There’s a Badge for That is an ambitious debut that weaves the lives of several kids who meet at summer camp and have their world views shifted after a traumatic event occurs.

Going into this book, I was expecting a very different story to be told. Given that one of the comps is Camp, I expected the summer camp to be the main focus of the story, and it sadly wasn’t. The jump in time also threw me off because I was expecting a YA story.

Right away, I felt dropped into the story a little too hard and had difficulty connecting with the characters since they were introduced quickly and we didn’t get a lot of back story. I think what added to this was the lack of description. This made it hard to really sink into the setting and vibe with the characters. We were in Melody’s head most often and I didn’t ever feel like I knew Melody. I also didn’t get a great sense of the camp dynamics, such as what a “counselor in training” actually was, and we didn’t get to really see anything happening at camp, which was disappointing. Same with the hospital dynamic, we’re told we’re there but I didn’t feel like I was truly immersed in the setting.

Some of the dialogue was a little stilted and didn’t feel real; in particular, the language felt too modern rather than from the 90s (I.e. “some guys got it into their heads that I’m not straight” - I personally think some bullies from the 90s would have just said gay or a slur). I absolutely adore the acceptance of mental health and LGBT+ identities, but that wasn’t the experience I had growing up in the 90s, which again made it feel more present day.

There were several very intense incidents that felt glossed over. There wasn’t enough build up to them and then we moved on to the next topic in the next paragraph. I really wanted to stick with these moments-despite how painful they were- and feel the gravity of the situation and the implications for our main characters. These situations change the entire trajectory of our main characters’ lives but I left the scene feeling like they checked a box and moved on to the next task.

Of the things I really liked, Piper’s anxiety and insomnia were relatable - I’ve spent so many nights running through lists and being unable to sleep. This felt real and a common experience.

I really liked how Piper compared her safety in the shelter to the safety of camp - I only wish we got to spend more time in the camp so I could feel that, we didn’t get camp through Piper’s POV sadly.

I also really liked the journal entries and letters and felt like these were the best parts of the book. I almost wished the entire book was letters back and forth and journal entries because I felt like I could understand and know the characters more thoroughly when these were present.

well. i don't request arcs i think i won't like, so i was really hoping i would love this one --- the blurb made it sound like a literary exploration of adolescence, and instead it ended up reading like a middle school story-with-a-moral with a bunch of dark, edgy topics thrown in. i don't think that the handling of mental health was THAT awful but it did seem reductive and i felt like important points and scenes were regularly skipped over.

in the end i think that this read like a list of events that happened more than a story. i also think a thesaurus was overused. no quotes because i respect that it's an arc and things can change to the final product, but i was thrown completely out of the story by some dialogue tags.

The premise of this book was great, and I think on paper I would have liked this book, but sadly the pacing ruined it for me. Basically all plot points were revealed without any feeling or emotion. It was as if the author took “show don’t tell” and flipped it around. Some characters were fine and I understand that this book could’ve been so good but frankly the writing killed it for me.

This book was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I got from the description that this would be a bit sad and probably dark in places and it definitely was. That being said I think Moring really handled those subjects with care. It didn't feel preachy or like you were being forced into these places. It was definitely a journey but its a good one if you can handle it.