priya was so nice right off the bat, it was hard to root for the MC on that front. This story could've really benefitted from a dual-POV to see what both girls were going through.

I absolutely loved this book. I loved the dynamic between the two main characters and I couldn't put the book down. Super cute, definitely recommend

Wish You Weren't Here is a fun YA romcom about two girls who have known each other since elementary school. They share a school and friend group and tend to gravitate toward one another, but they never really get to know each other and seem to dislike the other's company.
Forced proximity sets these two opposites up to see their relationship in a new light. It is Juliette's last year at summer camp, and unexpectedly, Priya is in her beloved space. Amid the camp hijinks, they find a place where they can freely be themselves. 
It is told successfully from Juliette's first-person POV as she discovers some hard truths about herself. The writing is well done, and there are a lot of laughs in the dialogue and inner monologues. The pacing is steady and makes for a quick read.
The tension is sweet, and there is no spice. It is just a really cute story with a HEA and tidy epilogue. I recommend!

do you ever have those moments where you have to sit and process everything that’s just happened in a book because you absolutely devoured it. that’s exactly what happened with wish you weren’t here. amazing, i read this book in under two days, a feat which i almost never do just to having no time in the world anymore. but this lovely little book broke through that barrier. i couldn’t tell you the last time i read a book so fast. truly.

so of course it took me a few days to gather all my thoughts on everything. figure out how much i loved this book. figure out my feelings on juliette and priya’s relationship. on juliette’s camp experience, which this was truly one big beautiful ode to….

let’s start with juliette’s camp experience because i can relate to her thoughts fairly well. while i never went to camp the way she did, where it was outdoorsy, and you go there every summer for every year (i was in summer sports so that wasn’t really an option!) but i did do a few specialized camps in high school, for the sciences, which i did then work at when i was in college. so i recognize juliette’s pure passion and joy during her experiences. how something she held so dearly can so quickly turn sour by the little things (a counselor who has a vendetta against you, an injury, the girl you definitely don’t like showing up). i think her absolute love made her often justifiably protective when it came to everything about camp. and maybe something that hindered her a bit since she could get so hung up on her ideal experience.

and i think that would be the only way she would ever be “too much” because although others were supposedly telling her this left and right off page, it’s not something that we ever really saw. i mean, in the opening scene she talks about NOT being able to advocate for herself as a child, even if in teenage years that particular scenario (her name) is something that she did get better about. but how much of that was internalizing what she perceived as true rather than her actual personality. because if she would’ve been, i think she might have caused a lot more outwardly responses to gallahad’s poor counselor decisions much earlier than she did (and did she even really? or was it just priya and her other firend’s that exposed those wrong-doings). i do think, this thought about herself really did lesson many of the enjoyment and love i have for juliette. it made it difficult to be on her side when she’d think one thing and do something completely opposite. and that trait was what pulled her through a lot of her actions, even with priya.

so let’s get into their relationship. i’m sure i’m going to have similar thoughts to others when i say, i don’t understand what juliette’s issue was with priya in the beginning lol. like they’re very clearly like classmate acquaintances where one (juliette) has a bit of a jealousy problem and the other (priya) wants to become closer but doesn’t really know how to best approach the situation. i honestly think i would’ve enjoyed it so much if we dropped this non-issue of juliette kinda sorta disliking priya but for no valid reasons other than she’s popular(?). i think it would’ve been my perfect story if juliette just truly was like, there’s this girl. she’s super popular and sort of an influencer. and we kinda sorta run in the same circles but there’s never been a strong connection. and i’m sure that it was written the way it was because it conveys juliette’s pent up feelings FOR her, romantically, but i would’ve found it all that more believable had this just been the chance for them to connect. even if they run in similar circles and act polite at birthdays. having that weird dynamic removed would have made this a top tier story for me.

listen, this isn’t me saying that i didn’t love this story because i absolutely did. i just think that these were two aspects that is why i wouldn’t hold this higher than a four star rating personally. because i truly loved all the camp shenanigans. the activities. the way juliette was stubborn enough to try and continue to make the most of her summer even when things tried to stop her. and i LOVED the romance. they were so cute when they started to flirt with each other, the way juliette just never got it(TM). we were able to see their quirky sides, in this enclosed setting. how they were able to relate to similar life experiences, like their mixed-heritage, their similar life goals, etc. and it was truly just such a fun time. but if these small changes were made, it would have easily been a five star for me!

but overall, let it be known that i’m beyond excited to see what baldwin writes next. i know in my heart that she can become a favorite author of mine down the road.

This book was so dang cute 😫

The ending had me bawling my eyes out. The nostalgia is big in this one.

Juliette’s one sided hatred of Priya takes up most of the story. I didn’t think I’d connect with such young characters but I read this book like a proud I’m mother watching my kids grow and develop into good humans.

Although I never went to summer camp, I could feel the excitement and the fun that the author wrote into the scenes. It made me think of The Parent Trap camp 😆

Overall really enjoyed this book! I can’t wait to see what else Erin Baldwin writes.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for the advanced copy!

As someone who grew up with Summer camp basically being my second home, I'm drawn to Summer camp stories. Camp is a perfect place to figure out who you are and figure out where you fit in. Wish You Weren't Here is great at relaying that. Priya and Juliette also have the whole rivals-to-lovers thing going on. And in a setting like camp, it's a fun and relatable journey to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for providing me with a review copy.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Viking Books for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Juliette Barrera-Wright lives her life surrounded by others who come above her in the pecking order. A home, her slew of siblings soak up all the attention thanks to their special skills and hobbies, and at school, her mortal frenemy Priya Pendley rules the roost. They've known each other most of their lives, they go to all of the same parties and even have all of the same friends, but aside from a tradition of swapping the same crappy gift back and forth each year, they do their best to stay out of each others' way. The only chance Juliette gets to be herself and feel like the person she is is okay is during Summer break at Fogridge Summer Camp. So going into her last year as a camper, she has the best summer ever planned. Until she finds out that her new roommate in her bunk is none other than first-time Fogridge attendee Priya Pendley, who of course proceeds to charm everyone she meets at camp, including Juliette's two best friends. With her least favorite person forcibly glued to her side for the Summer, how is she supposed to make the most of her last year of camp?

The Fogridge gang get up to all sorts of crazy, fun hijinks as the Summer progresses, and despite what she deems bad luck hitting her hard at every turn, Juliette manages to make the best of it and to not only strengthen her bonds with some of her closest friends but also to form new ones--including with the one person she never expected to like as much as she turns out to--and as she learns to be more accepting of Priya, Juliette also learns to accept and love more of herself. It's a beautiful, fun, wild, color-splashed roller coaster ride from start to finish, and I loved every second of it. The characters were all so fun and silly and refreshing, the setting was beautifully fleshed out and so easy and fun to picture, the dialogue--especially the banter between our two FMCs--was *hilarious', the conflicts felt real and heavy and even heartbreaking and had me looking back on my own struggles from when I was younger more than once...but possibly my favorite part of this book was the love you can tell the author has for the summer camp lifestyle coming off the page. It only made me fall more in love with Fodridge and all the campers, counselors, and specialists that made it what it was.

Honestly, I'd kill for a series of books based out of Fogridge just for the chance to see this beautiful camp Erin Baldwin created again. Wish You Weren't here is an impeccable debut by an author I desperately look forward to reading more from in the future, and I highly, *highly* recommend you check it out.

I recently read “Wish You Weren’t Here” by Erin Baldwin, and it’s a delightful young adult romance about Juliette, who finds her summer plans upended when her rival, Priya, becomes her cabinmate at Fogridge Sleepaway Camp. The book explores their transition from rivalry to romance against the nostalgic and vibrant backdrop of summer camp. Baldwin’s character development and the engaging “hate-to-love” dynamic make the story heartfelt and humorous, touching on themes of self-discovery and personal growth. It’s a perfect read for anyone who enjoys a blend of humour, romance, and summer magic.

A cute fun read!

In Wish You Weren’t Here, we are following Juliette who is described by many as intense and Priya who is described by many as the It Girl. Juliette goes to a camp every summer and this year she was awarded the Northstar and has a roommate who happens to be Priya.. Juliet and Priya are what people would call Frenemies. They don’t hate each other and Priya invites Juliet to her birthday party every year and they still exchange a gift card between the two of them every year however they are not actually friends. They’re just nice to each other.. so when is now Juliet‘s roommate in this camp that is Juliet Haven, where she is kind of the it girl, Juliet kind of goes through an identity crisis, but also gets to know Priya and her friend group gets to know Priya, and of course, one thing leads to another and a crush ensues.

Book was very cute. It was a quick read. It was fun..

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

I could hardcore tell that this was a "I never hated you. I was kind of jealous of you" shtick by the popular girl and I SO CALLED IT. It was docked a star for that because I seriously can't think of any popular person I know who would ever say this to someone. In my experience most popular people were generally privileged, annoying, assholes. Priya wasn't like two of those things (she was privileged in a sense because she had a lot of money), but she also seemed like a genuine person. It was hard to like her at first though especially when it seemed like Juliette barely tolerated her but as Juliette warmed up to her, so did I.

I was genuinely very pissed at Juliette for not going to Pat about what Galahad was doing. She talked CONSTANTLY about how much she adored camp and how loving all of the counselors and the owners were (Pat) and yet it never occurred to her to actually talk to Pat about the shitty things her councilor was doing! Then the AUDACITY she had to get mad at Priya for telling Pat what was happening the whole summer???? Made literally zero sense. Based off of Juliette's personality, I would've thought she'd tell Pat DAY ONE of what Galahad was doing and how WRONG it was. It didn't sound like he was the kind of guy who wouldn't believe his campers over the adults so I can't fathom why she didn't just tell him what Galahad was doing!

Regardless, I did really enjoy this novel. Lucy and Gia were some really great side characters. They were so funny and I loved every scene they were in together!

While I do still read some YA, I think this one was a bit too young for me. In addition, the galley was unable to be sent to my kindle so I had to wait until it was available at my library to read and review.

While the chemistry between Juliette and Priya was entertaining, I found most of the plot to be surface level. And that’s coming from someone who reads a good chunk of enemies-to-lovers and summer romances! All in all, I was just left wanting more.

However, I can see any teen loving this sapphic romance, especially if they enjoy banter, nature, and a little bit of angst!

An enjoyable shenanigan-filled sapphic book. Love the enemies to lovers trope and the characters in this book

📚Book Review 📚

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wish You Weren’t Here by Erin Baldwin

This book surpassed my expectations!! It was a YA which I’ve kind of gotten away from but I absolutely loved this book! Loved the enemies to friends to lovers! Loved both the main characters very well developed! The theme of finding your true self throughout the book was very well done!!

I cannot wait to read more from this author!

This author knows how to write!
I read this book while I was out of ADHD medication and still managed to follow the story, which sounds strange but is a huge compliment to Baldwin.

What I liked about this book is that the story isn't only based on romance. Furthermore, as someone who dislikes insta love tropes, I enjoy that the characters develop their feelings slowly. As readers, we can feel the tension between them growing and only really giving into it close to the end of the book. When it finally happens, it feels realistic and statisfying.

When I was the protagonist's age, such a thing as queer romance was not really a thing, but I know that teenage me would have enjoyed the hell out of this book.
I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

I was not able to access the file provided. I did read an early copy of the book but it was an ALC from PRH Audio. I liked the book and thought it was a cute summer romance!