Rating: 4.5 Stars

As his daughter grew up, she grew away from him. A week at Dad Camp is John's last ditch effort to restore the connection that was once so strong.

I always associate camp books with summer fun, and there were a multitude of laugh out loud moments in this book, but the heart of this story was a father's love for his daughter as he tried to cope with the way their relationship was changing.

This book may be told from the point of view of a father, but I found is very relatable as a mom. I was a single mother and remember how all my interests and hobbies took a back seat to caring for my daughter. As she grew, her activities dominated the calendar, so it was easy to lose myself in being a parent. It's a rude awakening when your only child leaves for college and you are sitting with all this time and not knowing how to fill it. Do I regret it? No and that's the impression I got from John, too.

Though John wasn't quite at the empty-nest point, he had made Avery the center of his world. Therefore, this new pre-teen version of her was causing him a lot of stress, and he was desperate to stay a part of her life. I appreciated his effort, but even more so, I appreciated how much he learned about himself, Avery, and fatherhood during his time at camp.

Camp Triumph may have been a bit rundown but it was a beacon for those dad's who wanted a place to spend time with their daughters. These dads all had different motivations - divorced dad, workaholic dad, stay-at-home dad, and they all had different things to teach John. I loved the process of them growing together, and all the different parenting styles/types that were put on display. It was done with a lot of heart and a lot of humor which are two things I love in a story.

Overall, I found this be a rather heartwarming story which I feel portrayed the challenges of parenting and also the rewards in a fun and endearing way.

If I am totally honest, while I found some of this book enjoyable, the main character was really frustrating and did not win me over.

I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I did because it sounded like a really cute concept. I’m not sure if this is just a situation of my not being the right audience for the book or my own personal biases, but I found John and most of the other dads kind of insufferable. I definitely empathized with the daughters more, especially given some of the choices the dads made both before and during the events of the book.

I was more or less satisfied with how the book wrapped up and I wouldn’t say this is a bad book by any means, I just think I am not the target audience.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Heartwarming and sweet, but it took me a while to finish because it didn’t really draw me in.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Dutton Books for the ARC!

WOW- this was just the right book for me at just the right time! A sweet and tender yet actually hilarious book about a group of dads who take their young daughters to a week of summer camp to to have some one-on-one time and form a deeper bond.

Of course, hilarity ensued right off the bat as the daughters and the dads were forced to become "friends" and bond. I literally laughed out loud so many times not even at the "jokes" per se but just at the constant sarcasm of the main character's inner thoughts. Evan Porter is legitimately funny and got me several times with that rare "spit the water out of your mouth" unexpected laugh.

While light and funny, there were a few deeper heartfelt moments that really resonated with me personally. One thing I loved as an asthma mom was the positive asthma representation in one of the camp kids! I feel like every time an inhaler is mentioned in a book I have to prepare myself for some extremely traumatizing and negative situation and this seemed like a breath of fresh air (pun intended) and I shed a tear during some of the asthma talk.

It's really hard for me to compare this to anything since it felt so fresh and original so I guess that in and of itself is a huge compliment to the book!

I'm so excited for this debut to hit the shelves on June 11th and for everyone to fall in love with this charming story!

Being a father is so rewarding that I can't understand why so many of them decide to be shitty ones, but that’s just the fatherless child in me speaking.

So, this hasn't fixed my daddy issues, but it's nice seeing that there’s a way of resolving important matters, if you really want to.
And I like to add something that the author could have put somewhere in the story: it's ideal to resolve any issues from the start or from when your kid begins to develop as a person, but there's no age at which problems can't be fixed and it’s too late to start to communicate.

“Dad Camp” is the story of a bunch of fathers who know they fucked up with their still young daughters and want to remedy and yes, it's more than unrealistic that you decide to quit your job because they demand too much from you, even if you need the money to support your family, but it's fiction after all, and it’s nice to think that some dads actually care about their children.
There are a bunch of different topics involved and the dads’ POVs help better understand why they keep being so stubborn about everything, especially after when they finally understand what they did wrong.

Personally, I'd have developed some of the topics and arcs differently but, since the girls are middle school ages or under - which means they haven't still experienced teen anger and whatnot -, I understand where the author was trying to go with his choices.

Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Dad Camp by Evan S. Porter was exactly what I expected - cute, heart-warming, and made me giggle a few times. John (aka Super Dad) and his 11-year-old daughter, Avery, have always been close, until recently. With her chilly attitude and constant irritability with him, John is having trouble connecting with Avery like he used to. So what does he do? Signs them both up for a daddy-daughter week of camp the last week of summer vacation. What he doesn't tell her is that she is going to miss the club soccer tryouts she's been looking forward to all year. And what's more, when they get to the camp, John realizes it isn't quite what he thought he was signing up for. The camp is dilapidated and old, plus they have to group up with several other dads and daughters they don't know who seem to have their fair share of problems (and personalities), too.

The book moved at a steady pace and kept me engaged. Each of the characters are lovable in their own way, though I wish a few of them had been developed a little more. I enjoyed the character building surrounding John and Avery and the background on their relationship and his marriage. They were truly the best of friends, but as Avery got older, John started missing some of her cues - that she was feeling lonely even though she loved spending time with her dad.

If you're looking for a silly, corny, lovable beach read, this book is for you. The summer camp adventures and activities will keep you reading to find out how John and Avery will make it through this crazy camp - as friends or foes.

I DNF'd this book, BUT purely because I don't feel like the intended audience. I loved the summary and thought it would be a cute book to read, but I just could not get attached the way I wanted to.
There's nothing terribly wrong. The writing and story just didn't entrance me. But very easy and simple read for anyone who is looking for that.

I came to this book as an empty nester mom so I went in knowing I wasn’t the target audience.

A dad wanting to reconnect with his 11 year old daughter before “losing” her to middle school goes to a wilderness camp. Let the fun begin.

Only I didn’t find it fun or any of the things I’d expected from the buildup. The dad was selfish and manipulative with huge boundary issues. I felt sorry for his little girl and his wife.

The daughter parts were written well. You felt her angst at growing up and trying to fit in and I also enjoyed the looking back through the years sections. Parenting is a wild ride.

This was a sweet story about a dad and his daughter. It felt relevant as my Husband and I are entering this stage of life as well.
At times I wish there was more detail but I enjoyed the book and would recommend. I plan on having my husband read it.

thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I am in the middle on this title. There was some aspects of the story I really liked. There was some nice stories of dads connecting more to their daughters through the process of self evaluation and honesty. I also liked the dads learning to respect and honor each other. I did not like the amount of negativity to get to the growth and the language throughout. Some nice aspects, but overall not a book I would recommend or want to read again.

My thanks to Net Galley, Penguin, and the personal invitation I received to review this.

In an attempt to bond with his somewhat rebellious 11 year old daughter Avery, John Collins books a week at a Father Daughter camp, but his daughter is very unhappy.

This is a very sweet story which I enjoyed very much and can relate to with having adult children. My only complaint I found John a bit annoying. He seemed to only think of himself and not ask consent if his daughter for anything that mattered to her. Do highly recommend the book though.

DAD CAMP, Evan S Porter

This is a sweet, witty and heartwarming story about John, a dad trying to mend the relationship with Avery, his preteen daughter. For this, he books them into a one-week long father-daughter camp (which isn’t what he thought it would be) and doesn’t tell her until the last minute (making her miss her soccer tryouts, which she was looking forward to).

The supporting characters are a delight, including the peculiar camp director, and the three very different dads bunking together with John. Through a series of hilarious camp activities, they try to bond with each other, as well as trying their best to connect with their daughters.
Overall it was a nice and enjoyable story and definitely worth the read.

Also, this book will be released on June 11th, just in time for Father’s Day!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publishers, and Evan S. Porter for an ARC of Dad Camp! I’m a thriller reader, but this one pulled my heart strings and made them into mush. I am not a father, but I am a mother to a daughter and I felt like I could relate to the struggles every parent has. I loved the character growth, the special and hard moments, and the realization moments of omg my child is growing up and how to relearn everything you feel like you just learned and figured out. It’s so hard when you can have this one track mind of this is the way (and only way) and then looking at it from a different perspective and going oh no I’ve been doing this all wrong and growing from it to help yourself and your children. Honestly, what a great heart warming and comedy read.

John takes his daughter Avery to camp the last week of summer. Not just any camp, but a dad and daughter camp. John feels like this is his last attempt to be able to bond with his daughter before she goes to middle school and then spending time with your parents is “uncool”. John reflects on his whole life since Avery was born and how he did everything to be the best super-dad there is. John has to learn that his daughter is growing up and how to communicate with her as she’s getting older, because what he’s doing right now does not work for an 11 year old. Once John arrives, the camp is not as pictured as it was online and he has to room with some toxic dads who clearly don’t know how to be the super dad he is. This isn’t what John had in mind, but he will do whatever it takes to help his relationship with Avery. This is his last shot!

This one was definitely a miss for me. I thought it was cute that the dad wanted to connect with the daughter and take a camp retreat together but it just didn’t work for me. I found the dialogue cringy at times and couldn’t connect to the characters. It had so much potential too!

I liked this story. It's a feel-good book about a father who is afraid of wasting his few remaining years with his pre-teen daughter. Although the two have been close for her entire life so far, he feels that their relationship has been rocky of late. He takes his daughter to a dads-daughters relationship summer camp for a week to repair the relationship before things get too late. While there, he realizes that his relationship with his daughter needs to change periodically, but that change itself isn't necessarily a bad thing. The other three fathers who we get to know come to similar understandings about what's happening within their own families.

I liked the cast of dads very much. There are some pretty stereotypical characters in here, but they all seem to want to do better and you find yourself rooting for them. The dad bonding scenes were good. I think that the daughters' characters were a bit more confusing-- I'm not sure how old they were supposed to be and I'm not confident that they consistently acted any particular age (other than 'young').

Overall, I though this was a sweet read. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

John is father to Avery, who's becoming a preteen and drifting away from the close relationship they used to share. In a last ditch effort to reconnect with his daughter, he signs them up for a week long father/daughter camp, unbeknownst to Avery, who predictably does not take it well, as it's the last week of summer before she starts middle school. This was a delight to read! Equal parts hilarious and heartwarming, I instantly fell in love with all the characters and the entire story. Someone has to make this into a movie!

I absolutely enjoyed this story. I kept turning page after page. I can’t wait to have a physical copy. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this gifted arc.

Avery is 11 and becoming a preteen. She has spent most of her life as daddy’s little girl, but lately is pulling away from her dad, John. Determined to fix his relationship with his daughter before she starts middle school, John signs them up for a weeklong dad and daughter camp. However, when they arrive the camp isn’t exactly what John thought it would be. Will Avery and John grow closer, or will they continue to grow apart?

This was such a great book about father-daughter relationships and how they change and evolve over time. Each father is lovable and has tried in different ways to be there for his daughter. The way each father-daughter relationship strengthens throughout the book is magical. I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a funny, light-hearted book with a great lesson! I give it 4/5 stars.

3.5 stars

A sweet, sentimental and often funny story about a dad trying to re-establish rapport with his 11 year old daughter. John and Avery have always been close, but as she approaches teenagerhood, he can feel their relationship moving into eye-rolling and silence.

So, he books them into a father-daughter camp. He doesn't tell her until the last minute, AND going to the camp means she is missing a big soccer tryout, which is a big deal to her.

This is often predictable, if likable. He is sometimes hapless, trying to joke his way out of serious situations. The supporting cast of dads is not unexpected: a defensive stay at home dad, a workaholic, and a macho posturer. We pretty much know the story will wind itself around to a happy ending for everyone with lots of problems resolved and a new-found closeness between dads and daughters. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Dad Camp is a heartwarming, funny novel about a loving dad who drags his eleven-year-old daughter to a father-daughter summer camp during her last week of summer vacation, their last chance to bond before he loses her to teenage girlhood and endless eyerolls (at the moment it's only occasional eye rolls, usually well timed).

CAWPILE Breakdown:

Characters: 7.5 - The characters seemed pretty sterotypical but what made it more fun was that you got a lot of the classic dad/father stereotypes.

Atmosphere/Setting: 9 - Porter did a fantastic job with the atmosphere and setting.

Writing Style: 7 - Although Porter's writing style was a bit simpler than I am used to, he balanced the scenes with humor and heartwarming moments well. I loved all the dad jokes.

Plot: 8 - Although the plot was simple, it was also effective and it showed some moments from a different perspective - which I appreciated. Not every book has to be overly complicated.

Intrigue: 5 - There were a few moments where I could see Porter attempting to draw in some intrigue, but for the most part, there wasn't much.

Logic/Relationships: 9 - Honestly, the best part of this whole novel for me. I loved seeing the relationships develop.

Enjoyment: 8 - I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I expected a simple, father daughter bonding book - which it was, but it also brought more to the table that I expected.

CAWPILE Total: 53.5/7 = 7.6 = 4/5 stars